Human Aid Now is a small grassroots charity with anbi-status registered in the Netherlands. Founded in September 2016 with the aim of supporting refugees in Northern Greece, we have since expanded to running projects throughout Greece, Serbia, France, Bosnia, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Human Aid Now was originally called Human Aid in Greece but changed its name in 2019 as its mission expanded.
Human Aid Now is passionate about ensuring that refugees in transit throughout Europe have access to essential products and services: food, clothing, shelter, safety, healthcare, information and education. We specialise in supporting grassroot organisations which intervene where they are most needed, both quickly and efficiently in times of crisis.
In Amsterdam, since March 2020, we support families in need who do not have access to the regular social services with weekly food and hygiene articles packages.
Human Aid Now is a purely humanitarian organisation. We do not take any political standpoint about the migration crisis. We work with passion and respect and we endeavour to preserve the dignity of the people we help as much as we can, and act in the most sustainable manner possible. To increase our impact, we often work in collaboration with like-minded NGOs.
Transparency is a key word for Human Aid Now. We raise money -our donors include the municipality of Amsterdam, Dutch charity funds, companies and private individuals- and we commit to funding projects in the field only if we have secured the funds to do so, usually evaluating every half year and as the situation requires. For the large Amsterdam project we are controlled by an accountant. For all projects, we report on each cent that is spent and we are always happy to answer questions and provide information on the impact of our projects.
We are committed to keep our acquisition costs and overheads below ten percent of incoming funds. Actually, we are very proud that so far we managed to keep those costs under 1%, which means that more than 99% of donations are spent on-site for the refugees. There is no remuneration or other financial incentives for the board members, nor for the director and other people involved.
All our annual reports are publicly available:
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2019
Annual Report 2018
Annual Report 2017
Annual Report 2016
In accordance with the ANBI requirements, we publish our strategy plan. The current plan was drawn up in 2021 and is valid until 2024.
Dominique has over 25 years of experience in investment banking, after which she changed sectors to work for smaller businesses. She worked on a start-up in artisanal foods and is experienced in project evaluation and finance.
Since June 2017 she volunteers full-time for Human Aid Now. At the moment she coordinates weekly distributions of food and hygiene items in Amsterdam for over 5.000 people, mainly undocumented migrants, living below the poverty line and without access to the regular social services. Before Covid, she was regularly in Calais, Dunkirk and Paris. In all locations in France, she was known as the nice lady who always brings most needed and urgent items, which ensured an amazing working relationship with the NGOs on-site.
Bart has founded and directed a design studio for many years. He is a problem solver, linking and combining experience and knowledge gathered in many domains, to find new solutions and ideas. Pragmatic, energetic, creative, result oriented, Bart both has the overview and an eye for detail. Now he works as CTO in a company that provides services to building and insurance industries.
Bart was a volunteer in Greece for a year in total. He co-created an app to manage logistics for the distribution of aid goods. Having been involved so intensively in Greece, it's important for Bart to remain involved in supporting refugees by helping grassroots teams to work as professionally and effectively as possible.
Carla is a coach and mediator by profession, specialised in restorative circles. She has been engaged in social work for some thirty years, serving on various boards of foundations in the field of education, combatting poverty and addressing needs of disadvantaged groups. In that capacity, she has worked together with a number of donors as well as the municipality of Amsterdam in recent years. She ponders about many questions in life and translates her yearning for a more humane society into a practical commitment to help out where she can.
Having recently moved from the U.S. to the Netherlands, Joshua brings with him a wealth of experience in housing policy, humanitarian advocacy, and community organising. Joshua has focused much of his work on improving access to economic and educational opportunities, and reducing racial inequality by championing affordable housing initiatives. He firmly believes that a strong foundation of secure, healthy, and affordable housing is pivotal in the construction of a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable world.
As a policy analyst and civic leader, he has engaged in collaborative efforts with government agencies, think tanks, and grassroots organisations to evaluate and develop a range of innovative affordable housing initiatives, including a program dedicated to housing refugees. Additionally, he has overseen volunteer programs directly aimed at equipping newcomers with the essential tools and reliable networks essential for their overall success and financial independence.
A passionate feminist and advocate for human rights, Sabina is dedicated to empowering girls and women, especially in regard to their rights through education, voluntary work, and similar. Through her activism, Sabina challenges stereotypes, fights for gender equality, and works tirelessly to ensure equal rights for all. Her unwavering commitment inspires others to join the movement for positive change. At Human Aid Now Sabina aims to proactively find solutions and address the refugees' basic needs with a focus on women refugees.
Wouter has a mathematics and logistics background with a specialization in humanitarian development. After volunteering around Thessaloniki, Wouter originally founded Human Aid Now in 2016. During the initial period, he also worked as advisor and academic for international humanitarian development organisations through INSEAD and Dalberg.
Currently based in Kenya, he works in humanitarian development for urban informal settlements in East Africa. He remains involved with Human Aid Now on a strategic level.
Ilaria is passionate about everything in the field of marketing, tech and digital. Working in marketing is her full time job but she also likes to put her knowledge to use to do good and help others - the reason why she joined our team. Ilaria has already volunteered in the field of mental health for a few years and she believes everyone should be encouraged to talk about mental health topics without shame. In our team, she helps coordinate and post on our social media platforms and advises on potential online marketing activities, including newsletters campaigns.