Fundació Horta Sud

Fundació Horta Sud is a non-profit community foundation based in Torrent, in the Horta Sud comarca of the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1972 on the initiative of the Caixa d'Estalvis de Torrent savings bank under the name Instituto Pro-desarrollo, it has spent more than five decades supporting the associative fabric of the region. Its stated mission is to strengthen the associative movement as a means of building a fairer, more democratic and more committed society, promoting active citizen participation to dignify the community and the territory. The foundation works closely with associations, their members, municipal councils and municipal technical staff. It provides practical tools, training, online advisory services, grants for inter-associative projects and publications. Its Centre de Recursos Associatius (Centre for Associative Resources), created in 2002, is a core vehicle for this work, offering courses, advice, aid for joint projects and conferences. The foundation also runs the Museu Comarcal de l'Horta Sud Josep Ferrís March, a museum dedicated to the cultural heritage of the comarca, and has published numerous studies and books on associational life and local development. Over the decades the entity has changed its name several times: from Instituto Pro-desarrollo to Fundació per al Desenvolupament Caixa Torrent, then Fundació de la Comunitat Valenciana per al Desenvolupament de l'Horta Sud, and finally Fundació Horta Sud in 2007. It is governed by a board and a president; Imma López Prieto has held the presidency since 2018. Its work has been recognised with awards, including the Cooperació prize from the Coordinadora Valenciana d'ONG per al Desenvolupament in 2019 and the IV Premi de Civisme of the Generalitat de Catalunya, also in 2019. In recent years the foundation has been heavily involved in the social recovery of the Horta Sud after the DANA (the severe storm and flooding that struck the region), launching a Pla de Recuperació i Transformació and calling for collaboration. It continues to publish an annual memory, organise training, manage subsidy calls and fiscal calendars for associations, and produce communication projects such as the podcast 'Entre Veus'. With more than 50 years of history, Fundació Horta Sud positions itself as an essential companion to the associative movement of the comarca.

The Fundació Horta Sud was founded in Torrent in 1972 on the initiative of the Caixa d'Estalvis de Torrent, initially under the name Instituto Pro-desarrollo. Its purpose was to promote community development efforts in the Horta Sud comarca. In March 1990, the Instituto Pro-desarrollo, together with IDECO and other regional institutions, requested the presidents of CAM and Caixa d'Estalvis de Torrent (then in the process of merging) to approve an economic endowment to create a foundation that would continue the sociocultural action of Caixa Torrent. Thus was born the Fundació per al Desenvolupament Caixa Torrent, influenced by the JARC (Joventut Agrària Rural Catòlica), one of the specialised movements of Acció Catòlica, with the decisive contribution of people such as Josep Ferrís March, who would later become president of the entity. After adapting its statutes to Law 30/94, in 1997 the Fundació Caixa Torrent was registered in the Register of the Direcció General d'Interior of the Conselleria de Presidència of the Generalitat Valenciana with number 59 (V). In 2000, following the publication of Law 8/1998 of the Valencian Community on foundations, the statutes were again adapted and the name was changed to Fundació de la Comunitat Valenciana per al Desenvolupament de l'Horta Sud. In 2007 the current name, Fundació Horta Sud, was approved. In 2002 the foundation created the Centre de Recursos Associatius, a commitment to strengthening the associative fabric of the comarca, offering training, advisory services, aid for inter-associative projects and conferences. Since 1995, the foundation has granted €208,671 to 139 inter-associative projects, with more than 763 entities subsidised through its aid programme, which aims to foster citizen participation, strengthen the social fabric and contribute to cultural or social development projects that promote collaboration among associations within the same locality or at the comarcal level. In 2016, through the Somos Súper project, which aims to make visible the work of people in associations and organisations of the comarca, the foundation held a social comic workshop taught by Valencian cartoonist Paco Roca in collaboration with the Escola d'Art i Superior de Disseny de València, with 25 students participating. From this workshop came comic stories about associations collected in the book Històries de Superació, which includes a comic by Paco Roca himself and 14 stories illustrated by 17 of the participating students. In 2018 Imma López Prieto was elected president of the entity. In 2019 the foundation's campaigns to promote associationalism received the prize in the 'Campanyes compromeses' category of the 1st Premis Cooperació of the Valencian Community, awarded by the Coordinadora Valenciana d'ONG per al Desenvolupament (CVONGD). That same year it received the IV Premi de Civisme of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in the 'Ciutadania i Virtut Civil' modality. Since 2015 the foundation has awarded the Colibrí mention to make visible associations that have taken on the responsibility of building a fairer society, improving people's lives. Recipients have included Plataforma CIES no (2015), Plataforma Pobresa Zero (2016), SETEM Comunitat Valenciana (2017), Centre Delàs d'Estudis per la Pau (2018) and ONG Open Arms (2019). The foundation also manages the Museu Comarcal de l'Horta Sud Josep Ferrís March, a centre for conservation, dissemination, research and exhibition of the cultural heritage of the Horta Sud comarca, recognised by order of the Conseller de Cultura, Educació i Ciència of the Generalitat Valenciana on 28 February 1996. The museum is located in ca l'Estudiant de Boqueta, an old farmhouse built in the first decade of the 20th century in Torrent. In recent years, the foundation has been active in the social recovery of Horta Sud after the DANA, launching a Pla de Recuperació i Transformació and calling for collaboration. It continues to publish an annual memory, organise training, manage subsidy calls and fiscal calendars for associations, and produce communication projects such as the podcast 'Entre Veus'.

• 2024

  Launch of the Pla de Recuperació i Transformació after the DANA.

• 2019

  Awarded the Cooperació prize (Campanyes compromeses) and the IV Premi de Civisme of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

• 2018

  Imma López Prieto elected president.

• 2016

  Somos Súper comic workshop with Paco Roca; publication of Històries de Superació.

• 2015

  First Colibrí mention awarded to Plataforma CIES no.

• 2007

  Name changed to Fundació Horta Sud.

• 2002

  Creation of the Centre de Recursos Associatius.

• 2000

  Statutes adapted to Law 8/1998; name changed to Fundació de la Comunitat Valenciana per al Desenvolupament de l'Horta Sud.

• 1997

  Fundació Caixa Torrent registered in the Register of the Direcció General d'Interior with number 59 (V).

• 1996

  Museu Comarcal de l'Horta Sud Josep Ferrís March recognised by the Generalitat Valenciana.

• 1995

  Start of the inter-associative project grants programme.

• 1990

  Instituto Pro-desarrollo, IDECO and other institutions request funding to create a foundation continuing Caixa Torrent's sociocultural action; Fundació per al Desenvolupament Caixa Torrent is born.

• 1972

  Foundation created in Torrent as Instituto Pro-desarrollo on the initiative of Caixa d'Estalvis de Torrent.

A community foundation that strengthens the associative movement of Horta Sud through training, advice, grants and cultural initiatives, working alongside associations and local councils.

• Centre de Recursos Associatius

  Offers training, advisory services, aid for inter-associative projects and conferences.

• Projectes Interassociatius grants

  Grants to foster cooperation among associations; since 1995, €208,671 awarded to 139 projects involving over 763 entities.

• Museu Comarcal de l'Horta Sud Josep Ferrís March

  Museum for the conservation, dissemination, research and exhibition of the cultural heritage of Horta Sud.

• Formació per a Associacions

  Training programme for associations, with courses and a training plan.

• Útils Pràctics i Quaderns Pràctics

  Practical resources to facilitate the daily management of associations.

1. 1Enfortim el Moviment Associatiu - Fundació Horta Sudfundaciohortasud.org
2. 2Formació per a Associacions | Fundació Horta Sudfundaciohortasud.org
3. 3Benvinguda | Fundació Horta Sudfundaciohortasud.org
4. 4Fundació Horta Sud - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5Fundació Horta Sud - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org