Grantmaking

In its first five years of grantmaking (2000-2004), the Firelight Foundation, including our Donor Advised Fund, has made 284 grants to 168 organizations serving children in 12 African countries and the United States. These grants totaled more than $3 million. In fiscal year 2004, Firelight awarded 44 new grants and 65 regrants in 10 African countries totaling nearly $1.2 million.

Where We Fund and Why
Firelight’s decision to focus our grantmaking on eastern and southern Sub-Saharan Africa was based on an assessment of the need and the opportunity for greatest impact. Of all the regions in the world, Sub-Saharan Africa is by far the worst affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Home to only 10% of the world’s population, it contains more than 60% of all people living with HIV and more than 80% of the children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS worldwide. Grassroots organizations operating throughout Africa provide the frontline response to this crisis, yet very few dollars make it to the ground level. The Firelight Foundation has responded to this situation by targeting its funds directly to community-based organizations that are serving or effectively advocating for children orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS.

In our first year (2000), Firelight accepted unsolicited proposals from locally-run organizations in any country in Sub-Saharan Africa. By 2002, we were inundated by requests and decided to concentrate on fewer countries that had the highest level of need and the most limited access to funds. In 2004, the Firelight Foundation awarded grants in response to unsolicited proposals from seven countries: Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In addition, Firelight made grant awards in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda to organizations that had previously received funding or had been invited to submit applications.

The Firelight staff seeks to address funding gaps and works closely with our Advisory Board to ensure that we direct our dollars where they will have the greatest impact. Each year, our staff prepares a country analysis that includes data on current donors, access to funding for locally-run organizations, and level of need. We engage in responsible risk-taking and work actively to support smaller, worthy organizations that may never have previously received outside donor funds.

Who We Fund and Why
From the beginning, Firelight’s approach to grantmaking has been child-centered, family-focused, and community-based. We believe that children grow best in families and that the most effective strategy for addressing the needs of children made vulnerable by poverty and HIV/AIDS is to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to provide for their care. For this reason, Firelight funds grassroots organizations that provide households and communities with support to meet the material, educational, and psychosocial needs of children. We look for programs that have local leadership, engage the community in creating solutions to problems, and strengthen the community’s capacity to address its own needs.

While Firelight does not view orphanages to be developmentally appropriate or cost-effective, we recognize that residential care facilities can sometimes offer a temporary and last resort response to children who have fallen through the safety net of family care. We fund residential programs for street children, children with HIV/AIDS needing special care, and abused children needing short-term shelter. Firelight has also provided funds to organizations transitioning from an institutional care model to family and community-based alternatives.

How Much We Give
Firelight provides initial one-year grants of $1,000 to $10,000 to community-based organizations serving children. We strive to make grants that support local initiative. We are sensitive to the capacity of smaller organizations to absorb and utilize funds. Once a relationship with a grantee-partner has been established, the Firelight Foundation makes one-year and multi-year regrants of up to $15,000 per year based on program effectiveness and funding needs. Investing funds over time enables organizations to develop their programs and increase their organizational capacity. Under special circumstances, the Advisory Board or Board of Directors will recommend grants exceeding the $15,000 limit.