Dear Friends,

What a year it has been! For everyone who has watched our small organisation over the past year (or five!) you know it has been a year of change, growth, and the meeting of important milestones. Before we get to the new and exciting, let’s focus on what’s most important – our work. This year we supported 21 projects, directly impacting the lives of hundreds of vulnerable and underserved people. Every project, and many sponsors, will be featured in this newsletter.

But now for the highlights! These past few months we have reached important milestones, received generous donations, and a visit from the Dutch Ambassador to Thailand.

Five Year Anniversary. On December 27, join us in celebrating our five-year anniversary as a Dutch registered foundation. This is an important milestone, and one that would have not been achieved without our loyal supporters. For our friends in Thailand, we will be having a small party to celebrate this anniversary in early February. Stay tuned for an invitation soon!

Thai Foundation. It has been a long journey since submitting our paperwork to register as a Thai Foundation. After many months, and great support from our friends, including the Embassy of the Netherlands, we were approved as a Thai Foundation. This will allow us to support more organisations, projects, and people. Simply put, we can do even more for underprivileged and vulnerable people.

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New Office For Birthday! Thanks to all who generously donated 20 months of rent for our new office as a gift for Sallo’s birthday.
2.000 Facebook likes! If you aren’t following us on Facebook yet, maybe now is a great time to start. You will find updates on all things PCF several times per week. We love sharing our work with our supporters and friends. Like, Share, and Follow!
€25.000 Donation from Gerard van Hal. Our long-time friend and loyal supporter, Gerard van Hal and his wife, Patty Pattranith Chamamporn, generously donated €25.000 in early November. This is an incredible gift, one that will help us to invest in the long-term future of people, projects, and communities. Thanks Gerard and Patty!
Visit from the Ambassador. His Excellency, Mr. Karel Hartogh, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Thailand and his wife, Dr. Maddy Smeets visited our office to meet our team and talk about our work. We cherish the continued interest of the Ambassador for our organisation and the support he offers to us.
LEGO Grant. The LEGO Group financed the last five months of the academic year for a preschool in Cambodia. Their support covered the costs of stationery, teacher training workshops, nutritious food, and other needs for 52 children. Thanks LEGO!

A sincere thank you to all of you who have contributed in so many ways to our work, we would not be where we are today without your efforts to support our mission.

We trust that you will continue your support in 2017, and wish you a happy festive season and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

Your Friends,

Philanthropy Connections Team

The People of PCF

From top to bottom: Sallo, Noona, Mei From top to bottom: Lani, Pa, Evan

We want to wish a happy farewell to two team members - Hunter and Bow. Hunter (Communications Officer), and Bow (Assistant Project Coordinator), both worked for PCF in 2016 and were valuable members of our team. While we are sad to see them go, we are happy for their contribution. Good luck and thank you to you both!

This year we also welcomed three new team members, Mei (Administrative Assistant), Pa (Assistant Project Coordinator), and Evan (Communications Officer). Mei has been instrumental in helping us get our Thai registration. Pa will strengthen our ability to conduct monitoring and evaluation of both current and new projects. Finally, Evan will be taking on new communications activities. Our team is growing and we are stronger because of it.

Last but certainly not least, Noona, our long-time Project Coordinator returned to us in late November after spending over a month in the US! Noona was one of six Thai nationals to be selected for the Professional Fellows Programme of the U.S. Department of State. Attending workshops and training seminars at the Mansfield Center in Missoula, Montana, and concluding with a week in Washington D.C., Noona comes back to us with more skills and knowledge to help our organisation grow and succeed. Welcome back Noona!

Aerial View of our 2016 Projects

We are grateful for all the friends and sponsors who have allowed us to support 21 projects with 7 different partners. We have been able to do so much, and will only continue to do more. Our purpose has always been to invest in the long-term future of the people, projects, and communities we serve.

See below a helpful infographic that details our partners, projects, and sponsors.

New Project Highlight: BNSCLC

Our featured project in this newsletter is the Ban Nai Soi Community Learning Center (BNSCLC).

Founded in 2005, BNSCLC seeks to provide high school education, practical vocational skills, and community development skills to high school aged children living in the Mae Hong Son Province area of Thailand. The students are Burmese migrant children who live outside of the refugee camps and have no other access to education opportunities. The centre also strives to improve relationships between refugees and Thais by involving the two groups in their activities.

With the ultimate aim of helping the project to become more self-sustainable, we provide funds for food, medicine, and a much needed renovation of the boys' dormitory.

Sponsor Highlight: Tony Mann

Our featured sponsor in this newsletter is Tony Mann. Tony has been a long-time friend and sponsor of PCF. This December, Tony visited several projects throughout Siem Reap, Cambodia, along with our Founder and Executive Director, Sallo Polak.

During this trip, Tony and Sallo visited a KAKO supported project that was at risk of losing funding. 100 students from the poorest families of Siem Reap Province were only able to attend Primary or Secondary school thanks to scholarships from a Taiwanese organisation. The organisation in Taiwan unfortunately has lost much of its funding, and will have to end their support in January 2017.

PCF is already supporting this KAKO programme with eight scholarship students so far, so we know its value and quality. Now, thanks to Tony's support, we will be supporting 60 more students. Tony dedicates his philanthropic work to his late wife, Nancy. The impact of this sponsorship and the memory it leaves with 60 children and their families cannot be overstated.