Kára Stefánsson, better known as the founder of deCODE, told reporters
that another group he founded, The Children’s Welfare Fund, was saved
by investing it in foreign companies.
“We invested overseas last summer,” Stefánsson told Morgunblaðið, “I was afraid the fund would go up in smoke, so we moved the fund out, thank God. That means we have 800 to 900 million instead of 300 million.”
The fund paid out 30 million ISK for free-time activities for children this summer. 57 organizers in 30 locations around the country receive the fund in order to prepare activities for children both urban and rural.
Stefánsson founded the fund in 2000 with the Ministry of Social Affairs, with the initial priority given to providing lunches for children. “There’s a danger during the summer time when everything is free and easy that children won’t get anything to eat during the day. And there’s also kids who don’t get lunch at home, especially towards the latter part of the month.”
Due to the financial crisis, Stefánsson decided to expand the fund to cover a broader area of assistance for children in Iceland. Moving the fund into overseas companies before the crash has managed to keep the fund strong, according to Stefánsson.