GRANTS

Our grants are investments in partners and programs intended to create economic opportunity and dignity for the ultra poor. Grants produce purely social returns on investment.

Partners

Action for Environmental Sustainability (AfES) is dedicated to combating environmental degradation and alleviating poverty in communities in Malawi, which bear the brunt of climate change impacts. The approach revolves around the key pillars of biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, agriculture, nutrition and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene.  

AfES engages with smallholder farmers, offering tailored training programs that empower them to embrace sustainable farming practices. Through techniques such as crop diversification, crop rotation, and agroforestry, AfES aims to equip farmers with tools to navigate the challenges posed by climate change.  

We began partnering with AfES in 2023 to support smallholder famers to increase resilience to climate change through a Climate Smart Farmer School. 

Anza was founded on the belief that innovators will transform Tanzania. Anza provides them with personalized and strategic capacity building, affordable capital, and access to relevant networks. Through the Anza Accelerator, Anza Hub, and Anza Capital, Anza meaningfully assists to grow businesses that create more jobs and provide life-improving products or services to low-income Tanzanians. Anza’s Investment Readiness Accelerator for Social Enterprises Program supports start-ups that are tackling critical challenges in agriculture, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, healthcare, financial inclusion, and clean energy.  Entrepreneurs through this program receive training, mentorship and market linkages to scale operations and have grown their revenues by 20% and hired three more people on average. 

We began our partnership with Anza for the Investment Readiness Accelerator Program in 2018 to support entrepreneurs to get investment ready through strengthening business models, financials, sales pipeline, market linkages, and more. Our long-term goal through this partnership is to support the creation of good jobs and more widespread income-generating opportunities.

Development in Gardening (DIG)  plants regenerative vegetable gardens alongside uniquely vulnerable communities to improve their nutrition and livelihoods. These gardens are growing health, wealth, and a sense of belonging for over 50,000 farmers through 110 projects across 8 African countries. Through their improved farms, DIG graduates nearly triple the variety of foods they consume while reducing their household food costs by 90%. DIG’s priority household program has reduced malnutrition in children by over 90%. With food security as the foundation for peace and sustainable development, DIG’s adaptable program focuses on equipping uniquely vulnerable communities with skills and experiences to improve their well-being. 

We partnered with DIG in 2020 to support improved food security and enhanced livelihood opportunities through regenerative home gardens among indigenous Batwa communities in Southwestern Uganda.

Farming Out Of Poverty (FOOP) provides subsistence farmers with quality inputs on loan and mechanization of services that increase yields​, supporting them to overcome hunger. Through crop rotation and regenerative farming techniques, FOOP improves self-sufficiency, nutrition and diversifies incomes. 

FOOP operates in Sierra Leone and was founded by WARC in 2021, recognizing that farmers in the country are more likely to operate at or below subsistence level than many other African nations. In 2022, FOOP supported 550 farmers to escape hunger, farmers increased their yields by 500% and increased incomes by 1.5x. 

3CF is partnering with FOOP to provide farmers with access to agricultural inputs and training that allow them to generate income through their farms for the first time. 

Safe Inclusion was founded to promote the socio-economic inclusion of vulnerable communities in Gihanga, Burundi. With a holistic focus, Safe Inclusion’s programming encompasses income generation activities, nutrition and food security.  

Safe Inclusion has initiated several Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in the community. Through these savings groups individuals can regularly save their money in a safe way, and at the end of each savings cycle the groups can invest funds into income generation activities that move them to towards self-reliance. Individuals can also access loans for emergencies.  

3rd Creek Foundation is partnering with Safe Inclusion to support the economic empowerment of women and young people in Burundi through the development and strengthening of VSLAs.  

STREET BUSINESS SCHOOL UGANDA ignites entrepreneurship to end poverty through its business training in Kampala, Uganda. Students of Street Business School learn effective business skills and build the confidence to become self-sustaining entrepreneurs. Graduates experience a 211% average increase in income and 89% have businesses in operation 2 years later. To reach 1 million people by 2027, Street Business School launched a global training program that teaches community organizations how to implement the Street Business School program and curriculum in their local communities. 

We began partnering with Street Business School in 2017 and support the organization to train new local partners in Africa to implement the business training program in their communities. 

UPAYA SOCIAL VENTURES creates jobs and improves the quality of life for people living in extreme poverty. Upaya does this by providing seed funding and business development support to outstanding entrepreneurs that show the potential to create hundreds of jobs in India’s most impoverished communities. As these small businesses grow, they generate sustainable, dignified jobs for families who need them most.  

In 2019, 3rd Creek Foundation committed to a pool of recoverable grants (PRG I). These grants supported companies across India who were creating dignified jobs for those experiencing extreme poverty. PRG I has created over 17,000 jobs.  In 2022, 3rd Creek Foundation committed to fund a further round of companies through PRG II.

Our funding has supported companies including Bharat Krushi Seva, which supports smallholder farmers to improve their productivity. The app has so far been downloaded by 7000 farmers who can trade crops directly and purchase agricultural inputs. This second pool of companies has so far created 166 jobs. 

The CHIN WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT GROUP enhances gender equality and empowers women in the remote Chin State of Myanmar through trainings and community centers. The group provides trainings in rural villages on gender awareness, livelihood skills, and organic farming. The initiative helps strengthen women’s confidence, savings, and, at times, income as it contributes to a more gender equal society.

This local grassroots organization is led by community leader Mary Oten, and operates on a bare bones budget. 3rd Creek Foundation supported the organization with a small grant in 2017 to fund livelihood skills and organic farming training to help women increase their savings and income where possible. 

HOSTE HAINSE NEPAL provides education to some of the poorest children in Nepal in order to equip them with the greatest opportunity for empowerment and community development. Between 2008 and 2015, 3CF funded the education of nearly 300 students per year in Sarlahi, one of the poorest districts of the country. Hoste Hainse supports the educational needs of 2,500 children in Nepal.

The organization has also implemented income generation programs in partnership with Nepal’s Poverty Alleviation Fund, establishing a goat farming and lending program, as well as skill development trainings. The organization is currently piloting a fish farm project with the objectives of providing funding for Hoste Hainse schools and creating local employment and income opportunities. This project is a for-profit non-profit hybrid, with some local stakeholders/investors generating financial returns.

MAASAI GIRL'S EDUCATION FUND KENYA promotes education among Maasai girls in Kenya. Many in the Maasai community are faced with extreme poverty and patriarchal societal structures that prevent girls from receiving education. The Girl’s Education Fund tackles this problem by providing scholarships for Maasai girls and advocating for them within the community, thereby increasing local acceptance and support for female education. The fund also offers business training workshops to women who would otherwise not have sufficient resources to start a business.

Today, there are 40+ women-owned businesses in the Maasai region, increasing the confidence and opportunities for many women and girls.

MEDHA improves employability outcomes for youth. We provide 21st-century skills training, workplace exposure, and placement support to students at their existing educational institutions. Medha’s target population includes young people (17 – 23) from disadvantaged backgrounds; 78% of Medha's students have a family income of less than $4 a day. Since 2011, Medha has worked with more than 15,000 students across more than 100 educational institutions. 95% of Medha alumni have reported an increase in self-confidence, and 61% found an internship or job with Medha’s support.

Medha alumni and other young people from disadvantaged backgrounds face several challenges while finding jobs. Meeत, by Medha, is a technology platform with credible information about employers and jobs.

Pastoral Women’s Council is a women-led and focused membership for impact organization that works to address the root causes of social and gender injustices through the empowerment of pastoralist women, girls, and their communities in northern Tanzania. Annually, PWC engages over 3,000 members in 90 villages through their programs on: education, women’s economic empowerment, climate change adaptation, water and sanitation, and women's urgency, rights, and leadership. Over 85% of the girls under the age of 16 engaged in the education program feel less pressured to marry and more equipped to participate in the full continuum of education. Group members in the economic program gain financial independence and break the cycle of poverty. There has been an 80% increase in income among income-generating groups and 500 women have benefitted from secured individual and communal land tenure which they can access for enhanced livelihoods and economic ventures.

In 2020, we partnered with the Pastoral Women’s Council to equip low-income women with skills and resources to initiate their own business as individuals and groups in three districts Ngorongoro, Monduli, and Longido districts.

SI4DEV (Strategy and Innovation for Development) believes that grassroots civic and community leadership is the bedrock for positive social change in Nigeria. SI4DEV's mission is to offer the capacity building, collaborative forums and funding support that community leaders need to support strong governance systems, and to improve the education, economic and health outcomes for their communities. Our programs focus on training community leaders to develop, implement and scale innovative products, services, and action plans for key policies and target populations. As of August 2019, SI4DEV has trained over 250 community leaders and funded over 50 community driven projects, reaching over 10,000 indirect beneficiaries.

To mitigate the deepening poverty in Nigeria, SI4DEV is currently working with passionate and innovative community volunteers to implement the Street Business School curriculum in low-income communities as a Global Catalyst Partner. The courses are delivered right in the communities where the beneficiaries live, and empowers them to change their communities through launching and sustaining their own businesses.

THRIIVE invests in small enterprises in developing countries to help create jobs as a sustainable means out of poverty. The ThriiveCapital loans that entrepreneurs receive are distinct from traditional lending. Instead of paying back principal and interest to Thriive, business owners are required to pay forward the value of their loans through job training and/or life improving goods and services to persons experiencing hardship in the local community. Through both the capital infusion and inspiring this culture of philanthropy, Thriive helps businesses become self-sustaining community support systems. Most entrepreneurs continue to give, well after their ThriiveCapital loan is repaid.

3rd Creek Foundation is a longtime supporter of Thriive. Since 2011, we have funded ThriiveCapital loans in Cambodia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Vietnam, and Palestine.

VILLAGE ENTERPRISE employs a simple, cost effective model to achieve its mission of ending extreme poverty in rural Africa through entrepreneurship and innovation. The Village Enterprise one-year Graduation program provides groups of 3 entrepreneurs with seed capital, training, and on-going mentoring by a local business mentor. Village Enterprise organizes business groups into Business Savings Groups of 30 entrepreneurs (10 business groups) to allow access to growth capital, provide a safe place for savings, and build social capital. Integrated conservation training ensures that new business activities promote environmental best practices. Examples of businesses include livestock, farming, small retail stores and restaurants, tailoring, and beekeeping. Village Enterprise has started over 43,000 businesses and trained over 169,000 East Africans. In 2018, Village Enterprise helped to build 4,500 new businesses.  

From 2012 to 2018, we supported Village Enterprise programs in western and southern Kenya. Several programs included integration with local environmental conservation and improving community health outcomes.