The Corona Foundation celebrates 60 years working to reduce inequality gaps in Colombia
The Corona Foundation was born in 1963 as a result of the Echavarría Olózaga Family's commitment to the country.
Throughout his distinguished career, he has collaborated and worked with 14 governments and formed alliances with more than 400 partners.
Fundación Corona has continuously adapted its interventions to respond to the main needs of the country and its territories over six decades, which has led it to be recognized as one of the most admired Civil Society Organizations by leaders for the last 11 years.
His work over the past 10 years promoting relevant education and inclusive employment has resulted in more than 25,000 hard-to-place people gaining access to employment.
His work since 2013 to promote Citizen Participation in the country has allowed more than 30,000 citizens to use citizen participation channels.
(Colombia, April 2023) The Corona Foundation celebrates six decades working to reduce inequality in Colombia. Its work is distinguished by its ability to adapt to the most urgent needs of each region of the country. The family foundation is now in its fourth generation, a family committed to the development of the country.
In 1963, when the foundation was created, Colombia was a very different country. It was still governed under the National Front, there were no elections for mayors or governors, no territorial planning tools existed, and few social organizations were concerned with issues such as education and infrastructure. Furthermore, the illiteracy rate was 25%, and coverage of basic services like sewage and water barely exceeded 30% and 40%, respectively. Faced with this situation, the Echevarría Olózaga family, driven by values such as solidarity, respect, commitment, integrity, and excellence, decided to create the foundation with the goal of supporting education and meeting the basic needs of the children and families of Corona employees. Since then, the foundation has been identifying the needs of the population and working diligently to address them.
6 MILESTONES OF THE FOUNDATION IN THESE 60 YEARS:
For its first 20 years, the foundation focused on working with communities near the company. Its goal was to promote education and provide guidance to low-income students, awarding them scholarships and grants so they could continue, complete, or specialize in their studies. It also worked on business development, employment, and income growth, and recognized the value of the private sector. Furthermore, it prioritized management in the healthcare sector to ensure that all residents had access to this essential service.
Recognizing the need to foster entrepreneurship in Colombia to generate more opportunities, Fundación Corona launched the Business Development Fund in 1985. This initiative offered resources, training, and technical assistance to the country's entrepreneurs to help them establish and grow their businesses. Throughout this period, the foundation has continued its work in parallel, supporting education and social infrastructure projects.
Thanks to the knowledge the Echavarría Olózaga family acquired in their businesses and work methods, in 1986 they decided to apply this expertise to improve social management. They began supporting the administration of San José Hospital in Bogotá and developed the Hospital Management Improvement Program (GEHOS) . This program enabled the Corona Foundation to contribute to the establishment of the foundations of Law 100, the Comprehensive Social Security System in Colombia. Simultaneously, they worked on creating programs to improve the justice system, such as Excellence in Justice , and innovative programs in the education sector, such as the Corpoeducación program.
In the late 1990s, to foster citizen participation, the foundation developed new mechanisms aimed at making citizens feel involved and increasing community engagement through programs like Bogotá Cómo Vamos and the Civic Award. These initiatives improved how the foundation connects with citizens and promotes their participation.
Between 2000 and 2010, the models that the foundation and its partners had been developing began to be replicated and transferred nationally and internationally. Some of the most relevant were: the Cómo Vamos model, which has 21 replications in the country and more than 10 internationally; and the Productivity Pact model , which promoted the labor inclusion of people with disabilities in several cities in the country and internationally.
Over the past 10 years, recognizing and addressing the country's needs, the foundation has adjusted its strategies and initiatives to focus on Education, Employment, and Citizen Participation. With this new approach, Fundación Corona dedicated itself to consolidating two models to guide its action plans and impact various vulnerable populations:
The first, the Inclusive Employment Model developed in 2016, is a tool to identify the needs of the population, the actors and the strategies that can be implemented to improve labor linkage, understanding that this starts from education, helping to attack the barriers that prevent the Colombian population from accessing and remaining in the labor market.
The second, the Participa+ Citizen Participation Model created in 2018, is a guide that allows us to understand that the relationships between citizens and institutions must be linear, in order to break down the barriers that limit citizen participation and diminish the value of democracy, allowing us to understand and address the problems of citizen involvement in local environments.
Today, 60 years later, after working with 14 different governments in Colombia, more than 400 partners and allies, and participating in important national and international networks, Fundación Corona's commitment to the country only grows. Currently, it works by generating knowledge, developing tools, and influencing and impacting through data to activate and mobilize systems and deploy comprehensive solutions across Colombia. Over the past 10 years, thanks to new partnerships and innovative initiatives, the foundation has contributed to:
More than 25,000 people from populations with difficult placement accessed employment.
More than 120,000 people will participate in training processes for socio-emotional skills and more than 50,000 people will receive information to make decisions about their education and employment paths.
More than 1,000 companies were advised on the labor inclusion of populations with difficulty in placing jobs.
More than 30,000 citizens will use citizen participation channels.
More than 300 relevant technical documents were created.
More than 21 billion pesos invested directly from the Corona Foundation, leveraging approximately 176 billion pesos through partners and allies.
Fundación Corona, one of the most admired Civil Society Organizations by leaders for the past 11 years, is celebrating its 60th anniversary and taking the opportunity to share the lessons learned throughout its history. It expresses its gratitude to all those who have worked with and placed their trust in the organization and calls upon all stakeholders in the country—from national and local government to private companies, citizens, the media, and academia—to continue working together to address the challenges that remain in Colombia.
“Today we celebrate 60 years working for Colombia and reaffirm our commitment to continue helping reduce the country's inequality gaps. We invite all stakeholders to join us in the search for solutions that will impact Colombia, to develop better conditions, strengthening institutions and the various actors to create an increasingly equitable and sustainable country,” stated Daniel Uribe, Executive Director of Fundación Corona.
We invite you to explore all the reports, initiatives, and projects that have been supported by the Foundation over these 60 years at: https://www.fundacioncorona.org/