$46.9bn was spent on international humanitarian aid in 2022.
Only 1.2% went directly to local and national actors*

Despite a 43.4% increase in total international humanitarian aid compared to 2020, direct funding to local and national actors has decreased by almost 50% over the same period, from $915m in 2020 to $485m in 2022

*Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2021 


Local organizations are underfunded. That’s why we’re shifting power from the rhetoric of localization movements into action. 

We work with a range of donors, INGOs, non-profit and civil society organizations to design innovative financing strategies to fund locally-led social change.  

RFF's cutting-edge nature and systems approach enable donors and investors to be at the vanguard of new ways of delivering philanthropic finance to achieve impact, centered around what local communities say they need.

With your support, we can develop new models for resourcing community-based organizations around the world.  

Advisory Services

We provide consulting services to a range of public and private sector clients on effective and sustainable ways of supporting community-based responses to crises and social change issues.

1.

How we work with Funders

We help donors develop strategies to change the current...

We help donors develop strategies to change the current NGO paradigm through:

  • Identifying local partners and social enterprises to support
  • Providing expert advisory services to align and realize giving goals with a focus on community social change while gaining tax benefits and meeting regulatory requirements
  • Working with financiers and local partners to structure giving through new financial tools
  • Creating new funding mechanisms to test innovative financing approaches, including but beyond grants
2.

How we work with Companies

More than ever, today’s consumers demand authentic...

More than ever, today’s consumers demand authentic commitment to social issues from their brands.  By partnering with our global networks of NGOs and funders, we can help your business achieve greater social impact through community engagement, thereby strengthening your brand, increasing employee satisfaction, and inspiring your customers.

We do this through:

  • Developing CSR and ESG and giving and investment strategies focused on impactful community-level social change
  • Mapping potential partnerships, local leadership councils and/or other opportunities for private sector actors to engage responsibly working with local communities
3.

How we work with NGOs and Social Enterprises

We provide consulting services to local organizations,...

We provide consulting services to local organizations, INGOs, and intermediary funders interested in localizing their work and creating effective partnerships with national offices and local organizations.

  • Creating financing strategies that consider a range of tools including but beyond grants
  • Helping organizations create policies and strategies to guide their role as intermediary funders
  • Developing case studies and other learning tools to help organizations uncover the most effective strategies to empower local partners
  • Working with community-based organizations to expand their “toolbox” of funding approaches and identify potential financiers

If you are interested in shifting power to community action, we’d love to talk with you. 

Products 

We’re developing new products that guide stakeholders in channeling resources to local organizations.

1.

The RFF Toolbox

Do you know that there are a range of financing...

Do you know that there are a range of financing approaches beyond grants to channel resources to local organizations?  We have been working to gather these approaches in one place, along with examples of how they have been used. 

In some cases, the way in which these tools could be used to benefit local organizations is not yet clear - the work ahead is to develop the evidence-base for these tools beyond flexible grants.  

Can we increase the sustainable resourcing of NGOs and local organizations? 

We are on a journey to find out.

Read more

2.

10 Radical Actions

Drawn from our work over several years with a number of...

Drawn from our work over several years with a number of partners, RFF’s 10 Radical Actions and accompanying questions are meant to guide donors and local organizations in moving from promises of supporting locally-led social change to action. 


Discover them in full here.

3.

How To Be Radical Guide

Based on years of development in partnership with local...

Based on years of development in partnership with local organizations, we are excited to share that we have a new practical guide and toolkit: How to be radical: A Guide for Community Engagement and Resourcing.  

The guide focuses on five sections: 

  • Community Engagement: Facilitating community-led network and resource mapping
  • Priority Setting: Determining collective priorities
  • Financial Tools: Articulating specific financial tools that can advance local priorities and ensure sustainability
  • Measuring What Matters: Developing locally-led understandings of impact and impact measurement
  • Advocacy and Movement Building: Communicating new financing approaches, community-led priorities and impact to funders.

If you would like more information about the guide and/or are interested in developing a pilot project, please reach out.

Why Support RFF?

We are emerging from a period of unprecedented global adversity and the call to change inequitable systems has grown. Your support would be catalytic in developing a new model for resourcing local NGOs, reinventing archaic ways of giving, supporting innovative ideas and new organisations for the future of social change and establishing partnerships with investors and champions motivated to make a real impact in the world. If you’d like to help us reshape the traditional funding framework, please consider making a tax-deductible donation or reach out to discuss contributing to our work!
Join the Movement