FIRELIGHT FOUND ATION

The Firelight staff seeks to address funding gaps and works closely with our Advisory Board to ensure that we direct our dollars
where they will have the greatest impact. Each year, our staff prepares a country analysis that includes data on current donors,
access to funding for locally-run organizations, and level of need. We engage in responsible risk-taking and work actively to
support smaller, worthy organizations that may never have previously received outside donor funds.
PROGRAMS
WHO WE FUND AND WHY
From the beginning, Firelight’s approach to grantmaking has been child-centered, family-focused, and community-based.
We believe that children grow best in families and that the most effective strategy for addressing the needs of children made
vulnerable by poverty and HIV/AIDS is to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to provide for their care. For this
reason, Firelight funds grassroots organizations that provide households and communities
with support to meet the material, educational, and psychosocial needs of children. We
look for programs that have local leadership, engage the community in creating solutions
to problems, and strengthen the community’s capacity to address its own needs.
While Firelight does not view orphanages to be developmentally appropriate or costeffective,
we recognize that residential care facilities can sometimes offer a temporary
and last resort response to children who have fallen through the safety net of family care.
We fund residential programs for street children, children with HIV/AIDS needing special
care, and abused children needing short-term shelter. Firelight has also provided funds to
organizations transitioning from an institutional care model to family and community-based
alternatives.
HOW MUCH WE GIVE
Firelight provides initial one-year grants of $1,000 to $10,000 to community-based
organizations serving children. We strive to make grants that support local initiative. We
are sensitive to the capacity of smaller organizations to absorb and utilize funds. Once a
relationship with a grantee-partner has been established, the Firelight Foundation makes
one-year and multi-year regrants of up to $15,000 per year based on program effectiveness and funding needs. Investing
funds over time enables organizations to develop their programs and increase their organizational capacity. Under special
circumstances, the Advisory Board or Board of Directors will recommend grants exceeding the $15,000 limit.