Brazil

The Global Fund for Children’s mission is to advance the dignity of children and youth around the world. GFC pursues its mission by making small grants to innovative community-based organizations working with some of the world’s most vulnerable children and youth, complemented by a dynamic media program that, through books, documentary photography, and film, highlights the issues affecting children and celebrates the global society in which we all live.

GFC made its first grants in 1997 using royalties from its children’s book publishing venture. Since then, GFC’s grantmaking capacity has grown dramatically, from $3,000 in 1997 to approximately $3.2 million during the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Since 1997, GFC has distributed more than $15 million in grants to more than 375 groups in 73 countries worldwide.

The needs of children and youth, though in many ways universal, are best responded to in ways that fit the particular situation on the ground. GFC therefore supports groups that are providing for the needs of children in a variety of ways—by giving scholarships to allow poor children to attend formal schools, by providing tutoring and after-school services to youth at risk of leaving formal schooling, or by establishing classroom environments on train platforms, in boats, on beaches, or at garbage dumps.

This model of grantmaking is both time—and labor-intensive, but its impact is substantial. In addition to providing opportunities for vulnerable children, this model contributes to the growth of civil society, encourages the development of homegrown philanthropy, and supports social entrepreneurship. In developing economies, where groups often need only a small amount of money to undertake meaningful programs, small grants can have measurable impact on an organization and the lives of those it serves.

GFC’s Global Media Ventures encompasses GFC’s book-publishing program, which produces vibrant photo-illustrated children’s books showing the similarities of children throughout the world and celebrating the shared processes of childhood; documentary photography that illustrates the day-to-day lives of young people served by the community-based organizations GFC supports; and films that profile the issues that children often face in their struggles for dignity. We believe that the messages inherent in our media ventures underscore the goals of our grantmaking and, together, present a compelling statement on behalf of children everywhere.