How do you decide what to put to a vote?

Every proposal is judged against the same five tests: permanence, public benefit, self-sustaining, productive output and stewardship. Our thesis sets out what each one means.

Most of what reaches us comes through local networks rather than an application form. We practise trust-based philanthropy, which means we start from trust in the people doing the work, then verify: local references, registration documents and financial history.

Where a project warrants more scrutiny than that, we use GlobalGiving's vetting and due diligence alongside our own. They have verified non-profits and projects for years, and it gives us an established process to lean on rather than one we invented.