Project Flying Rivers

Your donation is pooled with other donations and then transferred to the bank account of Fundação Opção Verde in Manaus. This is our 100% Brazilian foundation which exists for over 10 years and is responsible for the preservation of over 120.000 hectares of pristine Amazon rainforest. Donations are used to buy land, to improve the legal status of purchased parcels of land in order to protect them from activities that harm the forest via law enorcement, and for empowering local communities in forest preservation. Donations are sometimes subject to a transaction fee from a third party or bank that facilitates the payment or transfer. Those costs are often deducted from the amount donated. Together with our accountant we publish annual accounts with which we give insight in the transfer of funds to our Dutch foundation SBB and from there to our foundation in Brazil.

Every donation to our Brazilian foundation needs to be accompanied by a letter with instructionsand a declaration for the bank regarding the origin of the funds. With these documents the bank can release the funds so the foundation can access the money. We need to inform our team in Brazil that the donation is coming their way so that they can concur this with the Brazilian bank. By pooling donations we can minimise transaction costs and we can make sure all proper actions can be taken by us and the local team so that no donation money is lost due to specific or additional bank requirements. A Brazilian foundation is not free to use direct donations from other countries without this clearance.

Most projects focus on planting new trees. This is great, but it is also an incentive to cut trees. Because trees and forests that already exist do not generate enough money and subsidy. They are from a legal perspective less valuable than land that is cleared. We think this is a problem. Old standing forests have many benefits compared to plantations of trees. These benefits can be found in biodiversity, their capabilities to regulate climate and store carbon for example. Your donation is used to educate local communities and institutions on the value of standing forests, to undertake economic activities that do not harm the forests, and to legalise the lands to a level which prevents them from being harmed or cleared by anyone (including governmental organisations).

No. In Brazil this does not exist. Our Dutch foundation does not yet meet all the requirements needed to file for the ANBI status. We are currently still working on the preparations for this next step. If you think you can help us don't hesitate to contact us.

Yes, you can. It is a long, (and expensive) journey, but definitely a great adventure and we'd love to have you over. Contact us for details and planning.

Yes, please visit the website of Fundação Opção Verde or contact the team in Brazil. They can help you with satellite imagery, coordinates or specifics about the lands and the activities of the foundation. Find out more about the foundation, the team and different ways to contact us via www.opcaoverde.org.

Although we are board members of Fundação Opção Verde and Our Dutch foundation SBB, we raise funds without recovering any of the costs for our fundraiser from either of these foundations. All of the costs for the Flying Rivers fundraiser, all expenses, the costs for the boat and our daily expenses are outside the budget of Fundação Opção Verde and SBB completely privately financed. None of the donations, not even partially, are being used for the Flying Rivers fundraiser or any type of overhead. All the funds we raise with our activities go 100% to the foundation, except third party transaction fees for the transfer of funds.

The first milestone is 50 members, beyond the scope of direct family and close friends. So, for now, there is limited space in the community, unless we all decide to grow further.

A solid, (net)working but also pleasant community that feels like family stands or falls with active likeminded participants. Because the primary goal is nature enjoyment and preservation, we want to keep some of the things we do - beyond collecting donations via our website - exclusive to those who deal with this closely and not from nefarious incentives such as greenwashing or other unjustified or misleading claims. That is why it is important for us to be careful with new additions and accept new members after proper checks or endorsements.

Flying Rivers is free but it is strongly encouraged to donate in order to help Fundação Opção Verde preserve pristine rainforest.

Flying Rivers reserves the right to cancel membership unilaterally at any moment, without restriction for whatever reason the board and or it's members see fit. Usually a member is expelled if the member concerned does not comply with the General Terms and Conditions or otherwise engages in or expresses behaviour that is considered improper by the boeard member(s) or Flying Rivers members.

Privacy sensitive information is only shared online between members that have login access to this part of the website. As a member your data is protected by this mechanism to prevent you from being harassed by people with whom you do not want to collaborate. Within the member area you are protected as well, albeit less strict.

Once your membership is admitted, you can log-in and use the site as a member. The site and connected systems serve as an information and communication platform and it allows to schedule the participation of events.

Contact us as you normally do, and if we're hard to reach preferably via email, to get your personal username and password.

Nothing. If Flying Rivers is for you, you'll get introduced and endorsed sooner or later.

Sure, just fill out the contact form.