FAQs

1. Who founded Mainel?

Mainel was founded in 1990 by José Rodrigo Rosalén and Carmen Orts Bayarri, a married, childless, Valencian couple.

José Rodrigo was a doctor specialized in Radiology. His kindness, simplicity and dedication stood out and he excelled in his professional practice.

Carmen Orts’ interests laid more within art and culture. In her youth she was an amateur painter and always wanted to promote opportunities for young people. She had a dream of building a world and culture more interested in human dignity.

2. What does Mainel mean?

“Mainel”, Spanish for “mullion”, is a long and thin architectural element which vertically divides a space in two parts. The founders thought the name was fitting for a foundation with two major areas of interest: development cooperation-social support and art-culture.

3. How is Mainel governed?

Just like other foundations Mainel is directed by its Board of Patrons.

The Board of Patrons consist of 9 members. The Board decides democratically, by vote, which projects will be developed during the course of the year. It approves the applications for support that will be submitted to various types of institutions, assigns the contributions from its own funds, and carries out other administrative tasks. Furthermore, the Board submits its schedule, the budget for planned activities, an annual report and a balance and income statement in the manner prescribed by law to the Foundation Register of the Valencian government. As of 2007, the annual accounts are rewieved professionally.

The Board also oversees the work of the administration and management team. They meet monthly to ensure the Foundation is well governed and to oversee all of Mainel’s activities.

In addition, the Foundation has an Advisory Council with a section designated for Culture and another for Development Cooperation, formed by people with extensive experience, including intellectuals, businessmen and journalists who continuously enrich the Foundation’s activities with their ideas, suggestions and support.

4. How are we financed?

Cultural projects are financed by aid from individual donors, companies, public institutions and the income from our own patrimony.

In addition to contributions from the Foundation’s own resources for developmental cooperation projects, Mainel applies for grants that are offered by various institutions. In fact, Mainel receives support from AECID, regional governments, Town Councils, and corporate donors.

The donors who collaborate with the Foundation each year can be consulted in the annual reports, published on this site.

In addition, any willing person or institution can make donations and bequests to the Foundation. They can be generic or finalist contributions, addressed to a particular project. If we accept a donation, we respect the will of the donor at all times, and we make the commitment to provide information about the supported activity and results.

5. What is the relationship between the Foundation and Opus Dei?

The Mainel Foundation is an independent institution, under the jurisdiction stipulated by the Foundations Register of the Valencian government. Apart from this legal framework, Mainel does not belong to and is not under the structure of any other institution.

On the other hand, Mainel’s founders, José Rodrigo Rosales and Carmen Orts Bayarri, belonged to Opus Dei. The couple started the Foundation following the tradition of many Christians, who promote initiatives for the benefit of people in need. They both showed a special interest in creating opportunities for men and women of any background, without discrimination, inspired by Christian humanism.

6. How does Mainel choose its cooperation projects?

Mainel selects projects based on their professionalism, independence and impartiality. This derives from the sense of justice that leads the Foundation’s patrons in their decisions.

The projects the Foundation collaborates with have the following common features:

– Establishment of durable relationships with guaranteed local partners
– Identification of projects is carried out by beneficiaries and local partners
– Support by the management team and the experience of the advisory council
– Involvement of the civil society of the country not only financially, but also through other means of support
– Strict compliance of sponsor requirements
– Ability of the local partner to autonomously sustain the project when the external aid ceases

7. Why does the Foundation lay special emphasis on youth and women in its projects?

We made the experience that young people and women are the ones who can contribute most to develop, improve and dignify the quality of life within a community. Promoting their education makes a huge difference because that way they can become role models.

8. What is the proportion of administrational costs at Mainel?

Since the beginning, Mainel has ensured a careful management to develop structures with low administration costs. The costs of our headquarters and a part of the administration costs are financed by our patrimony.

The administration costs, which are necessary to ensure an adequate monitoring of the projects and guarantee that obtained funds are used properly, take up less than 8% of the total subsidies received.

9. How many people work for the Foundation?

The Foundation currently has 9 employees.

10. Could I work as a volunteer at Mainel?

Volunteers are allocated tasks in some of the Foundation’s activities according to their training, experience and availability. To find out more contact us at fundacion@mainel.org or through the contact form.

In 2014 the Foundation had 80 volunteers.

11. Is it possible to financially cooperate with the Foundation?

Yes, in the section collaborate you will find different ways to make a donation.

If you have any doubts regarding this, you may call +34963924176 or send an email to fundacion@mainel.org. We will contact you and inform you about the different possibilities for your donation (quota, inheritance, bequest, donating stock etc.) as well as your donations tax effective.

It should be stressed that Mainel considers natural and legal persons who support the Foundation with an economic input regularly and indefinite as partners. Since December the Foundation has had 257 partners.

On the other hand, the Foundation considers natural and legal persons who contribute a one-off donation without long-term commitment as donators.  Since 2014 the number of donators has been 366.

12. Can my donations reduce my taxes?

If you reside in Spain, donations and / or regular contributions in favour of Mainel, covered by the Law 49/2002, can be deducted on your income tax declaration. In 2015 the deduction rates applicable have been increased.

In the 2015 IRPF declaration (Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas), as a natural person, taxes may be deducted from 27,5% of the amount of donations, with a limit of 10% of the liquidable base.

In the 2015 IS declaration (Impuesto de Sociedades), as a legal person, taxes may be deducted from 35% of the amount of donations, with a limit of 10% of the tax base limit.

If you are a natural or legal person non-residential in Spain, but you receive incomes in the country, there is also a tax benefit in the amount of your donations.

In order to inform the tax authorities of the amount of your contributions and donations you must provide your ID or Fiscal Number to us.