Today, thanks to the players of Svenska Postkodlotteriet, 59 non-profit organisations received more than 1 billion Swedish kronor, almost 100 million euro. This substantial contribution will help them continue their work for people and the planet.

Picture: Eva Struving and Anders Årbrandt, Managing Directors of Svenska Postkodlotteriet

"A special day for the Postcode Lottery, but with the war in Ukraine on our minds, it is also a day of mixed feelings", said Eva Struving, Managing Director, during the Annual Charity Event of Svenska Postkodlotteriet. It summed up the sentiment when 59 non-profit organisations received a share of over one billion kronor.

About 20 of the charity partners that received a contribution, work with Ukraine. Several for many years. "Emergency measures such as those we have seen in recent weeks are crucial, but the strength also lies in the long-term work," explained Anders Årbrandt, Managing Director at the Postcode Lottery. "These are organisations that were in place in Ukraine before the crisis, they are there during the crisis and they will be there after - it is very important to us and therefore our support is recurring year after year."

New partner
During the Charity Event, which was presented by Swedish TV-host Rickard Sjöberg, six innovative Dream Projects were awarded funding. The Läxhjälpen Foundation received a warm welcome as a new partner and received its first check. It's a non-profit fundraising foundation that conducts homework assistance in socio-economically vulnerable areas.

A thematic fund for Girls Education of 50 million Swedish Krona was presented, where organisations will work together for equal educational opportunities for girls around the world.

In 2021, nearly one million players of the Postcode Lottery contributed, which means 20% of the Swedish households are player of the lottery. Svenska Postkodlotteriet started in 2005 and has since generated more than SEK 13 billion for civil society, over 1,2 billion euros.

Independent media outlets
The Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), with over 25 years of expertise in funding independent media outlets, also received funding. On behalf of the players of the Postcode Lotteries in Sweden, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands together, MDIF received a check of €3,223,200.

"A welcome and very emotional moment in these dark days," COO Majka Nemcova said, while thanking the players and the people of the Postcode lotteries for this token of solidarity in these awful times. The contribution is meant for ‘Pluralis’, a fund to strengthen media freedom and pluralism in Eastern Europe. For their battle for free, accurate and critical media, MDIF also receives funding from foundations like Open Society Foundations, Sida, Luminate, Democracy & Media Foundations and Stichting DOEN.

'Without facts, you can't have trust'
MDIF supports the important work of Maria Ressa, a Filipino-American journalist, who was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Dmitry Muratov for 'their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace'.

Ressa, who is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler, an independent media platform based in Manila, was interviewed during the Charity Event. She states: "Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with our world’s existential problems".

Watch the impressive Nobel Peace Prize laureate of Maria Ressa: