What We Do
Strengthening communities, organisations and the philanthropic ecosystem
Our Strategy
We strive to create impact at three levels - for communities, for organisations and for the broader philanthropic sector.
Communities
Addressing the unmet needs of vulnerable and marginalised communities
Organisations
Developing strong and strategic organisations
Ecosystem
Promoting better practises and creating a supportive philanthropic sector
Communities
Addressing the unmet needs of vulnerable and marginalised communities
We aim to improve the lives of the most vulnerable individuals and families across Asia - those who are underserved and under-represented. To reach these groups we partner with local organisations who have a deep understanding of their communities and the issues they face.
To find organisations working with vulnerable communities, we look for non-profits addressing deep-rooted social issues; those that are complex, overlooked or culturally taboo. These on-the-ground experts work tirelessly to address immediate needs and change systems; our role is to support these organisations and their teams.
Organisations
Developing strong and strategic organisations
We believe that local leaders are the experts and know how best to help their communities. Because they are focused on serving their communities, we know they often lack the resources, systems and capacity to reach their full potential. We also know that lasting change doesn’t happen within short grant cycles; it requires organisations that deeply understand the issues and are committed to solving them.
This is why we aim to empower organisations for the long-term, helping them develop the capacity, systems and leadership needed to continue their important work long beyond our partnership. Ultimately, we believe that strong and strategic organisations will be more impactful.
Ecosystem
Promoting better practices and creating a supportive philanthropic sector
We believe we can deepen impact and accelerate lasting change for communities if the broader philanthropic ecosystem is strengthened.
Over the years we’ve been increasingly focused on what our role is beyond partnerships. This component of our strategy is informed by our partners and our experiences from a decade of grant-making. It's about improving and increasing resources available to non-profits in the region, and creating a more enabling environment so non-profits are better supported.
Although we are still learning, we are committed to playing a pro-active role in moving the sector forward.
To empower organisations we provide funding and non-financial support to trusted, long-term partners. There is no one-size fits all; our support is tailored to their needs. This partnerships approach is key to who we are and how we work.
Beyond partnerships, we engaged with others in the sector.
Multi Year
Unrestricted
Funding
Non-Financial
Support
Beyond
Partnerships
Multi-Year Unrestricted Funding
Through multi-year unrestricted funding we provide organisations with stability and flexibility. Our grants typically represent 10-30% of our partners' annual budgets and run for three years. We seek long-term partnerships and invite repeat applications based on performance.
As non-profits grow they require investments in people, processes and systems. Functions such as communications, finance and IT become just as crucial as the delivery of services. We trust our partners to allocate resources to where they are most needed.
Unrestricted funding allows organisations to run strategic programming, whilst also strengthening their teams and organisations
And because real life rarely works out as planned, it gives them flexibility. It allows them to respond immediately to community needs, and to move quickly in the direction of opportunity. It empowers them to address challenges and resolve pain points, and to invest in critical behind-the-scenes operations so they can take their work to the next level.
For Manan, our FSSA colleagues would never restrict funding to certain projects or expenses in their for-profit investments, so we don’t do this to non-profits. Restricted funding is burdensome and costly for non-profits to manage, distracting them from what matters.
“It’s a rare opportunity to be offered unrestricted funding. We are always chasing after program funds, which limits our long-term planning. This (support) has given us space to think about what our organisation needs to be more efficient and resilient, so we can continue to grow our impact for years to come.”
Dr. Junice Melgar, Executive Director, Likhaan
Multi-year commitments provide financial stability and frees up team time spent fundraising
It allows non-profits to be more strategic and more ambitious; to have a break from the treadmill of short-term thinking, take risks, learn and plan for the future. It enables them to commit to new hires and build capacity. It promotes innovation and continuous improvement, so organisations can deliver better solutions for the communities they serve.
For Manan it’s more efficient to make multi-year commitments, and allows us to plan into the future. It reduces the administrative burden of grant-making, freeing up our time to give more support to our partners. It also provides a more realistic timeframe for organisational growth and lasting change. From a partnership perspective, working with partners over longer periods allows us to build trust and have more collaborative, open conversations. We develop a deeper understanding of their work and can provide more support, making for mutually beneficial relationships.
“It’s a rare opportunity to be offered unrestricted funding. We are always chasing after program funds, which limits our long-term planning. This (support) has given us space to think about what our organisation needs to be more efficient and resilient, so we can continue to grow our impact for years to come.”
Dr. Junice Melgar, Executive Director, Likhaan
“It’s a rare opportunity to be offered unrestricted funding. We are always chasing after program funds, which limits our long-term planning. This (support) has given us space to think about what our organisation needs to be more efficient and resilient, so we can continue to grow our impact for years to come.”
Dr. Junice Melgar, Executive Director, Likhaan
Accountability is key, and impact is the bottom line
Giving unrestricted funding can make it harder to report impact. Over the years we've found ways to work more effectively with partners on this. We seek to understand how an organisation measures and reports impact, and what success looks like. To minimise paperwork, we typically use non-profits' own internal impact reporting frameworks. We understand that meaningful change requires sustained investment over time and progress isn’t linear.
“Manan’s choice to give multi-year unrestricted funding allows (us) to invest in our team, monitoring and evaluation, innovation, and explore new ideas to solve big challenges, all of which result in greater impact on the lives of vulnerable children and families.”
Magali du Parc Crosta, Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor, Baan Dek Foundation