Crowdfunding: achieve more by joining forces

Providing a counterweight to unsustainable strategies and practices of multinationals often requires in-depth and independent research. In order to provide CSOs and campaigners with reliable facts and findings that you can use in your campaigns, SOMO has created a new crowdfunding platform.

The aim of this platform is to raise funds within SOMO’s community for research that would otherwise be too costly to finance by only one organisation. Combining relatively small contributions from different organisations and individuals will make qualitative, independent and up-to-date research become more easily accessible for your organisation and partners.

First crowdfunding campaign on tax dodging by Eldorado Gold

SOMO’s first crowdfunded research is about Eldorado Gold, a Canadian mining company that is destroying the ancient Skouries forest in Greece and polluting the surface and groundwater to extract gold. Local communities resisting this destruction are brutally repressed by the police. Meanwhile, there are indications that Eldorado Gold is using a Dutch mailbox company to avoid taxes, even though they are already benefiting from a favourable investment climate imposed on Greece by the EU.

Can you contribute to this research?

We would like to investigate whether and how Eldorado Gold avoids paying taxes and the resulting economic damage to Greece and the local community. Your contribution will ensure that this important research is carried out and the local campaign in Greece gets our joint support.
If enough organisations, groups or individuals chip in, we can start doing our research in July 2014 and deliver the first findings in September 2014.

How to support(opens in new window)