The Mary Foundation established

Photos © Steen Brogaard with thanks

The court of the Crown Prince Couple has announced the establishment of a new foundation in Crown Princess Mary's name to be called the Mary Foundation. Today at Amalienborg Palace marked the formal announcement and inaugural meeting of the partners, staff and trustees. See the Crown Prince Couple's website for more details, the press release, or The Danish Monarchy for the press release. Mary will be the chairman of the board of trustees and because the fund is still in establishment mode, it will be a while before new co-operative and individual projects are awarded support. The size of the fund is arranged to ensure long term funding for the greatest impact in achieving the objectives of the foundation, according to the statement. The awards will be from the proceeds of managed capital of DKK 73.6 million.

HRH The Crown Princess of Denmark establishes The Mary Foundation
Everyone has the right to belong. With ‘The Mary Foundation – HRH Crown Princess Mary’s Foundation’, the Crown Princess seeks to encourage tolerance of diversity and help those who are socially isolated. Today the Crown Princess held the Foundation’s inaugural meeting with its co-founders and operating partner.

Following a period of lengthy preparation, HRH Crown Princess Mary presented the underlying ideals and organisational structure of ‘The Mary Foundation – HRH Crown Princess Mary’s Foundation’ – or also known as the Mary Foundation. The Crown Princess, the Board of Trustees, the newly appointed management, the operating partner and the eight co-founders held the inaugural meeting today at Amalienborg Palace. The objective of The Mary Foundation is ‘to improve the lives of children, adults and families who as the result of their environment, heredity, illness or other circumstances find themselves socially isolated or excluded. The Foundation aims to fulfil its objective by creating opportunities for these individuals and giving them a sense of affiliation and of belonging to a community. The Foundation furthermore undertakes to encourage tolerance of diversity and the revival of hope.’

‘The Mary Foundation will be an exciting and rewarding addition to my current work as Crown Princess. In some ways, it will provide the opportunity to effectively bring together the social issues that I am already involved in. I strongly believe that every individual has the right to belong to a community and to know that there are people who understand them and are concerned for their wellbeing. And this belief is the basis for The Mary Foundation,’ says Crown Princess Mary.

Eight co-founding Danish foundations and enterprises – Carlsberg A/S, LEGO Holding A/S, Nykredit, Det Obelske Familiefond, Oticon Fonden, Poul Due Jensen's Fond, Villum Kann Rasmussen Fonden and TrygFonden smba – have contributed capital to the Foundation. As operating partner, J.C. Hempel Foundation will cover the administrative costs and provide premises for the office’s of the Mary Foundation. This ensures that all funds from the Foundation can be allocated to achieving its’ objective.

‘I am so pleased and proud that we have managed to build a solid base for the work of the Foundation. A solid base is necessary if we are to achieve our objectives and secure the long-term impact of the foundation. It is inspiring to see so many dedicated people coming together to achieve a common goal. Particularly, as this is one of the principal ideals of The Mary Foundation – both through the way we work and through our projects,’ the Crown Princess says.

With support from its co-founders, the Foundation has secured a capital of DKK 73.6 million. The initial capital of 1.1 million kroner was donated by the people of Denmark and Greenland on the occasion of the wedding of Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess in May 2004 and presented as a gift.

The inaugural meeting marks the start of an establishment phase for The Mary Foundation. The Crown Princess expects to be able to publicly present the Foundation’s opening initiatives in the beginning of 2008.

More information about The Mary Foundation can be found at http://www.crownprincecouple.dk.

P. Thornit
Chief of the Court of HRH The Crown Prince of Denmark

Crown Princess Mary with the principles involved with her in setting up the Mary Foundation. Photos © Steen Brogaard with thanks

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Crown Prince Couple's image bank - Steen Brogaard, photographer

Added: Crown Princess makes room for everyone in The Copenhagen Post