The Diabetes Federation is sharply saying about the activities of the Diabetes Wellness Finland Foundation, which displays funds for fundraising

« It is constant. Letters come several times a year. A meaningful-looking fundraising letters asking to donate money to diabetes research, ”says a woman living in northern Finland, who suffers from type 1 diabetes.

The letters do not come to the woman herself, but to her relative who died last year.

“Recently, the post office brought a cardboard case to the estate with a pen and a foundation bank transfer form. Then the nerve went, ”she says.

The woman says that her family has a lot of first type diabetes. He appears anonymously in the story because of health information, but his identity is known to Helsingin Sanomat.

Woman Many years ago, a late relative had donated money to the Diabetes Wellness Finland Foundation, which has since bombed him in letters. According to the woman, the recipient of the letter is spoken in a guilty tone and painted the research will end completely if there is no donation. In addition, the letters have a bank transfer form that might be mistaken for an invoice.

The woman wondered what the research foundation was like, which uses such procedures for her fundraising.

Diabetes Wellness Finland is also well known in the Diabetes Association.

Director of Diabetes Juha Viertola says that the union will be contacted regularly when the foundation in question has sent people's trinkets and bank transfer forms to people.

« This foundation causes us a reputation harm because people have thought good, meaning they supported our actions, » says

He emphasizes that the Diabetes Association has nothing to do with the Diabetes Wellness Foundation. « We do not send people stuff and don't ask for payments. »

Viertola, in turn, recommends guiding donations to the foundation of the Diabetes Federation To the Diabetes Research Foundation.

Diabetes Wellness Finland has a Foundation in Finland a valid fundraising permit, a business ID and a spectacular website.

On the side 35 Finnish universities or research institutes have been listed since 2012, which have received a grant of EUR 5,000-40,000 from the Foundation since 2012. In 2024, according to the Internet, the Foundation distributed five grants of EUR 10,000.

Helsingin Sanomat reached several researchers who confirmed that they had received a grant from the Foundation but did not want to comment.

Diabetes From the Wellness Foundation to the Helsingin Sanomat, the Swedish member Anders Lundgren. In his email response, he regretted that the late relative of a northern Finnish woman had received funds even after his death.

« This doesn't sound good. »

He says that since its foundation Diabetes Wellness Finland has had established procedures and customer service since its inception, responding to calls, emails and mail, and can easily request their name to delete their name, make address changes, or order free diabetes products.

“I don't know why it didn't work this time. We can investigate why this happened if the reader wanted, ”says Lundgren.

He also apologizes if the tone of the letters of the foundation seems threatening. “It's not our purpose.”

According to Lundgren, the purpose of the letters is to communicate diabetes and its research, to encourage a healthy lifestyle, and ask for donation.

« All donations are always volunteers, » Lundgren emphasizes.

For the first time, Lundgren says he will hear that the Diabetes Association would have caused problems with the Foundation. “We are two different organizations that work in Finland for the same goal. We can contact them and ask if we can do something about it, ”Lundgren says.

The Diabetes Wellness Foundation was founded in the United States in 1993.

According to Lundgren, the Foundation operates in France, Britain, Sweden, Finland, Norway and the United States.

In 2023, according to Lundgren, the Foundation raised a total of EUR 1.75 million from diabetes, supporting and preventing people with diabetes, and financing diabetes research.

Since 2007, the Nordic countries have spent nearly EUR 15 million on the Foundation's research money.

According to Lundgren, the Foundation has spent a total of EUR 180,000 for 15 different research projects in the last three years.

Helsinki university emeritus professor Timo Otonkoski Served at the Diabetes Wellness Foundation's Grant Application Committee from 2015 to 2016, when the Foundation just started its operations in Finland.

In his position, Otonkoski assesses applications from Swedish scholarships or research institutes solely.

As a member of the grant committee, he had no information on how much of the Foundation's income was distributed as scholarships.

Otonkoski left the foundation after a couple of years: « The Foundation's operating model with begging letters did not feel good. »

However, he wants to encourage private people to support diabetes research.

« Through research, we can find solutions for this increasingly generalized disease that touches many, causes a lot of suffering, and takes our shared funds » ”

He recommends guiding donations For the Diabetes Research Foundation. « It is the only foundation in Finland that has focused on this area and through it donations are reliably go to a Finnish high -quality diabetes study. »