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September-October 2004
Global Giving Round-Up
Overviews of best-practices around the world and links to learn more about them
Microfinance plus: Unitus partnership to aid urban poor in Kenya
Unitus (www.unitus.com), a nonprofit organization that helps microfinance institutions (MFIs) grow to scale, has announced a $1.2 million investment in an innovative partnership with Jamii Bora, an MFI that serves some of Kenyas poore'st populations. "Jamii Bora is one of the most exciting MFIs we've seen on any continent. They offer microcredit loans, extremely low-cost healthcare insurance, alcoholism rehabilitation, and even housing mortgages for former slum dwellers," said Geoff Davis, Unitus CEO. Unitus, co-founded by Mike Murray, a former Microsoft executive and member of the Synergos Global Philanthropists Circle, carefully selects the highest potential MFIs in developing countries and partners with them to accelerate their growth and help them become self-sustaining banks for the poor. Unitus estimates that Kenyan MFIs currently reach only about 5 percent of the potential market, leaving four million prospective clients without access to financial services. The partnership, which aims to help Jamii Bora grow from 70,000 to over 500,000 clients, includes a $1 million line of credit and a $200,000 grant for staff training, and advanced computer systems to support their planned expansion. Jamii Bora was launched when 50 street beggars pleaded with Ingrid Munro, an African-based UN housing expert, to help them improve their lives. Many of those helped by Jamii Bora come from Nairobi's Mathare and Soweto slums; the Kenyan MFI is unusual in that its staff is composed almost exclusively of previous borrowers with a firm understanding of clients' needs. Unitus has partnered with MFIs in India and Mexico, helping them double the number of families they serve. Mike Murray and Unitus were profiled by Global Giving Matters in our February-March 2003 issue.
CSR gains a platform in the Asia Pacific region
The newly formed Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (www.centreforcsr.org.sg) and the Social Venture Network Asia (www.geocities.com/svnasia/) organized the First Asia Pacific CSR Series in Singapore in July. The conference brought together delegates from Singapore and across the region from business, academia, government and civil society. The event featured sessions on socially responsible investing, benchmarking and communicating CSR, diversity in the workplace and cross-sector partnerships, and provided a rare opportunity for leaders in CSR in Asia to network. A highlight of the conference was the launch of the Asia Pacific CSR group, comprised of nonprofit CSR organizations in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand. The objective of the group is to share knowledge and enhance awareness of CSR in the region. One of the outcomes of the conference was the establishment of the Singapore Country Network for the United Nations Global Compact, which aims to encourage local companies to sign on to the 10 principles of the compact. The Centre for CSR's membership includes SingTel, SGX, ST Engineering, Deloitte & Touche, British Petroleum, Readers' Digest and Microsoft.
Philanthropist's $10 million gift to provide safe haven for persecuted scholars
The Institute of International Education (IIE -- www.iie.org) has announced a $10 million gift from philanthropist and economist Henry Kaufman to support the organization's scholar rescue fund, which aids persecuted scholars around the world. The fund provides life- and career-saving assistance to scholars who are persecuted in their home countries, offering grants for them to continue their work at other institutions. The program, launched in 2002, has awarded grants to more than 50 scholars from 27 different countries. The gift is the largest single donation from an individual in IIE's history. Kaufman, who attributes his commitment to international education to his experiences growing up in post-World War I Germany, will present the award at IIE's 85th anniversary dinner in New York, where he will be honored with the institute's Stephen P. Duggan Award for International Understanding. "Recent world events demonstrate how urgent it still is today to protect scholars who are the focus of attack and persecution, and to defend scholarship and freedom of thought around the globe," Kaufman said. (Institute of International Education, September 15, 2004)
Focus on fundraising in India
Indian fundraisers moved a step closer to the formation of a nationwide association at a recent conference in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The conference, held at the Meenakshi Hospital and Research Centre (S.R. Trust) in Madurai, was cosponsored by the hospital and the Centre for the Advancement of Philanthropy in Mumbai, New Delhi's Sampradaan Indian Cenre for Philanthropy, and the South Asian Fund Raising Group of New Delhi. The two-day conference in July attracted more than 100 fundraisers, who discussed the current status of philanthropy and fundraising in India. Case studies included presentations on in-kind donations by the Bangalore Hospice Trust and the fundraising model of the National Kidney Foundation of Singapore. Other topics included an assessment of civil society in India, corporate social responsibility and corporate giving in India. Representatives of several of the sponsoring organizations left the conference with a plan to spur the formation of a nationwide association of fundraisers to advance understanding of fundraising principles and methods among the subcontinent's practitioners. More details on the conference can be obtained by contacting mmmhrc@sancharnet.in, or bala@mmhrc.com.
Heifer Project International tapped for 2004 Hilton Prize
Heifer Project International (www.heifer.org) is the recipient of the $1 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the world's largest humanitarian award, presented annually since 1996 to a nonprofit that has made significant contributions to eliminate human suffering. The award, named for the hotel entrepreneur, will be presented at the Hilton humanitarian conference in New York on October 28. Heifer Project, based in Arkansas, provides livestock to needy families worldwide to help them feed and support themselves. With assets in excess of $2 billion, the Hilton Foundation (www.hiltonfoundation.org) has distributed more than $400 million for philanthropic projects through the world. Approximately 50% of its grants fund international projects. Past winners include Doctors Without Borders and the International Rescue Committee. (Associated Press, September 24, 2004)
Gleitsman Foundation in search of international social activists
The Gleitsman Foundation (www.gleitsman.org) is seeking nominations for its 2005 International Activist Award, which honors individuals in the international community who have inspired change and motivated others in the realm of social activism. The California-based foundation was established by former business executive Alan L. Gleitsman in 1989. The $100,000 International Activist Award is presented every other year, alternating with the Citizen Activist Award, presented in the United States. Past recipients of the International Activist Award include Nelson Mandela, Fazle Abed and Muhammad Yunus. The deadline for nominations is November 5, 2004.
Partnership to test anti-HIV therapies for use in developing countries
The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to work with the nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) to test several anti-HIV compounds developed by GSK in topical form for possible use as microbicides. Microbicides are considered a promising prevention tool in developing countries, where women's socioeconomic status and dependence on men make them particularly vulnerable to unsafe sex practices. "This is precisely the kind of collaboration needed between the public and private sectors to develop innovative ways to prevent HIV," said Richard Klausner, executive director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Health program. The Gates Foundation is a major contributor to IPM, which has also garnered contributions from the governments of Norway, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as well as The Rockefeller Foundation, World Bank and the UN Populatoin Fund. Established in 2001, IPM seeks to deliver a safe and effective microbicide for women in developing countries as soon as possible. (International Partnership for Microbicides/GlaxoSmithKline, September 24, 2004)
Taking blended value investing to the next step
The challenges and rewards of "blended value" investing -- a new approach that seeks financial, social and environmental returns -- were discussed in depth at a conference at World Economic Forum headquarters in Geneva in September. The workshop attracted more than 80 practitioners from academia, multi-lateral aid agencies, civil society and foundations, who gathered to explore ways to scale up the growing movement toward blended value investing. The amount of capital available for such investment -- estimated at $2.3 trillion in the US alone -- is increasing, but remains a small portion of the $17 trillion total capital market.
Participants included a diverse array of practitioners, representing large institutions as well as individuals who have created microcredit funds at the local level. Whatever their background, most agreed that making successful blended value investments is even more challenging than investing solely for profit. The workshop focused on investments that are not publicly traded and served to clarify the needs and interests of different types of investors within this field. Participants shared their own experiences with blended value investing, exploring topics such as the value for donors of "smart subsidies" as a way to build capacity to help emerging institutions become profitable; difficulties in packaging blended value investments; the challenges of matching capital with a particular project; the role of government regulations; and the task of measuring performance. The event was sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation, the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum; a conference report will be available on the Forum's website (www.weforum.org) in December. In the meantime, additional background on blended value can be found at www.blendedvalue.org.
© 2004 The Synergos Institute
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