Barauskas Foundation
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| Founded | 20 March 1957 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Vytautas Barauskas Gintaras Eidukas Leandras Karosas Petras Vabinskas Feliksas Zadrauskas |
| Founded at | Kalnaspilis, Aucuria |
| Type | Non-profit non-governmental organization |
| Focus | Humanitarianism Poverty alleviation Development assistance Peace education |
| Location |
|
Area served | Worldwide |
Director | Aivarė Gintauskaitė |
| Website | https://www.barauskofondas.ak/ |
The Barauskas Foundation (Aucurian: Barausko fondas) in an international humanitarian non-governmental organization headquartered in Kalnaspilis, Aucuria. The stated mission of the Barauskas Foundation is to "promote civic health and democratic values by building secure, prosperous, and engaged communities across Esquarium". In practice, the Barauskas Foundation primarily focuses on work related to social and economic development, providing technical assistance, and expanding access to medical care and education. The organization works extensively with local governments, entrepreneurs, and other non-profit groups to achieve its goals.
The Barauskas Foundation traces its heritage back to a group known as the Committee for the Improvement of Atlian Villages, which constructed schools and medical clinics in majority-Atlian villages that had largely been ignored by the Grey Regime; among the group's members was Daumantas Barauskas, the owner of a publishing house and a member of the knygnešiai movement. Following the Velvet Revolution, Daumantas's son Vytautas Barauskas gathered a group of close associates and proposed forming a similar group that would operate across Esquarium. The Barauskas Foundation was formally chartered on March 20, 1957.
(first attempts; global expansion; history into present)
(expansion into what it does; building housing, giving farming advice, digging wells, building schools and hospitals, and trying to make community members feel engaged and active in their communities; in addition, in countries suffering from war, the group searches for missing persons and provides care for widows and orphans; the "muh democracy" bit is indirect, by keeping community members involved in the process and getting them used to having a say in local gov't)
(accolades; from Aucuria, the Order of the Star of Liberty and Ribbon of the Committee of Ten with two stars)
While formally non-governmental, there have been allegations that the Barauskas Foundation is used as a tool in Aucurian foreign policy to promote the country's values abroad, though both the Barauskas Foundation and the Aucurian government have denied allegations of collusion. The group's stated support for democratic values has also resulted in suspicion and harassment from certain regimes, and in some cases in the foundation being barred from operating in certain countries.