Funding of the IRIS Foundation (Support for Blind and Visually Impaired People)

The IRIS Foundation establishes a permanent endowment to sustainably support blind and visually impaired people throughout Germany. The focus is on supporting IRIS e.V. in Hamburg as well as comparable institutions that offer training in orientation, mobility, and practical life skills. Through targeted grants for personnel expenses of qualified rehabilitation specialists and material costs for training materials, the foundation enables affected individuals to lead a self-determined daily life. At the same time, the training of rehabilitation instructors is promoted to expand the offerings in the long term and make them accessible to a larger number of participants. Applications can be submitted continuously, ensuring flexible planning and implementation of projects.

Eligible for funding are non-profit organizations and public institutions that conduct programs for blind and visually impaired people. Grants cover both personnel costs and course and training fees and contribute to strengthening individual competencies. Interested initiatives receive financial support for the development and implementation of innovative rehabilitation and continuing education offerings. The low administrative hurdles allow uncomplicated access to support services. By building a growing foundation capital, the IRIS Foundation creates a solid basis to sustainably improve the participation and inclusion of visually impaired persons and to secure their quality of life in the long term.