Nationaal Restauratiefonds (National Restoration Fund Netherlands) made 70 million euros available for monuments organizations that are normally open to public but were forced to close their doors due to Covid 19 which have led to losses in their sales.
Monumemts Fund Aruba (SMFA) is a foundation that is not subsidized by the government and depends on the income from their tenants. Due to the economic crises caused by the pandemic some of our tenants were forced to close their doors. This made it difficult for them to pay their rent. As a result of this SMFA has reduced the rent for these tenants who did not generate any income. For this reason, The Monuments Fund decided to apply for the loan NRF was offering to the monuments organizations. At first the loan was only offered for organizations in the Netherlands, but after SMFA applied for a loan, NRF decided to put 750.000 euros available for the Dutch Caribbean Islands. At the end of June SMFA got the good news that the application was approved. It is a loan for a period of fifteen years at 1 % interest that the organizations must start to pay back in three years. The amount varies per organization.
The Monuments Fund is very grateful for the cooperation of the NRF and for creating possibilities for the organizations to surpass these difficult times. Thanks to this loan we can keep preserving our monuments for future generations.
