Letter from the Trustees

We remain grateful to our partners for their ongoing efforts. In 2024, we provided 411 programme grants to 368 organisations in 40 countries for a total of USD 466 million.

Oak Foundation was established to support the philanthropic passions of our family. Because we are in the midst of welcoming several new Trustees to the Foundation, we have had to make some changes to make space for their new and emerging interests.

One of the changes in 2024 was the difficult decision to close our country programmes in India and Brazil. We will respect our existing grant agreements and provide support to our partners in other ways, including with capacity-strengthening support and exit grants. It has been an honour to be a small part of our partners’ efforts through these two country programmes. Their work has been a source of inspiration to us for more than 14 years. You can read an article commemorating their achievements on pages 10 and 11.

Every year, our annual report is a reminder of the hope and joy we feel throughout the year when hearing about our partners’ efforts. Some of this year’s highlights include:

Our Environment Programme‘s partners in Southern Africa, who have been implementing regenerative agriculture practices with huge potential to renew degraded croplands at scale. The result will be positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes for the benefit of both nature and people.

In Massachusetts, the US, our Housing and Homelessness Programme’s partners are supporting low-income families to help them stay in their homes. By supporting investment in affordable housing, we hope to strengthen renter rights and encourage sensible changes to planning systems – so that more people live in decent homes and fewer people experience homelessness and housing insecurity.

There are over 15 million stateless people in the world, and tens of millions are at risk of statelessness. Our International Human Rights Programme’s partners are working to put people impacted by statelessness at the heart of initiatives for legal reform and action.

Our Issues Affecting Women Programme‘s partners in the US and the UK are committed to securing safety for survivors of economic abuse. Building economic independence is a priority so that survivors can live safely once they leave abusive relationships.

In 2024, our Learning Differences Programme partnered with eight not-for-profit organisations that seek to promote mental wellness among learners through innovative projects. Our partners foster a sense of belonging for children with learning differences and equip teachers to better support their students.

Our Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Programme supported the launch of the ‘To Zero’ initiative to accelerate progress in ending childhood sexual violence by working with sector leaders, practitioners, and survivors to envision a safer future.

Through our Special Interest Programme, we support organisations like the Antimicrobial Initiative, which seeks to decrease antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals in Europe, and the UK-based David Nott Foundation, which works alongside surgeons in situations of war, providing training to medical staff around the world. In the US, our partner Justice Outside supports conservation work and equal access to outdoor recreation. In Jersey, the Beresford Street Kitchen is transforming the lives of people with learning differences and/or autism. We also continued our support of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme in Covent Garden, London, which offers exceptional artists from around the world the opportunity of a lifetime: to work alongside accomplished performers, creators, and musicians.This year, we celebrated a significant milestone for our partner MiracleFeet – it reached and treated 100,000 children with clubfoot across 37 countries.

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, I Tråd Med Verden is an Oak Foundation Denmark partner that works to connect women furthest from opportunity with meaningful work through sewing and textile design.

Our Zimbabwe Programme supports Young Africa, which aims to train half a million young people across Southern Africa to be ready for employment by 2025.

In this report, we celebrate our partners’ remarkable work in India and Brazil. We have highlighted our support for girls in West Bengal who have been trafficked, helping them start their journeys of recovery and access their entitlements. We have also showcased our support for communities in the remote, resource-rich, and biodiverse Matopiba region in northern Brazil so that they can live prosperously in a secure, inclusive, and equitable society.

The wide variety of our partners’ work inspires us. We look forward to continuing our collaboration to craft a more positive future.

The Parker Family