The Charity Times Awards 2024 is just around the corner with the main event taking place on the 25th September, and we are very excited to announce that we have been shortlisted for three awards this year. Find out below which awards we’ve been shortlisted for and why.
Charity Times is a leading publication in the UK that focuses on the charity and not-for-profit sectors. It provides news, analysis, and insights on topics such as fundraising, governance, financial management, and social impact. Charity Times also hosts awards and events that recognise excellence and innovation within the charity sector. You can view the full Charity Times 2024 Awards shortlist here.
1. Corporate National Partnership of the Year with a Retailer
Our partnership with Riverford Organic Farmers made the shortlist for ‘Corporate National Partnership of the Year with a Retailer’. But for us, this partnership goes far beyond 2024, and is an exceptional testimony of how two organisations with shared values can create a world of change.
Even our origin stories are alike: both Ripple Effect and Riverford were founded by West-Country farmers in the 1980s, with a shared desire to see sustainable agriculture feed the world.
The relationship between our two organisations started when Riverford founder, Guy Singh-Watson, first came across Ripple Effect’s work in Uganda over 20 years ago and began supporting us personally – before bringing the business on board in 2010.
In our fourteen years of partnership, Riverford’s customers and co-owners have raised over £1.2 million for Ripple Effect. These funds have been instrumental in transforming the lives of more than 20,000 rural farmers, empowering them to grow themselves out of poverty.
Unlike many charity partnerships, which often last just a few years, our relationship with Riverford spans multiple decades, and is grounded in true commitment and shared values. This was made particularly evident last year, when Riverford’s loyalty ensured we were able to keep working with all the farmers we had pledged to support, despite challenging global circumstances such as Covid 19 and heavy flooding.
Guy’s own words summarise his enduring advocacy for our work:
“I remain confident that it would be very hard to spend your money more effectively to bring about lasting positive change in the lives of some of the world’s most disadvantaged people, than by supporting Ripple Effect”.
We are working on something very exciting with Guy and Riverford in the coming months. Keep an eye on our socials to find out more!
2. Corporate National Partnership of the Year with a Financial Institution
Ripple Effect is proud to work with Standard Bank Offshore as a valued and long-term strategic partners, with a relationship extending back almost 10 years. As the largest African bank by assets, with a unique footprint across 20 African countries, Standard Bank’s interest in seeing the continent grow and thrive aligns with Ripple Effect’s mission to inspire and equip African communities to transform lives.
Throughout our partnership, Ripple Effect and Standard Bank have worked closely together to deliver our holistic training programmes in sustainable agriculture, enterprise development and social inclusion, in line with the Bank’s corporate social responsibility objectives.
Bringing about sustainable change in Africa
From 2020-2023, Standard Bank committed their funding towards a three-year initiative in Kyotera, Uganda, known as the ‘Push-Pull’ project after the organic intercropping strategy it deployed. This technique, developed by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, uses a combination of legumes and grasses to repel pests and protect crops, whilst simultaneously restoring soil nutrients.
Before this project began, farmers were losing up to 80% loss of their maize crops and other staple foods. However, by project end, an astonishing 99% of participating farmers are now confident that maize will meet their household food needs.
The project also looked to address the low incomes typical in Kyotera, Uganda, by supporting all 400 project families with the establishment of small businesses and income diversification. By project end, 92% of project members were earning enough to save 5,577 Ugandan Shillings (£1.14) a day.
Opening Networks for Ripple Effect
A key benefit of this relationship has been the facilitation of connections with influential philanthropists through Standard Bank's extensive network. Over the years, their employees have introduced us to prominent philanthropic leaders who share our vision and are connected to the areas where we work – including a trust, whose grants to Ripple Effect now total more than £1.3 million.
In 2023, one of Standard Bank’s wealth advisors put us in touch with a Kenyan philanthropist, who in turn has opened up his own networks of both donors and influential government figures. These introductions have opened doors, fostering relationships that extend our reach and influence, amplify our impact and help catalyse a ripple effect of positive change.
Many of Standard Bank’s staff have also been out to see our work in action. In February 2023, Adam Adam Hunt, Head of International Wealth and Investment, went to see our work in Homa Bay, Kenya. Of this trip, he said:
“I was blown away by the impact they have in the community from farming techniques, nutrition, hygiene and harmony for the family.”
Kebele Giving
Our Kebele Giving programme creates a sustainable, unrestricted source of income for Ripple Effect, allowing us to respond to the areas of greatest need for farming communities across our six country programmes.
The Kebele programme is supported by two groups of donors: Kebele members, who commit to an annual gift of at least £5,000 for three years, and Kebele pledgers, who contribute to a match pot which doubles the first-year gift of each new Kebele member.
In January 2024, Standard Bank became our largest Kebele member and their generous commitment to Kebele builds on a decade of dedication to farming families across rural Africa.
3. Charity Collaboration of the Year
Our third shortlist for Charity Times Awards 2024 is in the ‘Charity Collaboration of the Year’ category, for our Living with Wildlife project in collaboration with Tusk and Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF).
The Living with Wildlife project was developed to address the pressing issue of human-wildlife conflict in Pakwach, Uganda. In this region, situated on the north-west border of Murchison Falls National Park, 35% of children under 5 experience chronic malnutrition. High levels of poverty and a lack economic opportunities have historically driven many families to hunt for bushmeat in the National Park. The wire traps they lay are indiscriminate, and endangered species, such as the Rothschild's Giraffe, can end up getting caught, putting them at risk of extinction.
Launched in October 2020, the project received £1.4 million in donations, which was then increased by the UK government through UK Aid Match to just over £2.6 million. It significantly improved food security, economic stability, and conservation awareness amongst 38,000 people in the Pakwach district. Through training in sustainable agriculture and vocational apprenticeships, the project helped families who faced climate-change-induced hunger to build sustainable alternative livelihoods, thereby reducing the pressure to poach.
Sitting along the river Nile, Pakwach was traditionally a fishing community, but new quotas were introduced by the government to protect dwindling fish-stocks in the river, putting even more pressure on the National Park.
This collaboration between conservation and development organizations exemplifies the future of conservation, where both human and wildlife needs are addressed simultaneously.
One of our project participants, Ujeni, used to set wire traps in the park to catch bushmeat in order to feed his family. But these traps were putting all wildlife at danger of being caught, with most injuries being fatal. When we interviewed him, he said:
“What makes people hunt is the same thing that used to make me. They are looking for an income. If people had enough to eat, they wouldn’t go to the park. What takes people there is poverty.”
“I was a renowned boatman and hunter; setting snares, using spears or any other hunting tool. On some occasions, traps would be carried away by the huge animals. And some of those animals later died of snare wounds. Others became so dangerous, like the buffalo that nearly killed me. I am lucky that I survived these near-death episodes so that maybe I can become the voice of the animals that I once hunted.”
Now Ujeni is an advocate for wildlife in his community. He earns a living from the land and his children have taken part in apprenticeships, breaking the cycle of poverty and human-wildlife conflict.
Ripple Effect, Tusk, and UCF have demonstrated that with substantial financial investment and a commitment to adaptability, meaningful and quantifiable benefits can be achieved even in times of unforeseen crisis. This partnership has not only improved the lives of thousands in Pakwach but has also made significant strides in wildlife conservation, setting a new standard for charity collaboration in the sector.
How you can get involved
It’s up to the Charity Times judges to vote the winners of the 2024 Awards shortlist. But, if you believe in our cause and the impact of our work, you can support us in many different ways to help us continue changing lives in rural Africa.
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