Grassroots organizations need unrestricted, direct funding to enable them to build resilience and grow sustainably, according to Kennedy Odede, co-founder and CEO at Kenyan NGO Shining Hope for Communities, or SHOFCO.
Odede founded SHOFCO in 2004 in Nairobi’s Kibera slum, where he grew up. The organization, which currently serves 2.4 million people living in urban slums in Kenya, received the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize in 2018. The $2.5 million prize in unrestricted funding is the largest annual humanitarian award in the world.
Odede recounted how the prize gave SHOFCO a “stamp of approval” within the global development sector, enabling it to implement better systems and processes, and in turn gain access to more funding opportunities. “It really helped us a lot to grow,” he said. “When you … put the systems [in place], you end up able to get more funding.”
The COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed the drawbacks of the “restricted” funding structure that predominates in the sector, said Odede. “The only money that helped was the funding that [organizations] got that was unrestricted. That is the money that did the magic during that hard time,” he said.
Pauline Juma, founder of SHOFCO partner organization Rebirth of a Queen, which supports survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, agreed that direct funding is the most effective way to strengthen local organizations. According to Juma, a lack of resources is the biggest challenge facing grassroots organizations, and donors often fail to recognize their expertise.
“When I came up with a safe house, I had an idea of what I really wanted for another survivor,” said Juma, who herself is a survivor of sexual and domestic violence. “Sometimes when you meet people who are your potential partners, your potential donors, and it feels like they don't trust you … it's really demoralizing.”
Visit the Hilton Humanitarian Prize Laureate series for more perspectives on how organizations can build resilience amid the pressing humanitarian issues of today and the future.
About the author
Naomi Mihara
Naomi Mihara is an Associate Editor for Devex, working on creative and audiovisual projects. She has a background in journalism and international development, having previously served as an assistant correspondent for Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun and as a communications officer for the International Organization for Migration in Southeast Asia. She holds a master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University.
