Grants

The Onassis Foundation’s objective is to promote the values of social justice by providing access to healthcare, education, and culture. In this framework, the Foundation’s Board of Directors has supported projects of a significant public benefit nature, having undertaken their design, construction, and funding by its respective sectors. When exceptional circumstances arise, it commits to co-funding significant projects in Greece and internationally through joint efforts with other public benefit foundations.

In the health sector, the Onassis Foundation is giving a new impetus to organ donation and transplant in Greece, undergirding the work of the State by contributing to the reconstruction of the transplant sector and undertaking the design and implementation of a five-year strategic plan known as the “National Initiative.” A holistic and action-driven approach to organ donation and transplant, the “National Initiative” includes establishing the Onassis National Transplant Center and digitizing the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center. For the Onassis Foundation, every initiative that concerns the upgrade of transplant healthcare services, as well as the strengthening of the organ donation ethos in the country, is part of a greater nexus of activities: the Chain of Life.

As we near the final stretch for the delivery of the Onassis National Transplant Center to the State, the Onassis Foundation, following its commission to the London School of Economics and in collaboration with Imperial College London, has not only completed and submitted the study for the “National Initiative for Organ Donation and Transplantation” but has also initiated and financially supported a team of Transplant Coordinators for three years. This initiative is part of the Foundation's efforts to increase the rate of organ donation and transplantation in our country. The Hellenic Transplant Organization has selected these seven coordinators following a specific process and subscribing to the highest international standards.

In an unwavering effort to upgrade the services offered in skin tumor therapy, the Onassis Foundation restored the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center at the "Andreas Syggros” Hospital and donated the cutting-edge imaging equipment VECTRA WB360 exclusively. Moreover, among the sponsorships provided by the Onassis Foundation is the delivery of the Department of Pharmacology’s lab to the University of Athens Medical School.

In March 2020, during the pandemic era and following a coordinated effort, the Onassis Foundation, in cooperation with the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Health, donated 13.5 million face masks to the Greek society in a gesture of honor and gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and administrative staff of the hospitals. As a next step of this effort to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the Onassis Foundation donated more than 1 million euros to the Ministry of Health to develop a national campaign to mobilize active citizen participation in the vaccination program against COVID-19.

In the education sector, the Foundation sponsors the provision of teaching materials and computer equipment to schools in marginal areas and cultural centers of the Greek diaspora facing severe financial difficulties. In addition, the Foundation supports special schools and integration classes in general school settings where children with special needs and learning difficulties are enrolled, distributing teaching and advisory materials to assist specialist teachers in their tasks and improve the quality of learning experience offered to such pupils. Departments and chairs of universities who have been teaching the Greek language and Greek culture abroad have received similar support in equipment and books over the years, along with complementary assistance when required, helping to disseminate these across national borders.

In the same direction, research programs focusing on sciences and humanities have received funding, as have universities with curricula directly associated with the business priorities of the Onassis Group. Beyond the scholarships granted in a specific context, the Foundation has supported the student community in a plethora of ways, including the funding of participation in student Olympiads for many years and, for over a decade, the convergence of promising young scientists at the annual renowned scientific summit of Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.

Moreover, the Foundation has guaranteed the timely and crucial provision of humanitarian aid in emergencies, such as earthquakes, floods, and major disasters. In several cases and by unanimous decision, the Board of Directors has expressly backed the state mechanism in providing aid to its citizens.

By implementing communication activities of high social value and cooperating with the Greek State, the Onassis Foundation aims to change how we think at large today, how we anticipate situations, and how we raise awareness early on and in the most meaningful way. The “STOP BULLYING” campaign for the new platform of the Ministry of Education, Religion, and Sports is a crucial component of this effort, aiming to comprise a shared network of awareness, understanding, and action so that we can jointly act as a necessary ‘shield’ vis-à-vis violence.

With the climate crisis increasingly afflicting countries worldwide, the Onassis Foundation could not refrain from participating in another campaign to raise awareness and inform citizens. Consistently for the past two years, the State’s fire protection campaign under the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection and the National Fire Department has been steadily implemented with the support of the Onassis Foundation.

In the field of culture, the Onassis Foundation upgraded the night illumination of the grandest monument of democracy, the Acropolis, and improved accessibility to the Acropolis Hill by undertaking the construction of a new, state-of-the-art inclined elevator, as well as the thorough upgrade of the existing disabled walkways.

In its long-standing commitment to fostering Greek culture, the Onassis Foundation has supported leading Greek theater institutions, such as the Greek National Theatre, the Art Theater (Theatro Technis), the Sfendoni Theater Group, and the Attis Theatre. More specifically, it supported the reconstruction of the Young People's Stage (Rex) at the National Theatre, with a new dress circle, stalls, additional boxes, new upper-tier seating, and new lighting equipment.

The Onassis Foundation has also funded the renovation and modernized the equipment and infrastructure of libraries at major museums and archaeological institutions in Athens, supporting in this way the National Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine and Christian Museum, the Benaki Museum, and the Archaeological Society at Athens. In addition, the Foundation has funded the construction, infrastructure, and operation of a specialized library dedicated to the art of classical antiquity at the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Greek and Roman Art in New York.

Under the OnAthens initiative, the Onassis Foundation seeks to invoke a new connection and resonance with the city of Athens, with references to the concepts of wandering and meeting, of joy and empathy through an array of outdoor projects that stimulate the relationship of residents and visitors with the environment, the element of location, the past, and, above all, the present of the city. As part of this initiative, the following projects have been realized to this day: the complete renovation and reconstruction of two basketball courts, a volleyball court, their locker rooms, and a playground in Neos Kosmos; the restoration of the water work “Five Circles” at Omonoia Square; the renovation of four courts in Moschato; the construction of a playground in Metaxourgeio; the creation and reconstruction of a park, a playground, and a basketball court in Mets; and the reconstruction and renovation of six courts and the creation of a skatepark in Elefsina.

In accordance with its statutes, the Foundation is not able to make charitable donations to individuals in need. It has, however, made decisive contributions in the fight to ease social hardship by funding organizations that actively support vulnerable groups in our society.

The Onassis Foundation continues to respond to emerging needs in the fields of health, education, and culture and, when deemed appropriate, will decide on a case-by-case basis to financially support and sponsor independent actions or partnerships that align with its aims and principles. In the coming period, the Onassis Foundation will focus exclusively on completing and delivering the projects it has already undertaken.