1. General information
1.1 General description
Stichting WithWomen (hereafter: the “Foundation”) has been incorporated by the International Confederation of Midwives (hereafter: “ICM”), an international non-profit organization. ICM’s objective is to enhance the ability of midwives worldwide to achieve the global objective of improving the health of women, their newborns and families. The Management Board of the Foundation defines the policy, which policy is reflected in this policy plan. This policy plan is valid for an indefinite period and will be updated annually if the Management Board deems it necessary. Please find below contact details and the functions and names of the directors.
Contact details
Statutory name: Stichting WithWomen
RSIN: 860734183
Registration (KvK): 76666212
Bank account [TBC]
Address: Koninginnegracht 60
2514 AE, The Hague, The Netherlands
1.2 Management Board
The Management Board shall consist of at least three (3) Managing Directors, whose exact number is to be determined by the Management Board of the Foundation but will in any case be an uneven number. The Managing Directors shall be appointed by the Management Board pursuant to the Articles of Association for unlimited renewable three (3) year terms. During the first term, the Management Board shall consist of the following persons:
- International Confederation of Midwives
- Nicola Lambregts-Yeaman – Treasurer
- Myrthe de Geus – Managing Director
All individuals that are directly involved in the Foundation have met the Foundation’s integrity requirements and have and obtained a Dutch statement of good behavior (”Verklaring omtrent gedrag”), or a comparable foreign certificate. Any individual that holds a position in the Management Board, the Supervisory Board (if any) and the Advisory Committee (if any) qualifies as ‘directly involved in the Foundation’.
1.3 Current situation
The Foundation has recently been founded. Therefore, the Foundation has not yet carried out activities and has no financial statements. The organization will comply with all financial and fiscal requirements and upload its financial information, including Annual Accounts as defined in §1 of the Articles of Association, on an annual basis on its website www.WithWomen.charity
2. Mission and vision
The Foundation is incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands and will run its operations primarily out of the offices of ICM in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its principle objective, as well as the Foundation’s mission, as also included in §3 of the Articles of Association, is to improve accessibility to and competence of midwives through quality standards, advocacy, and action. The vision of the Foundation is, secure and positive childbirth, for every woman (tagline – We know that midwives positively impact the health of childbearing women and their babies and believe that midwife-supported childbirth is a human right.
3. Strategy
3.1 Activities of the Foundation
The Foundation’s efforts are entirely focused on the public benefit, namely achieving the previously stated objectives with respect to the care of mothers and children. Since the Foundation was recently founded, it has not undertaken any activities. The activities that will later be carried out, will be fully dedicated to the objectives of the Foundation. The Foundation aims to achieve its objectives by: 1. Undertaking projects to increase the educational and professional standards impacting midwives and midwifery; 2. Advocacy to influence public policy, laws, and budgets of national and international policy making bodies and multi- and bi-lateral organizations and their agencies to increase the educational and professional standards impacting midwives and midwifery. 3. providing support to organizations supporting midwives and their membership associations and those working to increase the educational and professional standards impacting midwives and midwifery. The Foundation only assists other organizations financially when: a. the organization qualifies as an ANBI or holds a similar status in a EU member state; and b. when the objectives of the organization are similar to the objectives of the Foundation. 4. any other activities that may be connected or conducive to the foregoing, all in the broadest sense of the word. The Foundation will be undertaking projects in furtherance of its mission and vision in cooperation with ICM. ICM, as the global voice for midwives, is uniquely positioned to improve midwifery standards, enhance gender equality in midwifery and promote quality childbirth services around the world. The Foundation aims to finance its activities by collecting funds by seeking recurring gifts from donors and charitable donations from both companies and individuals. The funds will be, more specifically, as per §4 of the Articles of Association, received through: 1. subsidies and other contributions; 2. gifts, bequests and legacies; and 3. all other acquisitions and gains.
3.2 The absence of profit seeking
The Foundation is not profit seeking, as stated in §3 of the Articles of Association. The Foundation shall not pursue any profits and the Foundation will use its funds solely in pursuit of its charitable mission.
4. Financials
4.1 Control and size of its assets
No individual or legal entity is entitled to manage the Foundation assets on its own, as if the Foundation’s assets were his or her own. Managing Directors and other policymakers (if any) are not allowed to make decisions on behalf of the Foundation on their own, as the Foundation has a ‘double signature decision system’ (refer to §7 of the Articles of Association). This means that none of the Managing Directors have control over the assets as the Management Board is governed by majority decision. It is also not permitted for one of the Managing Directors to have veto rights. Should a vote of the Board be tied, the Chairman will have the deciding vote. This will only be possible when the Management Board consists of an equal number of Managing Directors, i.e. at least 4, due to the minimum 3 Managing Directors requirement. However, based on the Articles of Association, the quorum requires all board members to be present and the Management Board can not consist of an uneven number of Managing Directors. I.e. it should not be possible for a first vote to be tied. The Foundation aims to use its assets to achieve its objectives as soon as possible. Therefore, the Foundation will not hold more assets than are reasonably necessary to undertake its activities. Should the Foundation, at any point, hold more assets than reasonably necessary, it will use these assets as soon as practicable, and only in pursuit of its mission and vision.
4.2 Costs of the Foundation
The operational costs (such as management costs) of the Foundation must remain in reasonable proportion to its overall expenditures.
4.3 Compensation policy
As per §8 of the Articles of Association, all Managing Directors may receive remuneration of costs they reasonably incur while performing their duties as Managing Directors. Remunerations to Managing Directors are restricted to specified/agreed amounts or per diems for attendance at events.
4.4 Purpose of remaining funds after dissolution
With respect to the dissolution and the liquidation of the Foundation, as per §13 of the Articles of Association, remaining funds shall be spent prior to the liquidation in accordance with the Foundation’s mission. If necessary, the remaining funds shall be transferred to another ANBI with similar objectives, or to a foreign organization that exclusively or almost exclusively pursues the common good, has similar objectives and holds an ANBI-like status in its jurisdiction.
5. Obligations
5.1 Administrative obligation
The foundation meets its administrative obligations. The treasurer is responsible for the financial administration.
5.2 Transparency obligation
The Foundation meets its transparency obligations. It is obligated to publish specific information about the organization via the internet. The Foundation owns and controls a separate and public website. Interested parties can find and download all the relevant information at www.WithWomen.net