J.C. Flowers Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The J.C. Flowers Foundation works with a wide range of partners to solve critical health and social problems affecting hard to reach, or “last mile,” communities. The Foundation’s global giving focuses its efforts on the cross border communities of Namibia, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It also supports programs that help formerly incarcerated residents of Harlem in New York City reintegrate into society.
IP TAKE: The foundation is particularly interested in organizations with expertise and presence in communities typically overlooked by traditional donors; however, it mainly works with its established partners and does not welcome unsolicited requests for funding. It’s not an accessible funder, despite being a supportive and open-minded one. Because it doesn’t outright discourage contact, write or call the foundation to learn more about how it creates partnerships and finds grantees. You might be able to send a proposal or letter of inquiry provided that your work is laser-focused on a giving area this funder supports.
PROFILE: The J.C. Flowers Foundation was established in 2004 by billionaire financier J. Christopher Flowers and his wife, Anne. Flowers has long been interested in malaria in Africa. In 2004, he visited several remote areas in northern Zambia and witnessed the devastation of the disease first-hand. Following his trip, Flowers launched NetsforLife in partnership with the Episcopal Relief and Development, as well as his own foundation. Throughout the years, the foundation evolved its focus on malaria control to outright elimination. The foundation oversees two programs, Malaria Elimination and its Harlem Re-Entry initiative.
Global Development and Health
The foundation largely conducts its global development grantmaking through its Malaria Elimination program. In early 2010, Flowers joined former Coca-Cola CEO Neville Isdell on a trip to Zambia. On the heels of the trip, Flowers and Isdell founded the Isdell:Flowers Cross Border Malaria Initiative, which is "committed to eliminating malaria in remote, hard-to-reach communities along the borders of Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.” The foundation mobilizes community leaders and volunteers for a regional approach to eliminating malaria in remote communities where people must frequently cross borders for cultural or work reasons. The J.C. Flowers Foundation, in partnership with Malaria No More UK, also, supports a pilot project in target districts in northern Namibia that will "identify 'source' communities (hotspots with higher malaria transmission) that exhibit high levels of connectivity to surrounding lower transmission communities." Other partners include Roll Back Malaria Partnership and the Global Health Group's Malaria Elimination Initiative.
Grants for Criminal Justice
The main beneficiary of J.C. Flowers Foundation’s Harlem Re-Entry initiative is Circles of Support, an “umbrella partnership offering a variety of services to help returning citizens re-establish and strengthen their community ties in Harlem.” This program takes a family- and faith-based approach to parolee re-entry, connecting formerly incarcerated Harlem residents with volunteers who provide services such as accompanying the parolee home from prison and to appointments like job interviews, helping with job readiness and training, organizing support groups and outings, and helping obtain community and child services. In partnership with the Interfaith Center of New York, the foundation also supports Network in the Community, which offers “therapeutic community support and wrap-around transitional services leading to safe and successful reintegration,” and the Harvard Kennedy School Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management for a “longitudinal survey of 150 New York state prisoners newly-released to New York City, examining the employment, family life, housing, and health of men and women just released from prison.”
Grant Details:
Grants may range from $10,000 to $200,000 annually. The foundation generally prefers to work with its established partners and does not accept unsolicited proposals or funding requests. General inquiries about the foundation’s programs may be submitted via its contact page.
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