Press Release – Stars Foundation

• Total $1 Million funding available for NGOs working with children in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Pacific regions • Awards available for Health, Education, Protection, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) • Applications welcome from …
Flexible NGO funding available from the STARS Foundation

• Total $1 Million funding available for NGOs working with children in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Pacific regions
• Awards available for Health, Education, Protection, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
• Applications welcome from 10th September to 12th November 2012
• visit www.starsfoundation.org.uk/impact-awards/ for more information and to apply

On 10th September 2012, frontline NGOs transforming the lives of children from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Pacific regions can apply for unrestricted funding to a total value of $1million from the STARS Foundation.
In response to a growing demand for flexible funding, the STARS Foundation invites NGOs to apply for up to 16 Impact Awards and, for the first time, has added a new category – ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene’ (WASH) – due to the impact that improvements in this area can have on child survival and wellbeing.
The STARS Foundation is offering $100,000 for the main awards, as well as improving long term funding opportunities for the winning NGOs by showcasing their work to other donors. Last year the Foundation received over 1,000 applications.
Taking a different approach to most funders, the STARS Foundation finds and invests in exceptional local organisations and gives unrestricted funding.
Muna Wehbe, Chief Executive of the STARS Foundation said:
“Local organisations are best placed to meet the needs of the communities that they serve and to decide how funding should be allocated to achieve the maximum impact. A STARS Foundation Impact Award often leads to organisations expanding their work, becoming more resilient and ultimately reaching more children.”

Previous recipients include:
• ACE Africa, a 2010 Health recipient, which invested their award in financial management training as well as in the eradication of jiggers (a parasitic flea that burrows into the skin). ACE’s hygiene campaigns have seen an improvement in health seeking behaviour and hygiene practices in over 600 children to date.
• Pragya, a 2009 Education recipient, which used part of their Award to conduct training programmes on monitoring and advocacy to Community Based Organisations based in the Himalayan region.
• Nepal GoodWeave Foundation, a 2011 Protection recipient, which used the award to open a new day care centre to provide early childhood education for the children of carpet weavers.

To find out more information and to apply please visit: http://www.starsfoundation.org.uk/impact-awards/
The Awards will be open for applications on the 10th September 2012. The deadline for application is 12th November 2012.
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Notes to Editors:
Multimedia
Video and case studies about many previous recipients are available from the STARS Foundation website, and may be used freely by media.
• Video case studies: visit http://www.youtube.com/user/STARSFoundation?feature=watch
• Written case studies: http://www.starsfoundation.org.uk/case-studies/
The Awards
• The STARS Foundation was founded by Amr Dabbagh and the Dabbagh Group in 2001 in the belief that local organisations are best-placed to respond to the needs of their communities and the children in their care. All too often these organisations are constrained by a rigid approach to funding, which can limit their effectiveness. For more information visit http://www.starsfoundation.org.uk/

• The STARS Impact Awards programme, launched in Africa in 2007 and now open to organisations in 80 countries, is committed to helping already effective charities become even stronger by enhancing their capacity to deliver vital services on the ground. By supporting these outstanding organisations, and recognising the deep and lasting impact they are having on entire communities, the Impact Awards also inspire others to reach similar standards of excellence.

• The STARS Impact Awards are open to local organisations that achieve excellence in the provision of services to disadvantaged children and that demonstrate effective management practices, in the following countries:
o ASIA PACIFIC: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam
o AFRICA-MIDDLE EAST: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Djibouti, DRC, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia,, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea , Guinea Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Rwanda, Sao Tome e Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal , Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
• Each Award provides one or more elements of a package of support comprising:
Unrestricted funding – Giving recipient organisations the flexibility to respond more effectively to the challenges they face and to the needs of the children they serve

Tailored consultancy support – Offering recipient organisations access to training or skills and helping them to maximise the benefits of their Award

PR support and media training – Providing recipient organisations with the tools and opportunities to use the Award to enhance their profile
• In 2013 there are 16 Awards in total that will be split across two regions – Africa-Middle East and Asia-Pacific – and across the following categories: Health, Education, Protection, and our new category Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
• The main Impact Award will be given to four winners per region (one each in Health, Education, Protection and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)) that will each receive $100,000 in unrestricted funding together with a bespoke package of consultancy and PR support, media training, a portfolio of high quality photos, a film that showcases their work and a week in London for a representative to receive the Award and meet potential partners. Each organisation will also benefit from the opportunity to work together with STARS for up to one year to promote their plans to other donors and seek to raise additional funding.
• In addition, smaller Awards of different sizes will be made at the discretion of STARS’ Board of Trustees for the following:
Runners Up that will receive unrestricted funding together with a bespoke package of consultancy, and PR support which includes a portfolio of high quality photos that showcases their work. Each organisation will also benefit from the opportunity to work together with STARS for up to one year to promote their plans to other donors and seek to raise additional funding.

Rising Stars that will receive unrestricted funding together with a bespoke package of consultancy, and PR support which includes a portfolio of high quality photos that showcases their work. Each organisation will also benefit from the opportunity to work together with STARS for up to one year to promote their plans to other donors and seek to raise additional funding. Rising Stars will in particular be encouraged to be part of a STARS initiative around accelerating their development as outstanding grassroots organisations that demonstrate potential.

Small Award recipients that will receive unrestricted funding and the opportunity to work together with STARS for up to one year to promote their plans to other donors and seek to raise additional funding.
• The awards are underpinned by a rigorous selection process, which has been developed with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Awards recipients are selected using eight criteria that reflect the hallmarks of effective practice and all applicants receive feedback on their application.
• The Awards will be open for applications on 10th September 2012, with the deadline for applications 12th November 2012 http://www.starsfoundation.org.uk/apply/
• The STARS Foundation is governed by an international board of trustees chaired by its founder, His Excellency Amr A. Al Dabbagh.
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