User:HelpingCBO/Firelight Foundation

The Firelight Foundation (FF) is an international public charity and non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the wellbeing of children in sub-Saharan Africa who have been made vulnerable by HIV, AIDS and poverty. They do this by supporting community-based organizations that work directly with children in local African communities. Their approach is child-centered, family-focused, and community-based. The organization works with groups in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Ethiopia.

Founded by Kerry Olson and her husband Dave Katz in 1999, the Firelight Foundation was incorporated in December of the same year. Another one of its founding board members is Debra Evans, a writer and recognized authority on Christian spirituality, health education, women's wellness, and family relationships. In 2007, Olson and Katz were recognized by philanthropic advisor Geneva Global and Barron's Magazine as being among 10 philanthropists nationwide whose foundations "epitomized thoughtful and effective giving." . So far, the Firelight Foundation has granted over $16 million to community-based organizations.

In addition, Firelight is one of five non-profit organizations in the Nike Foundation's Grassroots Girls Initiative, which focuses on providing education for young girls.

During the spring of 2008, Firelight Foundation collaborated with Photographer Naomi Natale in the Cradle Project. The Cradle Project is an art exhibition that seeks to raise awareness for the 50 million children in sub-Saharan Africa orphaned by disease and poverty. Hundreds of artists from various cities in the United States created cradles created from discarded fabrics, scrapped metal, and other found items to be included in the exhibition. An exhibit of 21 of these original cradles and 7 newly created ones were on display during the International AIDS Conference from July 18, 2012, to August 3, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

Overview
The Firelight Foundation is an organization that strives to help children affected by AIDS and poverty in Africa, and has a three part theory of change: meeting the basic material needs of children and families; providing them care, support, and protection; and facilitating their access to government-provided services. Firelight works to effect improvements in living environments, food and nutrition, healthcare, child protection, psychosocial support, education, and local economies. Firelight funds grassroots groups because they directly affect a child's life, providing resources and making change for the most vulnerable children and families in their communities.

Ultimately, the goal of the Firelight Foundation is to "strengthen the safety net of care and increase access to essential services for vulnerable children and families by supporting community-based organizations." They strive to provide long-term support to community-based organizations, gradually increasing their support until the grassroots group is ready to graduate from the grantee partnerships after seven years. Their hope is that through this process, community-based organizations will become sustainable.

Firelight Foundation operates by accepting donations from individuals and foundations then granting those funds to small grassroots groups. The organization is very efficient, with only 20% of income used for expenses and fundraising.

History
Olson and Katz decided to establish Firelight Foundation after benefiting from a successful Silicon Valley-based technology initial public officer (IPO), Juniper Networks. After its incorporation in December 1999, FF was endowed with a little over $12 million and headquartered in Santa Cruz, CA. Firelight Foundation made two grants totaling $22,500 in its first year and began to recruit staff members. Receiving its first public donation in 2001, FF directed its grantmaking focus to community-based organizations in six African nations based on a criteria of HIV rates, level of need, and opportunity for impact.

Three years into its operation, the Firelight Foundation awarded its hundredth grant. FF was endowed with another $476,000 and moved to a larger office due to increased effectiveness and an expanding staff. Shortly thereafter, in 2003, Firelight received its first donation from a foundation for over $300,000.

Early January 2008, Elton John took a break from his 2008 South Africa tour, and went with Firelight staff to Lesotho to visit a small health organization, Ts'osane Support Group, a community-based organization that Firelight actively funds. The Elton John AIDS Foundation is a donor of Firelight Foundation.

As part of a new strategic plan, FF adopted a seven-year model for its funding support in 2009. All grantee-partners were signed onto seven year plans and, at the conclusion of the partnership, were expected to be self-sufficient.

As of 2012, Firelight has awarded over 1250 grants, reaching 330 community-based organizations in ten different African countries. Collectively, these grants total more than $17 million. In addition, the foundation's grant “loss” rate is extremely low at 2%, meaning that around 98% of the money granted is used effectively for intended purposes.

Current Executive Director Peter Laugharn replaced his predecessor, Jen Astone, in 2008. Laugharn has an extensive history with nonprofits and Africa. Four days after graduating from Stanford University, he joined the Peace Corps and has been involved with nonprofits for over two decades.

Along with granting funds to partners in Africa, the Firelight Foundation supports numerous other projects. Firelight Foundation provided a grant in 2004 to the Hesperian Foundation to finance a revised version of the Hesperian Foundation's 1999 book HIV, Health, and Your Community. In 2010, FF approached Routledge, a subsidiary of the English publication company Taylor & Francis Group, about publishing a special edition supplement of the Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, or VCYS. The VCYS is an ongoing journal series distributed by Routlege about vulnerable youth worldwide and how their lives are impacted by organizations and foundations. Firelight Staff members Peter Laugharn, Geoff Foster, and Firelight consultant Susan Wilkinson-Maposa worked with Routledge as guest editors to publish the supplement in June 2010. The special edition analyzes needs of children impacted by AIDS in Africa - orphans in particular - and what is being done to help them. The journal also details how and why CBOs work. Ultimately, the goal of the supplement is to contribute to a better understanding of community-based responses to children affected by AIDS and to "help policymakers think through how best to coordinate government services with community action and how to strengthen and sustain community-based responses through increased provision of sufficient resources, appropriate training, effective networks, and supportive policies."

In the Spring of 2008, FF was involved in the Cradle Project, led by artist Naomi Natale. The Cradle Project is an art exhibition and fundraiser designed to raise awareness to the dire conditions that many orphans in Africa are forced to cope with and the lifestyles they lead. The Cradle Project invited artists across the United States to create a cradle out of discarded materials and submit them for exhibition. Each cradle is intended to represent the lost, untapped potential of children in Africa while also showing that something beautiful and creative can be shaped from neglected objects. In all, the exhibition received more than 500 submissions and raised over $70,000 for FF. From July 18, 2012, to August 3, 2012, a selection of the cradles from a private collection was on display during the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., where 25,000 AIDS advocates and donors were in attendance.

In July 2010, Firelight Foundation transitioned from being a private foundation to a public charity and opened new doors for partnership and public support.

Social Media
Since 2005, Firelight has had its own Facebook page. The organization is active on Facebook, often posting updates and pictures of their work, along with inspirational quotes and proverbs to motivate its subscribers. FF also utilizes social networking sites like Twitter and LinkedIn, uploads videos of their work in Africa on Youtube, and uses flickr and Pinterest to showcase their photo albums.

A large part of how the Firelight Foundation connects to its audiences is by using its website. They have a blog called Ubuntu, which in Bantu languages means "My well being is connected to your well being." The blog provides updates on the organization and its grantee-partners as well as elaborates on the concepts of philanthropy and grassroot efforts. As of July 2012, FF is working on a Youth-on-Youth blog series, which will be written by teenagers directed at a younger audience.

Vision for Future
FF has numerous goals set for the near future. Over the next few years, the foundation plans to step up their efforts. Their five main objectives to be completed by 2020 are: reaching a greater number of children and families by increasing funding to effective CBOs, providing their grantee-partners with even more financial long-term stability through multi-year grants, helping their grassroots partners become sustainable and "graduate" from partnerships, touching small and budding organizations in the more remote places of sub-Saharan Africa, and gaining the support of large, lasting donors and funders for long-term relationships.