MARA - Belarusen in Nederland

Name

MARA - Belarusen in Nederland

Legal name

MARA - Vereniging van Belarusen in Nederland

Website

https://belarusians.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAG), Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

Keywords

• Diaspora community services
• Cultural event programming
• Refugee support services
• Nonprofit advocacy services
• Political solidarity fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

The Hague

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Members pay contributions to support MARA's cultural and charitable projects. In 2025, membership contributions totaled €1,090.
2. Ticket sales: Revenue generated from selling tickets to cultural events, concerts, and festivals. In 2025, ticket sales generated €10,989.
3. Donations: Voluntary donations from members, supporters, and event attendees. Activity donations totaled €594 in 2025, and additional funds were raised during events for political prisoner support (€3,204 in solidarity transfers total in 2025).
4. Government grant: In 2025, MARA received €1,000 from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support its activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

MARA is a nonprofit association of Belarusians in the Netherlands that organizes cultural events (concerts, Kupalle and Kalyady festivals, exhibitions, film screenings, literary meetings, language cafes), provides community assistance to the Belarusian diaspora, supports Belarusian political refugees with practical help (alien passport navigation, transportation subsidies, Christmas gift programs for refugee children), and advocates for political prisoners in Belarus through solidarity fundraising. The organization is the first and primary registered Belarusian association in the Netherlands, entirely run by volunteers from within the community.

Product overview

MARA is a non-profit cultural and diaspora organization that serves Belarusians in the Netherlands. The organization provides community support services including cultural events (concerts, festivals such as Kupalle), assistance with Dutch administrative procedures (Alien Passport), support for political refugees, and solidarity actions for political prisoners in Belarus. The organization publishes news, maintains a community platform, organizes meetups and language cafes, and publishes annual reports. MARA operates as a membership-based nonprofit organization with cultural programming as its primary service offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cultural Events and Festivals
• Alien Passport Application Assistance
• Community Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• €3,204 transferred to political prisoner solidarity causes in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FNV (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2025FNV is the largest Dutch trade union and a longstanding partner of Belarusian independent trade unions (BKDP). FNV organized a solidarity protest on April 16 at the Belarusian embassy in Den Haag to support political prisoners in Belarus. FNV invites the Belarusian diaspora in the Netherlands to participate in solidarity actions.
• LiberecocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLibereco is a key strategic partner for MARA, co-organizing events related to political prisoners and human rights. They jointly organized events such as the 'Vijf jaar strijd en repressie in Belarus' evening on May 24 and the 'From Cells to Courage' event, combining MARA's community reach with Libereco's human rights expertise.
• Music for BelaruscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic for Belarus is a cultural movement co-founded by Alexandra Danshova and Hanna Shybayeva. MARA partners with Music for Belarus for major cultural events including the Kupalle festival and the Voicing the Freedom benefiet concert. The partnership supports Belarusian musicians in emigration.
• Malanka MediaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMalanka Media is a co-organizer of the exhibition 'I am not afraid, let them be afraid' dedicated to Ales Bialiatski. They contribute media expertise and promotion to the joint exhibition organized at Het Atrium Den Haag.
• Atrium City Hall (Gemeente Den Haag)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAtrium City Hall in Den Haag serves as the venue for the Ales Bialiatski exhibition. As a municipal venue partner, they provide space for cultural events organized by MARA and its partners.
• De Foundation Max van der StoelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Foundation Max van der Stoel co-organized the political café event 'Belarus: De Strijd voor Vrijheid en Sociaaldemocratie' with MARA on March 27, 2025. The foundation focuses on democracy and human rights in Eastern Europe.
• Wereldmuseum RotterdamminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWereldmuseum Rotterdam hosted a Belarusian folklore workshop 'Love Birds' based on Belarusian rushnyki (ritual embroidered towels) traditions, developed by Belarusian artist Julia Mekes. The workshop was part of the museum's May vacation programming.
• Syadziba cultural initiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSyadziba is a cultural initiative that supported the NAVIBAND concert in Amsterdam in November 2022. It represents MARA's network of cultural partners supporting Belarusian artistic expression abroad.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Viasna – Human Rights Center: The largest Belarusian human rights organization (Ales Bialiatski's organization, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2022). Provides the broader advocacy umbrella under which diaspora groups like MARA operate and aligns with MARA's exhibition and political-prisoner work.
• Amnesty International Netherlands: Large Dutch human-rights organization that runs broader campaigns on political prisoners and repression, including Belarus. Relevant as a wider institutional player that overlaps with MARA's advocacy agenda and could represent a structural funding or coalition partner.

Others

• Netherlands Helsinki Committee: Dutch human-rights NGO focused on OSCE region and Eastern Europe. Comparable host-country institutional advocate working on similar rule-of-law and political-prisoner issues as MARA, with greater institutional capacity and funding access.
• Foundation Max van der Stoel: Dutch foundation promoting democracy and human rights in Eastern Europe, with a longstanding focus on Belarus. Co-organizes political cafés with MARA and provides institutional partnership for MARA's advocacy programming.

Direct peers

• Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights: Germany-based partnership for human rights focused on Belarusian political prisoners and civil society. Co-organizes events with MARA (e.g., 'Vijf jaar strijd en repressie in Belarus') and operates the same diaspora + advocacy + solidarity fundraising model in a larger market.
• Music for Belarus: Cultural movement co-founded by Alexandra Danshova and Hanna Shybayeva that supports Belarusian musicians in emigration. Strategic cultural partner that co-organizes Kupalle and Voicing the Freedom with MARA, sharing the diaspora cultural-preservation mission.
• Ukrainian Diaspora in the Netherlands (e.g., UVON/Ukrainian Association): Dutch-based Ukrainian diaspora community organizations providing cultural events, refugee support, and advocacy for Ukrainians in the Netherlands. Closest functional analogue to MARA's Belarusian model in the same host country, especially given the recent Ukrainian refugee wave.
• Open Dialog Foundation: Poland-based foundation defending human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in the post-Soviet area, with strong focus on Belarus and Ukraine. Operates the same diaspora-advocacy-policy hybrid that MARA delivers at a community level in the Netherlands.
• BYSOL (Belarusian Solidarity Foundation): Belarusian solidarity foundation raising funds for political prisoners, repressed workers, and their families — directly aligned with MARA's BYSOL collection campaigns. Operates the same diaspora-to-prisoner solidarity funding mechanism that MARA channels events proceeds into.

Regional players

• Belarusian Community in the UK: UK-based Belarusian diaspora association providing cultural events, language support, and advocacy for Belarusians in the United Kingdom. Operates an essentially identical diaspora-support model to MARA in a different Western European geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/marabynl
• Facebookfacebook.com/marabynl
• Instagraminstagram.com/marabynl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marabynl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MARA - Belarusen in Nederland