TBF Team and Grandpa

Written by Iona Proebst (Executive Director/Founder)

The Branch Foundation was born from a place of seeing much of what you identify with in terms of the build up to charity jaded-ness. Having worked in different countries and with different organisations and communities, it became increasingly obvious to me that I did not agree with the ethos of many ‘do gooders’ work. There was a lack of transparency and focus, although most of the time the intentions were well meaning. The only real way to work for what I saw to be true was to start my own organisation. By highlighting other charities’ shortcomings, I should mention that we in no way claim to be perfect, only that we constantly work on improving our strategies, policies and practices.

 What sets The Branch Foundation apart from other charities?

A few of our smaller friends in the community

• We firmly believe and follow through with transparency and accountability.
• 100% of your donation goes to the project its intended for. 10% of this covers our monitoring and evaluation of that project to make sure it has the most impact possible.
• We have a ‘work with’ instead of ‘work for’ philosophy.
• Sustainability and no aid reliance are our measures of success.
• We are a small organisation that is engaged with and regularly visit the communities we work with.
• We believe in responsible growth and do not feel like we need to have an aggressive approach in our advocacy and fundraising efforts.

I like that TBF stands for something different! I love that supporters feel a resounding resonance in what TBF stands for and therefore often make TBF their charity of choice.  They trust in the work we do, and how we do it. Many of you have followed and grown with the development of The Branch Foundation. It came from humble beginnings and now is still true in keeping a personable and hands on commitment to the communities we work with five years on.

We are always welcome on suggestions on improving our operations. You can contact me directly on: ionaproebst@thebranchfoundation.org