Grantmaking

In our first six years of grantmaking (2000-2005), Firelight, including our Donor Advised Fund, made 383 grants to 203 organizations serving children in 12 African countries, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. These grants totaled more than $4.4 million. In Fiscal Year 2005, Firelight, including our Donor Advised Fund at Tides, awarded 35 new grants and 65 regrants in 13 countries totaling nearly $1.4 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 both need and opportunity for the most substantial 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 12 percent of the world’s population, it contains more than 60 percent of all people living with HIV, and more than 80 percent 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 little money makes it to them. Firelight Foundation has responded to this situation by targeting our funds directly at community-based organizations that are serving or effectively advocating for children orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS.

In our first year, Firelight accepted unsolicited proposals from locally run organizations in any country in Sub-Saharan Africa. By 2002 we were inundated with requests and decided to concentrate on countries based on several criteria, including highest level of need and the most limited access to funds. In 2005 Firelight awarded grants in response to unsolicited proposals from seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: 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.

Firelight seeks to address funding gaps and we work closely with our Advisory Board to ensure that we direct our grants 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 small, worthy organizations that may not 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 HIV/AIDS and poverty is to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to provide for their care. Firelight funds grassroots organizations that support households and communities 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 who need special care, and abused children requiring 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 initiatives, and are sensitive to the capacity of smaller organizations to absorb and utilize funds. Once a relationship with a grantee-partner has been established, Firelight 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. In special circumstances the Advisory Board or Board of Directors will recommend grants exceeding the $15,000 limit.