Q. How does Urban Development align with the foundation’s other strategic priorities?
A. Many strategies within the foundation’s Global Development and Global Health programs share our focus on cities and our support for efforts to improve the health and well-being of the urban poor. These include investments in programs that enhance the reach of basic health services for mothers and children and programs that expand affordable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. Some of our grants are even managed jointly with the foundation’s Family Health (FH) and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WSH) programs.
Q. What are your Urban Development grantmaking targets?
A. For the past several years, we have prioritized building the capacity of local, on-the-ground organizations that serve the urban poor. We also have funded initiatives that integrate the voices of the urban poor into the urban planning and development process. We are now putting those important capacity-building investments to work by focusing our grants around securing more and better resources for the urban poor. Our efforts will explore deeper relationships with municipalities, communities, and local economies.
Q. How much money has the foundation invested in urban development?
A. Since 2007, we have supported more than 40 organizations working to alleviate poverty in African, Asian, and Latin American cities. Nearly $150 million has been invested in tools, technologies, and strategies that target sustainable and pro-poor municipal development.
Q. Who are your partners?
A. We partner with a broad range of organizations and stakeholders to realize our mission. Here are a few examples of current partners:
Q. In the past, you have supported capacity-building efforts for organizations that work directly with the poor to integrate their voices into urban planning. Will you still invest in these efforts?
A. Building local capacity to advocate for community needs remains a high priority for our team, as we recognize the importance of this voice in urban development. We are now putting those investments to work by helping strong local organizations secure increased municipal revenue, improved services for the urban poor, and the creation of sustainable jobs in sectors like solid waste management.
Q. Will you phase out existing grants that are not fully aligned with your new grantmaking approach?
A. One of the aspects of our grantmaking that we take seriously is sustainability. With this in mind, we will encourage our partners to build long-term plans and seek additional partners for their work. We vigorously support all of the projects in our portfolio through the end of their periods of commitment, and new funding may be offered to current grantees if specific dimensions of their programming align with our grantmaking strategy.
Q. How do you choose the cities where you work?
There are many lenses through which we evaluate our geographic choices, but in selecting city-level projects we ask ourselves the following questions:
- Are local communities of the poor actively engaged in efforts to enhance access to municipal services and sustainable economic opportunities?
- Are municipal governments willing to work in partnership with the poor and commit resources to poverty alleviation efforts?
- Is there the potential to use our resources to leverage better outcomes for the foundation’s other Global Development and Global Health programs?
- Are local conditions favorable to successful investment, and are logistics favorable to successful operations?
Most of our projects operate in cities located in the world’s least-developed countries, but we also work in some middle-income countries to identify best practices and technologies that could be successfully adapted to low-income urban contexts in the developing world.
Q. Why don’t you address urban poverty in the U.S.?
A. The foundation’s U.S. Program addresses urban poverty issues through a variety of initiatives. Our domestic efforts focus primarily on addressing homelessness in the Pacific Northwest. We have invested more than $100 million in programs serving the homeless in our home region.
Q. What does it mean to be a Special Initiative?
A. Special initiatives at the foundation are focused on new and emerging areas that are not addressed by existing programs or strategies. In some cases, Special Initiatives support multi-sector or integrated strategies across foundation teams. Investment in innovative approaches to health and development issues helps the foundation explore new ways to produce positive impact, leverage resources, and address critical gaps that are not prioritized by other funders. In cases where a theory of change and clear impact measures can be identified, Special Initiatives can evolve into full program areas.
Q. Do you accept proposals?
A. We do not accept unsolicited proposals, but we encourage you to contact our local partners and grantees if you believe there is potential for collaboration. Our grants are listed on the foundation’s website.