Letter from the Trustees

This has been a busy year for Oak Foundation and our partners. We provided 413 grants to 366 organisations in 35 countries. The total grant-making for 2022 totalled more than USD 480 million, including programme (USD 360 million), discretionary, and special initiative grants. These figures include more than USD 33 million in grants supporting the humanitarian response to the situation in Ukraine, and a further USD 60 million to support climate initiatives around the world.

An important part of the year was analysing the results of our Grantee Perception Survey to learn more about how our partners perceive us. We thank our partners for taking the time to share their thoughts with us. This process will help us to learn and improve as an organisation. In 2023, we will begin implementing improvements based on the feedback received.

It is our great pleasure to share the accomplishments of our partners in this annual report. Our partners continue to inspire us with their ambition, audacity, and accomplishments. We hope you experience the hope and joy we do while reading about their efforts.

Our Environment Programme’s partners around the world are helping bring about a just, equitable, and sustainable food system. We believe we can help ensure the food security of coastal and Indigenous communities through our support to small-scale fishers.

Across the UK and the US, our Housing and Homelessness Programme’s partners have been working to strengthen renters’ rights and ensure that more people live in decent homes, and fewer people experience homelessness. Their efforts are helping to build greater power within communities and organisations that are impacted by housing insecurity.

Partners of our International Human Rights Programme have been working to ensure that LGBTQI communities are free from discriminatory prosecution, persecution, and violence worldwide. Our partners have sought to strengthen the legal framework that guarantees freedom from criminalisation, hate, and violence, as well as to help end stigmatisation, and provide protective services for LGBTQI communities.

Our Issues Affecting Women Programme supports the Central American Women’s Fund (FCAM), a feminist fund that regrants to hundreds of not-for-profit organisations in Latin America. FCAM manages a portfolio of organisations in Guatemala that aims to reduce exploitation and trafficking, promote safe migration, and improve women’s labour rights.

In September 2022, more than 70 partners of our Learning Differences Programme gathered together for three days of learning, reflection, and connection. As well as being wonderful for Oak staff and partners to meet in person, the event provided the opportunity to make and grow new connections.

Partners of Oak’s Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Programme are engaged in proven, ground-breaking initiatives that help keep children safe. Our partners are scaling up these innovations globally. By translating local efforts into policies and practices that can be widely adopted and maintained over time, we hope that they can be accessible to everyone.

Our Special Interest Programme continues to support partners working on an array of issues that touch people’s lives around the world. This includes the Asociación de Propietarios Forestales Valle del Arrago in Western Spain, which is sustainably managing forestland to bring income to the local community. In North Carolina, Hope Renovations trains women in construction, while carrying out low-cost repairs for seniors. The Kings Against Violence Initiative provides services to young people recovering from physical injuries linked to gun violence in Brooklyn, and, the Billion Oyster Project is restoring oyster beds in New York Harbour. In the beautiful city of Winchester, England, a historic organ is being restored, youth counselling services are being strengthened, and the night shelter is helping people break the cycle of homelessness and rebuild their lives.

The Brazil Programme supports organisations that help local people protect their land rights. This includes those in Matopiba in the north of the country, where communities live mostly from subsistence farming on public land that they have occupied for a long time, without legal land titles.

In this report, we’re showcasing Oak Foundation Denmark’s work in Greenland, where the Siu-Tsiu project is working to establish a locally rooted social economy in Tasiilaq, one of just two towns on the 3,000 km-long east Greenlandic coast. Siu-Tsiu is working alongside Greenlandic businesses, educational institutions, and civil organisations to create jobs and allow young people to gain skills.

Our India Programme’s grant-making continued to support efforts that put community voices at the centre of decision-making. This ensures that the voices of local communities are heard and included in decisions that affect their lives.

In a period of economic turmoil, our Zimbabwe Programme substantially increased grant-making to organisations working directly with communities on issues including healthcare, land regeneration, and training and education.

We hope you appreciate this glimpse into the efforts of our partners. We look forward to continuing our collaboration to forge a more positive future.

Trustees of Oak Foundation
Natalie Shipton, Caroline Turner, Kristian Parker, Jette Parker, Alan Parker, Christopher Parker, Sebastian Turner, Benedikte Turner