2021 Annual Report
Vibrant Village Foundation
Embedded Files
Over the past year, we’ve been in awe of the organizations we support, who have continued to innovate and deliver on their missions in the face of economic hardships and health impacts of COVID-19.
Despite their remarkable achievements, committed leadership and resourcefulness, many of the African-led and Latinx-led organizations we fund face systemic hurdles to sustaining and growing their programs. According to the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report in 2018, local and national NGOs in Africa received just 0.4 percent directly of all international humanitarian assistance. Global trends are similar to what we see in the U.S. where, as reported by Echoing Green and Bridgespan, “unrestricted net assets of black-led organizations are 76% smaller than the white-led organizations—despite focusing on the same work.”.
Vibrant Village Foundation is committed to supporting local organizations and recognizes that unrestricted funding plays a critical role in long-term stability and growth. To stand behind this commitment, 100% of our new grant partners received unrestricted funding in 2021.
In this annual report, we’ll give you a snapshot of our grantmaking in 2021, feature highlights from a few of our partners and share more about the shifts we’re making to build more equitable partnerships with the organizations we fund.
Cover Photo: From FOCCAD in Malawi
Unrestricted dollars allow organizations to be more responsive in rapidly changing environments; make it possible to retain staff whose salaries may not be covered by the patchwork of project-restricted funds and frees up organizations to focus on their program strategy and organizational capacity areas rather than tailoring projects to suit donor requests. In other words - unrestricted funding gives organizations control, so they can deliver on their missions more effectively.
“The VVF unrestricted funding really offered us the flexibility and opportunity to really serve on our mandate to the vulnerable groups we are advocating for.”
- Lamnatu Adam Director of Songtaba
[Top Left] Second baby born in the Ebenezer Maternity Wing of the new health facility in Malawi. Photo from Wandikweza[Bottom Left] Community Health Worker (Qhali) Training in Sauki, Peru. Photo from DESEA PERU[Right] Community effort to install a solar powered borehole in Zimbabwe. Photo from LEAP/LID Agency
Recap of our 2021 Grantmaking
Recap of our 2021 Grantmaking
2021 was the first year towards our 10-year target to double our grantmaking by 2030. We distributed $3.9M in grant funding to 26 organizations and 3 VVF programs, which reflects a 13% increase in funding from 2020.
We welcomed eight new locally-led grant partners to our portfolio, which increased the number of local organizations we fund from 32% in 2020 to 58% in 2021.
100% of new grant partners received unrestricted funding.
The local grant partners we fund have annual budgets between $100,000 and $800,000. For many of the smaller organizations, VVF funding is a significant part of their growth.
We developed a new Guide to Funding and Partnerships to make our processes clearer and smoother for current and prospective partners.
Grant Size
Grant Size
$50K-$100K per year for new partners
$75K-$250K for existing partners, depending on organization size
*Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
**Self-Help Groups (SHG) and Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLA)
26 Partners
26 Partners
Malawi -4Uganda -4Ghana -3Zimbabwe -3Haiti -2Kenya -2Senegal -2Ecuador -1Guatemala -1India -1Myanmar -1Peru -1Sub-Saharan Africa -1
A member of the Calebasses de Solidarité (Solidarity Calabashes), the savings group model supported by Agrecol in Senegal. Photo from Agrecol, funded through a partnership with Groundswell International
COMMITMENT TO GRANTEE-CENTRIC PARTNERSHIPS
COMMITMENT TO GRANTEE-CENTRIC PARTNERSHIPS
We realize we’ll never be able to remove the power differential between grantor and grantee, but seek to have healthier, more equitable relationships with our partners. Inspired by our former colleagues at the Peery Foundation, we strive to:
Be a responsible, active, long-term partner to organizations and communities that receive funding
Realize partnership status must be earned through mutual accountability and trust built over time
Respect our partner’s time and expertise
Actively listen to grantees and peers
Be open to honest feedback
Be committed to learning and evolving
Offer support beyond funding
New Grant Partners in 2021
New Grant Partners in 2021
Partner Spotlight: ACADES
Partner Spotlight: ACADES
ACADES (Associated Center for Agro-based Development), founded in 2015, is focused on the economic empowerment of smallholder farmers in rural Malawi, with special focus on youth. ACADES is currently Malawi's largest network of youth in agribusiness with a current membership base of 3,600. Their goal is to reach 5,000 farmers by 2023 working in over a dozen communities across three districts (Mchinji, Kasungu and Lilongwe). ACADES is focused on making agribusiness a viable option for economic empowerment of youth and smallholder farmers by providing access to high quality farm input loans, skill development training and linkages to profitable markets.
Evidence that their model is successful:
Farmers participating in their training program have increased their productivity levels by 30%.
Over 80% of farmers are following best crop management practices (such as recommended plant spacing, timely planting and weeding practices and crop storage).
Farmers have increased their income by an average of 40%.
80% of farmers have increased their household food security and are reporting eating three meals a day.
To learn more about ACADES, follow them on social media or reach out directly to their Head of Growth & Strategy, Hastings Nhlane at hastings@acadesmw.com
[Top] Farmer group supported by ACADES in Malawi.[Bottom] ACADES staff visiting a woman farmer showing her bean crop.Photos from ACADES
Organizational strengthening workshop in Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. Photo from The Garden's Edge
SUPPORT BEYOND FUNDING
SUPPORT BEYOND FUNDING
In 2021, we asked our grant partners what kind of support beyond funding would be valuable to them. Their responses helped us identify where we can (and cannot) bring added value.
Our refined approach to Support Beyond Funding (below) positions us as connectors, facilitators, sounding boards, and advocates for our grant partners, if and when needed:
Visibility & Promotion - We profile our grant partners on our website and promote their stories through our social media.
Fundraising Support - We can connect grant partners with potential funders and share fundraising resources, including ways to access more U.S. funding through fiscal sponsorship or equivalency determination certification.
Learning & Connection - We can connect grant partners to organizations working on similar programs, share information about conferences and other networking opportunities and organize free, online training with professionals in specific fields.
Other Resources - We can share tools like the Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT) that we developed, to help organizations identify and prioritize their capacity needs.
VVF Offices
VVF Offices
With dedicated staff and leadership, our programs in Ghana and Kenya have continued to strengthen their support for rural farming communities. Here are a few highlights of their success from the past year:
Kuutar Naakum is a member of the Songtaar Farmer Based Organization in Foliteng community. His wife, Diana Naakum is also a member of the communities' Village Savings and Loan Association. Photo from VVF Ghana
VVF Ghana
VVF Ghana
Agroecology for Staple Crop Farming
In Northern Ghana, over 1160 farmers (597 men and 563 women) are participating in a multi-year agroecology program to learn climate resilient farming techniques for their primary crop fields.
In 2021, the VVF Ghana team introduced “ripping” as a low-till alternative to traditional plowing which minimizes soil disturbance and enhances soil biodiversity. Farmers who experimented with this method are already seeing increased yields:
“This year [our family] harvested at least 11 bags (1100kg) up from 3 bags (300 kg), in prior years from the same plot of land after adopting the ripping technique and good agronomic practices learned from the VVF demo farm.” - Kuutar Naakum
26 VSLA groups had a cumulative savings of $4,110, with 81 members receiving loans worth $1,925.
25 female-headed households participated in a sheep rearing program to support their income.
Child Protection in Schools
VVF Ghana is focused on making schools safer learning environments for girls while also increasing awareness about sexual and reproductive health within the community. Last year, they partnered with 17 schools to support girls clubs, facilitate healthy dialog for students and foster stronger ties between parents and teachers to prevent and address violence against girls.
VVF Kenya Country Director, Geoffrey Nyambane, with a horticulture farmer in Lower Kokulo, west of Kisumu town. Photo from VVF Kenya
VVF Kenya
VVF Kenya
Farm Input Credit Program
Since 2018, VVF’s farm input program in Kenya has grown from 4,108 to 8,805 farmers in 2021, a 96% increase.
The farm input credit program helps farmers significantly increase their productivity of maize and beans; with many farmers doubling their yields since they’ve been in the program.
In 2021, VVF Kenya piloted a program to support families with vegetable farming as a means to increase and diversify their household income. VVF also helped 4 farmer groups register as independent Community Based Organizations and set up income generating agro-shops.
By the end of 2021, 571 farmers (from 31 groups) were participating in VSLA’s with a savings portfolio of $13,761.
Education Programs
VVF Kenya's tutoring program for primary school students has grown by 114% in 3 years. In 2018, they worked with 2800 students in 34 schools and are now serving over 6000 students in 50 schools. On average, students in this program improve by 43% in English, 47% in Swahili and 51% in numeracy.
VVF Kenya introduced hand washing stations and child-to-child clubs in all partner schools.
Since 2016, the adult education program has expanded from 166 to 1084 participants in adult literacy, computer, business and leadership training.
Welcoming Ruth as our new Partnership Lead
Welcoming Ruth as our new Partnership Lead
We are thrilled to announce a new addition to our grantmaking team.
Ruth Asiimwe Kabugo will lead our grantmaking in East Africa and support our grant partners in the region. Ruth is a feminist and development professional with 15 years of experience in Eastern and Southern Africa. Previously, she served as M&E Advisor for Voluntary Overseas Zambia, Deputy Country Director for Restless Development Zambia and Head of Secretariat for East of Africa Youth Leadership Development Program (Now YouLead Africa). She was also the founder and Director of Youth Line Forum Uganda, a youth leadership organization.
Ruth is a crusader of development being people and not ‘things.’ She spends most of her time nurturing and promoting social movements and supporting local communities to flourish. She has a particular interest in young people that she mentors and coaches while inspiring and connecting young women leaders across the African continent. Ruth is a published author and member of the Uganda Female Writers Association. Ruth is based in Uganda.
Priorities for 2022
Priorities for 2022
Continue building a quality portfolio with a focus on local organizations - In 2022, we will fund
10-15 new local grant partners, across East & Southern Africa, West Africa and Central America.
Increase our annual funding to $4.6M in 2022 (a 16% increase)
Engage with partners through Support Beyond Funding - We look forward to being connectors, facilitators, sounding boards, and advocates for our grant partners whenever needed.
Create a thriving multicultural team - We are excited to create an organizational culture that celebrates and supports the diverse talent of our growing team.
Contribute to our peer network - We’ll continue expanding our peer-funder network, to learn and share best practices in international philanthropy.
Looking back on this past year, I want to pause and give thanks to our grant partners and peer funders whose honest feedback was instrumental in the changes we made to our grantmaking approach. I want to recognize and appreciate our small and talented team for believing in change, for holding each other accountable and for leaning into the challenges as we evolve and grow. I also want to thank our Founder & President, Ken deLaski and our Board for their confidence in our team and unwavering commitment to our mission. Thank you all for being with us for this important work.
Laura Koch
Executive Director, Vibrant Village Foundation
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