About The Glenn Family Foundation
The Glenn Family Foundation was formed in the 1980’s by entrepreneur and renowned philanthropist, Sir Owen G. Glenn. The Foundation supports charities, institutions and individuals around the globe in the upliftment of communities and alleviation of suffering. The philosophy of its founder is in offering a hand up, not a hand out, and in so building communities that are empowered, self-sustaining and proud.
Donated so far
Toilets built
Schools helped
Children Supported
Projects
What we do
The Glenn Family Foundation empowers and uplifts vulnerable communities by providing them with sustainable access to their most basic needs. This includes but is not limited to access to clean water, access to solar power, improved sanitation to reduce incidence of disease and improved living conditions to foster a sense of pride.
We also recruit volunteers to enrich these communities through education, skills sharing and technical expertise. Our volunteers are enmeshed in these communities for a six month period to ensure they have a meaningful impact.
Our Approach
The Glenn Family Foundation uplifts communities in a way that encourages local empowerment and local ownership. Sustainability is our primary objective. We do this by attending closely to local needs, leveraging the strengths and resources of the local community, and transferring skills and ownership. Our core focus areas are on basic needs, including access to clean water, access to solar power, improved sanitation to reduce incidence of disease, access to education, improved health and sustainable livelihoods. We believe that when people have their basic needs fulfilled, they are uplifted, empowered and can exercise greater choice over their lives and destinies.
Our work begins with a local partnership building and researching the local needs and root causes from the perspective of beneficiaries and other stakeholders such as government, local leaders, and local NGOs. We then identify an area of suitable scope and form a local committee to oversee the project planning and implementation. We use local resources and people wherever we can, but also include international subject matter experts where needed and involve local and international volunteers. We closely monitor the process and outcomes of our work and use participatory methodologies wherever we can. We consider our efforts successful when the local community has sustainable access to their basic needs and is able to continue supporting its own development.
Our Values
Participation and empowerment
Our model is built around local participation and empowerment. All stages of our work, from initial investigation of the needs, to planning, implementation and evaluation involve local knowledge and decision making. We form village committees and build their capacity to ensure the continued development of the community.
Sustainability
Local committees who are empowered and committed ensure the continued development of the community, and the sustainability of our work. We also enhance sustainability through programme design; programmes that address the root causes of poverty and inequity have a deeper impact. Local participation also ensures that programmes are relevant and contextually appropriate. We conduct evaluations at the short and long term to assess the sustainability of our work.
Quality and effectiveness
We are committed to understanding the contexts we work in and including the knowledge and perspectives of local stakeholders. We articulate our vision, strategy and values, and our programmes remain closely linked to these. We evaluate our work and use these results to learn and improve. We share our results with all project partners and local stakeholders. We assess and manage risk at the organisational level, and on a project level.
Contact Us
You can get hold of us directly by filling out this contact form.