We launched our $100 million International Initiative to Strengthen Philanthropy (IISP) in 2005 to build the capacity of a select group of philanthropic organizations of international scope and from the global South to work effectively within their own regions. The effort builds on our support of independent foundations since 1960 and our funding of several prior initiatives focused on philanthropy.
The initiative was developed with the goals of:
- Making a significant impact on the financial and programmatic capacities of participating foundations
- Increasing the flow of domestic and international philanthropic resources to participating foundations
- Forming a well-developed cohort of social justice organizations that actively work with each other, share learning and advance the philanthropy-for-social-justice movement
Global Challenges
Much progress has been made in recent years by governments, civil society organizations, donors, grassroots communities and international organizations toward achieving international goals of poverty reduction, as well as improving the lives, livelihoods and rights of men, women and children around the world. But much remains to be done.
- More than one billion people currently live on less than a dollar a day
- The rights of women and marginalized communities often remain unrealized
- The HIV/AIDS epidemic affects 40 million people
A Role for Philanthropy
Philanthropic institutions can play an essential role in seeding and strengthening the work of civil society organizations as they seek to address complex and enduring problems by:
- Mobilizing domestic resources and public support for their communities and regions
- Engaging with local governments and businesses to collectively identify solutions
- Supporting innovative ideas that could be "scaled up"
- Strengthening community leadership
- Building a culture of giving for social justice in their respective communities
Working Together
IISP operates in partnership with 18 foundations based in 13 countries, spanning Latin America and the Caribbean, the United States, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and South Asia.
IISP participating foundations
Additional Information:
Ana Maria Enriquez
Program Manager
IISP@fordfound.org
Susan Barry Cadoff
Research Associate
IISP@fordfound.org
The initiative is not open to additional partners at this time.