TechnoServe: $20,000 to expand its Economic Development Alliance for San Martin in two new villages. This program partners with the Peruvian government to integrate former coca growers into the global cacao market. Smallholder farmers received agricultural and business training and individuals were mobilized into collective commercial blocks. These groups were provided access to high value buyers, thereby increasing their annual incomes. By eliminating illegal crops, the farmers also received additional government funding for improved infrastructure and safer communities.

Strategies for International Development: $15,000 to assist Guatemalan farmers in mitigating the disastrous impact of leaf rust on coffee productivity. Controlling leaf rust requires dramatically changing longstanding farming techniques. The organization trained approximately 2,400 coffee growers and assisted them in instilling these practices. Additional efforts focused on cooperative coalition building and defining the program’s exit strategy from the region.

Shared Interest: $15,000 to complete institution of its existing strategic plan and to scale its transformational banking model on a regional level. Through its local affiliate Thembani, the organization directly supports its grassroots project partners as they submit applications and negotiate loan terms with commercial lenders. In response to shifting laws and interest rates, the program plans to redesign its partnership strategy with Thembani for increased efficiency. Additionally, the organization initiated a feasibility study to strategically expand its efforts into neighboring South African countries.

Pro Mujer: $15,000 for the continual advancement of its three-year strategic plan. The plan was developed to consolidate growth and organizational culture throughout the five Latin American countries in which the program operates. Seven key areas are covered, including customer relationships and service, financial products, information technology, a client health model and well-being of employees.

KickStart: $15,000 to fund the implementation of a new performance management and evaluation system (PMES).  To enhance its programmatic efforts in sales of its innovative hip pump irrigators, the organization launched a PMES to better support staff development, retain highly talented staff members, and increase efficiency. Ongoing evaluation and feedback were used to align individual employee’s goal setting with the organization’s global strategy and improve communication within and across teams.

Digital Divide Data: $15,000 to scale its corporate partnership model as part of a strategy to replicate its successful partnership with CISCO among other corporations that need the type of services supplied by the organization’s impact sourcing approach to digital services such as date entry and e=book production. Project costs included consultant fees for an independent feasibility study, the development of marketing and communication materials and the pilot of the newly identified model.

Aspen Institute: $10,000 in the final installment of a three-year, $60,000 cumulative grant to initiate a new program, the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise. This endeavor will work in a variety of capacities provide assistance to the millions of artisan handcrafters whose work comprises $34 billion in international trade annually, yet who lack access to markets, business capital, and a stable value chain. Many of these issues are inherent to an industry that is highly informal and lacks the appropriate coalitions and networks required to leverage change in the overall business environment. The Alliance will work to establish and promote best practices for the industry (including such linkages), conduct research for the industry, market and publicize the industry to achieve public awareness regarding authenticity and sustainability of products, and create a worldwide coalition of artisans, aid-to-artisan organizations, foundations and corporations to begin the work of formalizing and regulating the industry as a whole, in conjunction with the U.S. State Department.

A Self-help Assistance Program: $7,000 to launch its Tools for Empowerment program in Haiti. As part of its long-term vision to expand livelihood skills development in Haiti, the organization provided trade tool kits to vocational school graduates in partnership with on-the-ground partner Salesian Missions.

VisionSpring: $15,000 to update its social media marketing strategy. The organization piloted a new global advocacy campaign, “Eyelliance,” to build awareness around the connection between poverty and vision care. The three pillars of this advocacy campaign were: “See to Learn; See to Work; See for Safety.” In conjunction with this advocacy initiative, VisionSpring updated its social media and marketing strategies to reach a larger audience with its message and incorporated video storytelling as a part of its efforts.

Smiles Forever: $10,000 for the salaries of a teaching dentist and teaching hygienist needed to train additional oral hygienists at the organization’s dental hygiene school in Cochabamba, Bolivia (the only school of its kind in Latin America).  The training and addition of new hygienists have enabled the clinic attached to the school to provide free preventive and restorative dental services to more than 9,000 beneficiaries annually.

Project MedSend: $20,000 towards the salary of its west coast donor relations manager, a position that was created in 2012 through a 2-year grant awarded by the foundation. MedSend sponsors Christian medical professionals on multi-year international medical missions. The organization pays off debt for medical school students in exchange for service in African clinics.

Mali Health: $15,000 to support its women’s savings and micro-insurance groups in the peri-urban communities outside Bamako, Mali. The Savings for Health program combines the village savings and loan model with health workshops that socially reinforce positive and preventative health behaviors, thus improving general health while reducing financial barriers and delays in treatment.

Hesperian Health Guides: $20,000 in flexible support for its ongoing book projects in its grassroots healthcare series. The 2014 tranche covered production of four books: an updated version of Where There Is No Doctor (addressing general health, first aid and basic safe pregnancy and birthing.), Health Action Guide for Women and Girls (covering gender-based violence, safe motherhood, reproductive health and needs of adolescent girls), Helping Children Live with HIV (provides information required to diagnose, treat, comfort and advocate for children with HIV), and Workers Guide for Health and Safety (considers the working condition and improved health of export factory workers).

Global Partnerships: $20,000 to further develop its health services fund. Through this fund, the organization supports its microfinance partners as they leverage existing financial service networks and infrastructure to provide critically needed health services. The requested funds allowed the identification of two new implementing partners to pilot integrated health and finance programs, with the dual objectives of deepening the services of MFIs in response to the desires of their clients, while demonstrating to the sector that MFIs provide an excellent platform for health service delivery.

Maxwell School, Syracuse University: $18,000 for the final installation of a three-year, $56,000 grant to expand the curriculum of its Transnational NGO (TNGO) Leadership Institute, housed at the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. The TNGO program provides training for up-and-coming international NGO professionals seeking to make the transition to leadership positions. The original curriculum included development of a leadership style, expanding competencies and roles, and improving networking abilities. New curriculum developed under the grant focused on governance and management of international NGO coalitions, alliances and other collaborations. Materials were assembled in partnerships with the faculty of the Maxwell School, long recognized as a frontrunner in the fields of collaboration, conflict management and governance in both the public and private sectors. Additionally, the Institute engaged NGO practitioners with direct field experience to vet and hone the materials. The long-term goal of the project is to improve the performance of international NGOs and thus civil society in developing nations through the development of professional leadership with high levels of training and expertise.

International Development Exchange (IDEX): $15,000 to complete a three-year cumulative grant of $45,000 for launching its IDEX Academy. The initiative brings together grassroots leaders and members of the philanthropic community for an intense weeklong program. Coursework, facilitated by international development faculty and practitioners, examines social justice and grassroots applications of modern philanthropy. The program was created to shift the donor framework of existing and emerging philanthropic leaders to more fully embrace grassroots efforts and acknowledge the inherent wisdom of local communities. Tuition fees from the Academy are projected to eventually fund the organization’s administrative expenses, allowing the program to focus solely on acquiring funding for projects with it partner community-based organizations around the world.

Wild4life, Containers 2 Communities, Nurturing Minds and Building Tomorrow: $2,500 to pilot an experimental initiative. Four high-potential constituents with annual budgets of less than $1 million were selected within the West Foundation’s existing portfolio. These organizations received modest flexible funding in the form of a “mini-grant” to offset costs and fees related to professional development. Use of grant funds was ultimately determined by the recipient organizations, although suggested allocations included conference attendance and leadership development trainings of field staff hired within a country of operation. This initiative was created to underscore the West Foundation’s belief that effective nonprofits invest in internal capacity to foster a culture of learning and provide the highest possible impact for beneficiaries.