About the Stavros Niarchos
Foundation (SNF)
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
(
is one of the leading private international philan-
thropic organisations worldwide, making grants in
the areas of arts and culture, education, health,
sports, as well as social welfare. The Foundation
funds organisations and projects that are expect-
ed to have a tangible, lasting and positive impact
on society at large, focusing on vulnerable groups
such as children and the elderly, and are also dis-
tinguished for their strong leadership and sound
management. The Foundation is also actively
supporting projects that foster public-private part-
nerships as an effective means for serving public
welfare.
The year 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the
Foundation’s philanthropic activity. Since the
launching of its operations in 1996, the SNF has
donated a total of €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion),
through 3,438 grants to non-profit organisations
in 111 nations around the world.
In June 2015, the SNF announced a new
€100,000,000 ($112 million) initiative, in addition
to its standard donor activities, to help address
the deepening crisis in Greece through the provi-
sion of immediate relief to the most vulnerable
members of Greek society. The new initiative fol-
lows on the heels of two earlier initiatives of
€100,000,000 ($130 million) each, in 2012 and
2013. The 2012 initiative, which is now complete,
also aimed to provide immediate relief from the
adverse effects of the socioeconomic crisis,
whereas the one announced in 2013 aims to
address the high rate of youth unemployment,
seeking to improve employment prospects and
create new opportunities for young people.
The Foundation’s largest single donation is the
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
(SNFCC) in Athens, to be completed in 2016.
The total budget of the project amounts to $831
million (€596 million) and includes two donations of
$6 million (€5 million) each to the National Library
of Greece and the Greek National Opera respec-
tively, aiming to support the two organisations’ relo-
cation to their new premises.
Designed by Renzo Piano, the project includes
the new premises of the National Library of
Greece, and of the Greek National Opera, as well
as the Stavros Niarchos Park. The SNFCC is a
testament and a commitment to the country’s
future, as well as a short- to mid-term economic
growth driver.
Trade with Greece
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The glass façade of the building complex. April 3, 2016. Photo: Yiorgis Yerolymbos
