WHAT YOU CAN DO
We in the Skees family are living proof that any old person can launch a foundation. We believe in intention—and in the trying, even if we’re not Oprah or Mother Theresa or Melinda and Bill Gates. If you haven’t the time or inclination to create an endeavor of your own, however, you can make a difference with a loan, a scholarship, a check, or an afternoon.
Care. We believe that you matter, and that every small act of care ripples out far beyond what you or we can see.
Investigate. One mission. Read about our dedicated programs run by tireless visionaries who work long days all year to change the world for good. Follow our links, or read beyond our programs into other causes that stir your own passion.
Broadcast. Take one nugget—a fact or story that touches you—and send it out to your contacts. Last year more than $2 billion was raised for social causes through social media, according to American Public Radio’s Marketplace. So, never underestimate your power to influence . . . or just to inform.
Volunteer. One hour. Michael’s choral group sings for a nursing home in California. Shelly and Ron sort donations at a food pantry in Kentucky. Jonah’s class collects toxic trash from the fragile Pacific coastline. Right where you live, someone needs your particular talent—and your most precious gift, your time.
Donate. One dollar. The counterintuitive truth is that governments and billionaire philanthropists give a fraction of what we little people add up to in charitable donations. According to Giving USA, 83% comes from individuals. Be the power at the grassroots. Collectively, we can do anything.
Our Grantees
Hover over the markers below to see more information.
Filter grantees by Category
Freedom From Hunger
1644 Da Vinci Court
Davis California
United States
https://www.freedomfromhunger.org/help/online.php?origin=skees
Description: Microfinance services to women and families in developing countries--combined with healthcare and education.
Our Connection: Read about how Freedom from Hunger first motivated us to reach beyond our own small-town privileges to get into microfinance; why they were our first partner, and why we still support them today.
A Special Partner of the Skees Foundation
FEATURED GRANTEE: Freedom from Hunger
V-Day/United States headquarters
11 East 22nd St
New York NY
United States
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Day works to end rape, battering, and mutilation of children and women around the world; our V-Peace scholarships support survivors of domestic and military violence in high school, college, and vocational studies.
Our Connection: FEATURED GRANTEE: Check out why this growing group of visionary women and men inspired us to establish educational scholarships to really change the outcome for survivors of violence.
A Special Partner of the Skees Foundation
FEATURED GRANTEE: V-Day's V-Peace Scholarships
Dayton Christian Center--Kitchen Remodel
1352 West Riverview Avenue
Dayton OH
United States
http://www.daytonchristiancenter.org/index.php
Description: Remodel project--turning an old kitchen into an industrial-capacity facility for cooking nourishing meals for hungry local children and running co-op cooking classes for their mothers.
Our Connection: FEATURED GRANTEE: Read why we helped raise funds to complete this simple, pragmatic kitchen project to enable Dayton's most vulnerable kids to go home healthy, not hungry.
A Special Partner of the Skees Foundation
FEATURED GRANTEE: Dayton Christian Center Kitchen Remodel
The School Fund
Palo Alto California
United States
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Our Connection: FEATURED GRANTEE: Read what's so different about this online crowd-funder for education that they became our newest partner, just weeks after incorporating.
A Special Partner of the Skees Foundation
FEATURED GRANTEE: The School Fund
Vittana
617 Eastlake Ave, Suite 210
Seattle WA
United States
Description: Vittana builds loan programs for tertiary students in 12 countries: Bolivia, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Jordan, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Vietnam. They fundraise for each student on their vibrant website. Since their launch in 2009, Vittana has partnered with 22 microfinance and financial organizations to tailor-make programs for each particular geography. Their expertise is in vetting and monitoring in-country organizations, helping them build loan products for students, and proving the validity of student loans. So far, they've seen a 99.8% repayment rate by students, with graduates' incomes jumping an average of 291%; e.g., from $6/day to $18/day worldwide.
Our Connection: We're proud to list Vittana as our first social-impact investment as we begin to mobilize a portion of our foundation's corpus into a mission-related portfolio. In other words, we're putting more of our money where our mouth is--moving funds from traditional blue-chip investments into, in this case, a low-interest loan that empowers Vittana and its local partner, ASKI, to fund more college loans than their student-by-student investors can support. Our portion of the Vittana-MicroCredit Enterprises debt fund will help create loans for 1,000 additional students in the Philippines by autumn 2012. To learn more about this unique opportunity to invest in the future of global youth, contact kate@vittana.org.
A Special Partner of the Skees Foundation
Happy Graduation to Our Family and the World
ACLAM through Freedom from Hunger
Port-au-Prince
Haiti
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#haiti
Description: Already working in 4 rural regions of Haiti to bring Credit with Education programs to poor working women, Freedom from Hunger responded to the 2010 earthquake by raising more funds to support relief and recovery here.
Adhikar through Unitus
Orissa
India
Description: Adhikar’s mission is the economic and political empowerment of the marginalized and deprived communities in rural and urban areas; they
offer leadership training for women and health/nutrition training for youth. 62,000 members have access to savings, loans, insurance, and remittances.
ADRA, ARARIWA, Financiera Confienza, FINCA, FONDDESCURO, Manuela Ramos, & PRISMA through Freedom from Hunger
Junin
Peru
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#peru
Description: New program to get Credit with Education into Junin and Huancavelica, where poverty is widespread but potential for improvements in economic standing, family food security and, especially, child nutrition, are significant. Currently reaching 18,000 women (that means 95,000 family members) with microloans and health education.
AFODENIC through Vittana
Managua
Nicaragua
Description: Founded 1999, currently serves 4,733 clients, both urban and rural. Mission: to provide financial services aimed at strengthening the family economic unit. Has offered loans for livestock and agriculture, home improvement and small business; now offers college loans via Vittana.
Africa Schoolhouse through The School Fund
Tanzania, United Republic of
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Al Sol through Freedom from Hunger
Mexico City
Mexico
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mexico
Description: Al Sol's microloans, savings, insurance, healthcare--with education provided by Freedom from Hunger--build for 20,000 working families in Mexico City and the surrounding rural region a holistic community of care.
Alcance through Freedom from Hunger
Mexico City
Mexico
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mexico
Description: A subsidiary of Freedom from Hunger established in 2005, Alcance brings savings and credit, alongside training in business and lifeskills, to poor women in rural areas.
Angkor (AMK) through Unitus
Kampuchea
Cambodia
Description: One of Cambodia's largest microfinance agencies, specializes in "finance at your doorstep" with savings, loans, and client protection.
Artemis Center
310 West Monument Avenue
Dayton OH
United States
Description: Direct service to domestic violence survivors; hotline, advocacy, child and adult therapy; community response and legal/criminal collaboration.
Our Connection: Because we have family in Dayton, and because we have loved ones who have survived violence, we wanted to honor this brave group that helps piece/peace families back together.
Bandhan through Freedom from Hunger
Kolkata
India
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Using the existing networks created by microfinance, Freedom from Hunger did extensive research on--and is now launching, with our support--programs that provide health education, insurance, and services to microentrepreneurs and their families.
Bharatha Swamukti Samsthe (BSS) through Unitus
Bangalore
India
http://www.mixmarket.org/mfi/bss
Description: Serves 228,000 women; their mission is to alleviate poverty by providing micro-finance services to poor women, and through them to their families, facilitating increased earnings, better money management, and life quality improvement. "We do not take any one for employment, who believes that some human beings are intrinsically worthy of less respect than others based on what caste their family belonged to. We also do not take any one who believes that to clean the office when necessary, or to share in the cleaning of toilets that they use in BSS, is below their dignity and that such work should be done by low caste persons."
CAME through Freedom from Hunger
Mexico City
Mexico
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mexico
Description: Savings, loans, and Credit with Education to about 187,000 working women in Mexico City; promotes solidarity and responsibility among members as they improve their own professional and economic conditions.
CARD through Freedom from Hunger
Mindanao
Philippines
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#phil
Description: Both a nonprofit NGO and a bank, CARD offers loans, voluntary savings, and insurance to 228,000 clients on the rural island of Mindanao; and Freedom from Hunger adds health services and education to keep working families thriving.
CAST through The School Fund
Chimanimani
Zimbabwe
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Catholic Charities New Orleans
1000 Howard Avenue
New Orleans LA
United States
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/
Description: Disaster relief and counseling for families in the Southeastern U.S. impacted by the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Our Connection: This program reflected the faith-based approach of two Skees members who felt deeply empathic toward families debilitated by natural disasters. We chose a holistic approach that combined short-term counseling and food with long-term housing and life rebuilding.
Children of Kibera through The School Fund
Nairobi
Kenya
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Compass Family Services
995 Market Street
San Francisco California
United States
Description: A program to help homeless families obtain permanent housing, employment, and support.
Our Connection: We want to reach out to families in our neighborhood in Northern California.
CRECER through Freedom from Hunger
La Paz
Bolivia
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Reaches 100,000 ultra-poor women in rural Bolivia; Freedom from Hunger adds education to their loan.
Credex through Unitus
Guadalajara
Mexico
http://www.credex.com.mx/pagina/
Description: Credex serves 40,000 members--mostly women--in 15 branches in southwestern and central Mexico who lack access to financial services. Offers loans to small businesses as well as employed individuals who seek funds for new assets or other personal needs.
Credit with Education Ecuador by Freedom from Hunger
Quito
Ecuador
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#ecuador
Description: Freedom from Hunger works through four local partners to offer Credit with Education classes: CACPECO, Cooperative San José, Cooperative Santa Ana, and Espoir. 13,000 microfinance clients have borrowed a total of US $3,040,680 in loans and have saved nearly US $650,000.
CTC International through The School Fund
Nairobi
Kenya
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
CTC through The School Fund
Maai Mahiu
Kenya
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Dayton International Peace Museum
208 West Monument Avenue
Dayton OH
United States
http://www.daytonpeacemuseum.org/
Description: Child- and adult-education programs for peace and environmental justice both offered on site and in the region; comprehensive museum exhibits on Nobel laureates, the effects of war, and efforts toward peace around the world.
Our Connection: FEATURED GRANTEE: We're pretty sure the rest of our issues won't get anywhere until we achieve peace. Read why we've partnered with the only museum dedicated to peace in the U.S. to expand their reach.
EHC Lifebuilders
San José California
United States
http://www.ehclifebuilders.org/
Description: The SFF worked with this housing-assistance organization to customize educational scholarships for homeless teens: Those who earned their diploma or G.E.D. were awarded small grants toward college or vocational studies.
Emprenda/FIS through Unitus
Buenos Aires
Argentina
http://www.mixmarket.org/mfi/fis
Description: Argentinian microfinance program, now called Emprenda, serving nearly 3,000 working families.
Equitas through Unitus
Tamil Nadu
India
Description: Equitas's mission is to improve quality of life by increasing total household asset value of the financially underserved, by: providing transparent and trustworthy access to financial and other relevant products and services, by deploying cutting edge technology, and forming partnerships and alliances with 889,000 members.
ESPOIR through Freedom from Hunger
Quito
Ecuador
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Credit, savings, healthcare, and education--delivered with holistic care for rural ultra-poor women by Freedom from Hunger. Serves about 44,000 members.
FAMA through Freedom from Hunger
Juticalpa
Honduras
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#honduras
Description: Working through 595 small, local credit associations, Freedom from Hunger delivers business, financial, and health training through their Credit with Education program to 12,600 microentrepreneurs.
FCPB through Freedom from Hunger
Ouagadougou
Burkina Faso
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Freedom from Hunger brings Credit with Education to about 60,000 clients of this local credit union.
FECECAM through Freedom from Hunger
Atlantique
Benin
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Serves over 5,000 poor women with a combination of loans and training through their Credit with Education program.
Finamigo through Freedom from Hunger
Mexico City
Mexico
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mexico
Description: Serves 15,000 members in suburban and rural areas around Mexico City with savings, loans, insurance and remittances supported by health services and financial literacy training. Offers mobile banking in outlying areas.
Finsol through Unitus
Recife
Brazil
Description: Now serving 14,000 members in Brazil: check out an interview with the founder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvbYmjPW2qo.
Flying Kites through The School Fund
South Kinangop
Kenya
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Food for the Poor
6401 Lyons Road
Coconut Creek FL
United States
http://www.foodforthepoor.org/
Description: Serves Latin American and Caribbean communities with food, housing, education, agricultural, and spiritual support.
Our Connection: One of our third-generation youth felt strongly that, "First, you gotta eat." Knowing that we cannot solve food-security challenges just by treating the symptoms, still, we want some of our efforts to reach real people now.
Foundacion Realidad AC through Freedom from Hunger
Mexico City
Mexico
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mexico
Description: This microfinance institution serves poor women in city, suburbs, and country, and strives to care for their clients with flat-rate interest clear-terms on loans; adds education in business development and compulsory savings; serves 17,000 microentrepreneurs.
FUCEC through Freedom from Hunger
Lome
Togo
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#togo
Description: Works with very poor women and youth with the goals of: poverty reduction, employment generation, fostering start-up enterprises and existing businesses, adult education, health improvement, gender equality and women's empowerment.
FUNDAP through Freedom from Hunger
Quetzatenango
Guatemala
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: FUNDAP believes in "development with dignity" so people can solve problems themselves, make good wages as farmers and artisans, and support their families. Freedom from Hunger brings health and business education programs to 10,000 members via the "Mujer y Trabajo" (Women and Work) program.
Ghana Freedom from Hunger
Accra
Ghana
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: An independent local branch collaborates with headquarters in the U.S. as well as a network of 10 local community banks to bring microloans and training to 21,000 Ghanaian women.
GOALS Haiti through The School Fund
Leogane
Haiti
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Good Shepherd Ministries
3105 E. 5th Street
Dayton OH
United States
http://www.goodshepherdministries.net/
Description: Post-prison and addiction-recovery outreach for men and their families.
Our Connection: We wanted to support men who wish to push past their past mistakes, build new lives of peace, and be present for their partners and children.
Gram-Utthan through Freedom from Hunger
Orissa
India
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Using the existing networks created by microfinance, Freedom from Hunger did extensive research on--and is now launching, with our support--programs that provide health education, insurance, and services to microentrepreneurs and their families.
Grama Vidiyal through Unitus
Tamil Nadu
India
Description: Helps the poorest women out of poverty through community networking as well as microfinance access; offers savings, loans, insurance, and pensions to 772,000 members. Also offers enterprise skills development; business development services; financial literacy education; health/nutrition education; children and youth education; and medical services for women and children. Does food relief for members affected by floods during the monsoons.
Grameen Koota through Unitus
Bangalore
India
http://www.grameenkoota.org/aboutus.html
Description: Serves a client base of more than 427,144 in 37 districts in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu; their mission is to help women who typically earn US $1-2/day to start income-generating activities such as trading, animal husbandry, agricultural production, and transportation. They aim to reach 1 million members in the next 7 years.
Harvard Divinity Solutions to Poverty
45 Francis Avenue
Cambridge MA
United States
http://www.hds.harvard.edu/oms/solutionsconference
Description: Community conference as a think-tank for projects assisting youth and families dealing with poverty and crime in urban Boston.
Our Connection: Believing in the power of collaboration, we wanted to bring together students and faculty, nonprofit and community leaders, to see what social problems they could tackle by combining their ideas and resources.
Help Malawi through The School Fund
Malawi
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Jamii Bora through Unitus
Nairobi
Kenya
Description: Beginning with 50 beggar women in the slums of Nairobi, Jamii Bora ("good family") was built by staff who have worked their way out of extreme poverty. Now a triumverate--commercial microfinance bank, affordable eco-housing community, and social-mission nonprofit--Jamii Bora offers 250,000 members health insurance, peer counseling, addiction recovery, and a community of support.
KAS Foundation through Freedom from Hunger
Orissa
India
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Using the existing networks created by microfinance, Freedom from Hunger did extensive research on--and is now launching, with our support--programs that provide health education, insurance, and services to microentrepreneurs and their families.
Kondo Jigima through Freedom from Hunger
Bamako
Mali
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mali
Description: Freedom from Hunger brings Credit with Education to the rural poor in villages far from the capitol city of Bamako, serving about 10,000 women microentrepreneurs in Mali.
Life Bank through Unitus
Iloilo
Philippines
http://www.mixmarket.org/mfi/life-bank
Description: An average loan size of $87 here can make the difference between hunger and industry. Life Bank offers loans, savings, and microinsurance products to 237,000 members.
Life Community-Deduako
Accra
Ghana
http://www.xavier.edu/service-learning/
Description: Residential program administered by students from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio; teaching job and life skills to mentally disabled adults.
Our Connection: While several Skeeses attended Xavier, we didn't have the chance to do service learning in college--but hope that every young person today who wants to give back while learning about other cultures will find a way to make it happen.
Malaria No More
432 Park Ave. South
New York NY
United States
Description: Provides mosquito bed-nets to families in Africa with the goal of eradicating malaria completely by 2015.
Our Connection: A young boy in our family could not imagine how or why children in African countries should become gravely ill or even lose their lives over something as tiny as a mosquito--in today's world--when all they need is a simple net to protect the family while sleeping.
MBK Ventura through Unitus
Java
Indonesia
Description: MBK, which means "family business partners," strives to increase access to financial services (via microloans and insurance), reduce poverty, develop startup businesses, and generate employment for 218,000 poor women in rural and urban areas of Indonesia. Teaches financial literacy, gender equality, and women's empowerment.
Milaan through The School Fund
Uttar Pradesh
India
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Mimo through Unitus
New Delhi
India
Description: Mimo has 91,773 active loan clients and has disbursed 164,159 loans in total--with an ultimate goal of achieving one million loans by 2015. They aim to be one of India's most prolific and established microfinance institutions. Offers insurance, savings, and loans for business, housing, and agriculture, as well as business training. Teaches clients about environmental impact.
Mkombozi through The School Fund
Arusha
Tanzania, United Republic of
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Moksha-Yug Access (MYS) through Unitus
Bangalore
India
Description: MYA’s sustainable model for poverty alleviation is built on a comprehensive first mile rural supply chain, to facilitate job creation and asset creation for the rural poor. Working with dairy farms over the next three years, MYA plans to have a footprint in 10,900 villages, servicing 3.3 lakh dairy farmers through a network of 7,260 milk collection centers and 339 milk chilling centers, procuring 471 million litres of milk. Offers loans, savings, and insurance for life, health, and livestock to over 35,000 members.
Msamaria through The School Fund
Moshi
Tanzania, United Republic of
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Nyésigiso through Freedom from Hunger
Bamako
Mali
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mali
Description: Freedom from Hunger brings Credit with Education to the rural poor in villages far from the capitol city of Bamako, serving about 10,000 women microentrepreneurs in Mali.
One Laptop Per Child
Cambridge MA
United States
Description: M.I.T.-originated rugged laptops for children in developing regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, Central and South America, Europe, the Pacific Islands, and the U.S.
Our Connection: Because we have access to technology and information here in the U.S., we believe passionately that everyone else should too. Access to information leads to individual, community, and national freedom. If we have to, we'll get there just one laptop at a time.
OTIV through Freedom from Hunger
Antananrivo
Madagascar
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#madagascar
Description: Credit with Education programs to 8,000 women enrolled in a network of small microfinance organizations in Madagascar.
PADME through Freedom from Hunger
Cotonou
Benin
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Serves about 50,000 microentrepreneurs in Benin, enhanced by education services from Freedom from Hunger.
Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation Restorative Justice "Hub" Program for Youth
5114 S. Elizabeth Street
Chicago Illinois
United States
Description: "We are a ministry that stands between offenders and victims," proclaims the mission statement of Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation. They utilize "peacemaking circles" of conflict-resolution dialogue, work with at-risk and incarcerated youth, offer support to families of offenders and victims, and conduct community trainings on ending violence.
Our Connection: Our family has a personal connection between first-generation Jasmine, a Skees Family Foundation board trustee, and program director Sister Donna, a lifelong advocate for peace who works closely with youth and runs a healing circle for their mothers in Chicago. Sister Donna and her colleague, Father Dave, offer teens (mostly boys) a court-appointed, holistic, "Hub" alternative to incarceration: afterschool and weekend programs including academic tutoring, job-skills training, sports and recreation. Our grant of $5,000 will ensure they can retain a part-time therapist to assist the boys in healing themselves and recreating their lives.
Pro Mujer through Freedom from Hunger
Mexico City
Mexico
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mexico
Description: Provides Latin America’s poorest women with the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families through microfinance, business training, and healthcare support; offers IT training; serves 24,000.
Samhita through Unitus
Madhya Pradesh
India
http://sdevnet.org/content/samhita
Description: Samhita provides economic services to women in the harder to reach segments of the Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh--one of the poorest, most remote, and hardest to serve states in India. Provides microloans, health education, financial literacy, and business training for about 34,000 members. Also, through eCube, its technical branch launched in 2009, offers free and open source technologies in providing software, engineering and social technology solutions to poor communities.
Save the Children
54 Wilton Road
Westport CT
United States
http://www.savethechildren.org/
Description: Disaster relief, education, food, and medical care for children in need in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East, and the U.S.
Our Connection: When we think about the future of our world, we know that it will be built by the tiniest ones among us. We want to shelter, protect, and nourish children everywhere, so that--like our own kids--they have the chance to thrive.
Saving for Change Senegal by Freedom from Hunger
Louga
Senegal
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/saving.php
Description: Starting by saving just 20 cents a week, ultrapoor women in rural areas of West Africa create their own grassroots banks, pooling funds to grant microloans with interest, and collecting personal savings that pay interest. Freedom from Hunger uses pictorial training, and then volunteer replicators take the savings model to the next village over.
Sinapi Aba Trust through Freedom from Hunger
Kumasi
Ghana
Description: "Giving the poor a working chance," Sinapi Aba Trust serves about 88,000 members with microloans; specializes in training members about environmental impacts and improvements.
Sionfunds through The School Fund
Leogane
Haiti
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Scholarships for school fees, equipment, and uniforms for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
SKS through Unitus
Hyderabad
India
Description: Loans, insurance, and mobile banking to 5.8 million members, mostly ultrapoor women; offers financial literacy and business development education. India's fastest-growing MFI. SKS has struggled with client protection, loan regulation, and corporate profits. A portion of our operational grants to Unitus have supported the nonprofit arm of SKS.
Solfi through Freedom from Hunger
Mexico City
Mexico
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#mexico
Description: Serves 24,000 rural members with financial services enhanced by Freedom from Hunger's Credit with Education programs.
St. Joseph the Worker--Praise Laundromat Project
16999 Ky Highway 80 E.
Elkhorn City KY
United States
Description: Microbusiness laundromat established to employ local residents, boost the economy, provide a community center and laundry facility in a depressed coal-mining town in Appalachia.
Our Connection: FEATURED GRANTEE: Read how we got connected with this small town feeling the effects of economic recession and coal-mining hazards, and whose idea it was to turn an abandoned building into a neighborhood hub: http://skees.org/foundation_news/19-featured_grantee_appalachian_laundromat_microenterprise
Summer Search Silicon Valley
255 Market Street
San Jose CAlifornia
United States
http://www.summersearch.org/about/offices/siliconvalley/
Description: Academic and holistic mentoring, college admissions counseling, and summer service and wilderness programs to help low-income U.S. high school students get to college.
Our Connection: FEATURED GRANTEE: Read why we thought the Summer Search model provided a life-changing chance to get students to believe in their own potential and pursue higher-education goals beyond their wildest dreams.
Swaadhar through Unitus
Mumbai
India
http://www.swadhaar.com/sfa/index.htm
Description: One of the earliest initiatives aimed at providing financial services to the urban poor in India, Swaadhar means "self-support" in Hindi. Offers loans, savings, and insurance to 27,000 clients, along with financial literacy education.
TAFARE through The School Fund
Dar es Salaam
Tanzania, United Republic of
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
The School Fund
Iringa
Tanzania, United Republic of
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
The School Fund
Sierra Leone
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
The School Fund
Uganda
http://www.theschoolfund.org/cgi-bin/dyn?c=info&t=community&m=scholarship
Description: Provides school fees and basic classroom supplies for primary and secondary students in developing countries.
Tiavo through Freedom from Hunger
Fianarantsoa
Madagascar
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php#madagascar
Description: Credit with Education programs to 8,000 women enrolled in a network of small microfinance organizations in Madagascar.
Tujijenge Afrika through Unitus
Dar es Salaam
Tanzania, United Republic of
http://www.tujijengeafrika.org/
Description: Launched in 2006 by six banking professionals with their own seed funding, Tujijenge now serves 13,000 clients in rural Tanzania with loans for business, agriculture, health insurance, and salaries. Currently, they are converting to a commerical MFI, developing environmentally conscious programming, and expanding into Uganda.
TYM Fund through Freedom from Hunger
Hanoi
Viet Nam
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Rooted in the Vietnam Women’s Union and combining social responsibility with professional staff excellence, TYM wants to be a model of best practice for microfinance institutions in Vietnam. Savings and loans for 45,000 members; insurance for 130,000; plus educational and social activities to empower women.
Ujivan through Unitus
Bangalore
India
Description: 925,000 members, mostly women, in urban and semiurban areas; offers microloans for business, housing, family needs, fesitvals, and emergencies. Also offers basic medical services and financial literacy education. Strives to help members become "free of poverty in 5 years" by offering a holistic approach--including "savings camps" for members and schools for underprivileged children.
Unitus
220 W. Mercer St.
Seattle WA
United States
Description: Venture-capital approach to microfinance: provided capital, technical assistance, and management training to small- to mid-sized microfinance organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin and South America. Ceased operations in 2010--read why.
http://skees.org/site_admin/foundation_news/edit/12-the_unitus_and_skees_story
Our Connection: Read why we supported the innovative efforts of Unitus to end poverty through industry--and check out their dynamic local partners, whom we still respect for their tireless outreach to working families.
http://skees.org/site_admin/foundation_news/edit/12-the_unitus_and_skees_story
Upaya Social Ventures
Lucknow Uttar Pradesh
India
Description: Launched in summer 2011 in Seattle, Washington, Upaya Social Ventures' founders bring 18 combined years of research (http://unituslabs.org/wp-content/uploads/pnp-case-study.pdf) in ultrapoverty and work on 4 continents, and a deep desire to effect long-term change for the 1.4 billion people in the world living on less than $1.25 day. Upaya offers a 24-36 month social business accelerator program for early-stage, ultra poor-focused social enterprises. They combine hands-on technical advisory with tailored patient capital to build high potential businesses that benefit and employ the ultra poor.
Our Connection: Having worked with Upaya's founders and board advisors through our former connection via Unitus, we remained in contact to continue cultivating great working relationships with trusted colleagues, then and now. When they launched Upaya, the founders called us for advice and pro-bono communications services. Working closely with Upaya as they launched, we saw firsthand that they walk their talk of "triple Ts": tenacity, transparency, and trust. Convinced of the impact they could have through training locally-led businesses and providing reliable employment for the ultra poor, of their sound financial and social plan, and our own chance to leverage a small grant to get them off the ground, we decided to back Upaya for their first 2 years, 2011 and 2012. Our grant capped the funding needed to launch their first project, a dairy business in the slums of Uttar Pradesh, northern India. The dairy will employ 100 people, and our grant will be recycled into 2-10 further enterprises once the dairy achieves sustainability in 2-3 years.
V-Day/Afghanistan
Afghanistan
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/Canada
Ottowa
Canada
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program
V-Day/Congo
Brazzaville
Congo
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/DRC
Congo, the Democratic Republic of the
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/India
India
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/Iraq
Iraq
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/Kenya
Nairobi
Kenya
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/Kenya
Narok
Kenya
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/Pakistan
Peshawar
Pakistan
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/Sri Lanka
Colombo
Sri Lanka
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/Sudan
Sudan
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
V-Day/United States
United States
http://www.vday.org/our-work/vpeace-scholarships
Description: V-Peace scholarship program.
Village Bicycle Project
Sierra Leone
http://www.villagebicycleproject.org/
Description: The Village Bicycle Project, based in Boise, ID, has grown into a cross-country movement run completely on volunteer power. Launched in 2009, they've logged over 12,000 volunteer hours to deliver 50,000 donated bicycles (and 18,000 tools to repair them) to 13 African countries. Saving folks 4-6 hours of walking per day, the Village Bicycle Project also teaches bike maintenance and targets the needs of schoolgirls and working women. They aim to change the world through self-propelled mobility. Their motto: "empedal and empower!"
Village Welfare Society through Freedom from Hunger
West Bengal
India
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/where.php
Description: Using the existing networks created by microfinance, Freedom from Hunger did extensive research on--and is now launching, with our support--programs that provide health education, insurance, and services to microentrepreneurs and their families.
Vision Fund Cambodia through Freedom from Hunger
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Description: Serves over 100,000 clients "for your family's future," linking financial literacy training with loans for agriculture, business, education, emergencies, and asset-building.
Yehu through Unitus
Mombasa
Kenya
Description: "Lending a helping hand through rural microfinance" to 20,000 members in coastal Kenya, Yehu combines microloans with insurance and business training to "those marginalized by society." Emphasizes savings programs; developing a local coconut-oil factory, solar power, and affordable housing.
