Spark MicroGrants is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

non-profit organization that focuses on helping communities to organize and make progress, they work primarily in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

History

Spark MicroGrants has worked to put families facing poverty as the driving seat of local change since July 2010. Spark’s key innovation is the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP), in which a series of curated village meetings are held paired with a seed grant. In these meetings, impoverished families in villages plan and launch initiatives that range from schools to farms. On average, 64 women and men, young and old, work and take action together. Since 2010, Spark has enabled over 170 villages to drive change through the FCAP across five countries. FCAP achieved 91% project sustainability and 94% of villages continue the process, meeting and taking action. Today Spark curates the community of practices to elevate the FCAP and support networks around the globe to use and develop the FCAP for their contexts. Such as the Government of Rwanda on a national decentralization program, a legal empowerment network in West Africa and a progressive refugee integration strategy in Uganda. Spark MicroGrants began its work in Rwanda in 2010. Today the Spark process is used across Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Spark has been touted as an organization that will transform aid distributed to people and build a world with dignity.

Board of directors

* Sasha Fisher, Executive Director * Andy Bryant, Executive Director of the Segal Family Foundation * Allison Devore * Tom Fry * Jonathan Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Dimagi * Stacey Faella * Sandra Wijnberg * Kara Weiss

Media coverage

In 2011, Spark MicroGrants was featured in ''

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'' magazine and was a semi-finalist in the

Buckminster Fuller Challenge The Buckminster Fuller Challenge is an annual international design competition that awards $100,000 to the most comprehensive solution to a pressing global problem. The Challenge was launched in 2007 and is a program oThe Buckminster Fuller Instit ...

Statistics

Spark MicroGrant's model has been used to support 160+ community partners across Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ghana to launch local projects, with the support of foundations and private donors.

References

External links