About the VSF International
Our Ethos
The VSF International is a lay-led charity, open to everyone, providing long-term assistance to all, irrespective of their race, origin, religion and beliefs. Our vision is to help people to have equal access to education, healthcare, jobs and to become contributors to society.
Our Roots and Inspiration
The VSF International is a lay-led initiative, taking its roots in the principles of the Catholic social teachings, focusing on solidarity and common good. It is inspired by Pope Francis and his call to fight poverty and engage in effective and practical actions to promote integral human development.
The history of The VSF
Launched in 2017, the VSF International was inspired by the work and research done throughout the last 25 years by the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation (CAPPF) and more recently from the work done by Prof. Josef Bonnici who has made the case for a Voluntary Solidarity Fund in a recent study, calling for a moral response to the growing gap in inequality. Prof. Angus Deaton has written several books on the origins of inequality, and his work on consumption, poverty, and welfare won him a Nobel Prize in 2015. Other organisations like the IMF, the Bank of England and several high profile economists have called for an urgent response to this growing issue.
How we operate
The VSF is a non-profit registered Charity in England and Wales, based in London. It collects and channels funds to established charities that are already managing programs in local communities. Five charities set in four different developed countries have already been researched and assessed, and are eligible for the VSF International grants and volunteering support. Actions we support
The programmes we support fall into three broad categories: Those that aim to integrate the marginalised communities, those that educate through volunteers, grants and scholarships and those that provide interest-free loans and business mentorship to struggling entrepreneurs. The projects are selected based on organisations alignment with our principles and schools of thought as well as their full compliance with regulations and governance.
A network
The VSF international operates as a network of locally registered VSF charities in selected countries. Each local VSF will follow the same core operating rules, ethos and transparency standards. Within these parameters, each local VSF will be autonomous and have decision making authority to enable them to adapt to the specific social needs of their local communities. As such, we aim to build a community of holding hands by linking and supporting projects that can run independently.