Give More is a 12-month campaign to encourage people to share their passion for the causes they care about by making a public commitment to give more money, time or energy this year, and to get us all talking more about giving.
Prism the Gift Fund co-hosted with Scott Prenn, a very stimulating panel discussion on the challenges of Social Finance on 30 November in Westminster. There was standing room only with over 100 guests from the private client sector, including philanthropists and charities.
Pannellists included, Stephen Brenninkmeijer, private investor, Michael Green, co-author Philanthrocapitalism, Nigel Kershaw, CEO The Big Issue Invest, Gina Miller, Founder and Chair, Miller Philanthropy and the moderator was John Gordon, founder of Intelligence Squared.
Prism the Gift Fund is pleased to announce that we have been nominated in the category of Philanthropy Adviser of the Year at the Spear’s Wealth Management Awards 2011.
Described as “the Oscars of the Financial World” by the Evening Standard, the Awards, which are now in their fourth year, recognise the top firms and individuals in the private client world. The shortlist is based on recommendations by Spears HNW readers, peers and Spear’s staff, and the winner will be chosen by a panel of industry experts and Spear’s staff, with final awards being presented on 1st November in central London.
Prism the Gift Fund is listed as one of the key 20 advisors in the philanthropic sector in Spears Magazine September 2011 edition.
Excellent supports subsistence farmers and their families to gain access to clean water and grow more food to eat, store and sell. The charity supports communities to build sand dams which provide clean water and the potential to invest in sustainable agriculture.
In rural Kenya survival has become increasingly precarious over the last decade. This year’s drought is the third since 2005, and the water table has had no chance to recover. In 2009 and 2010 there was a particularly devastating water crisis. Crops failed, wildlife and livestock died, and the food shortage reached the point of famine. Now crisis has struck again. Wells are at risk of drying up, as ground water is depleted more and more.
However, there is great truth in the old saying ‘prevention is better than cure’ and communities with sand dams have weathered the storm. Their dams store 2-10 million litres of clean water, that won’t evaporate. Built in seasonal riverbeds, the dams trap a bank of water under sand where it is protected from parasites, providing a year-round supply of clean, filtered water that would have otherwise ended up in the ocean. So women and children who used to spend 6-12 hours a day fetching water can now spend their time on agriculture and education.
With Excellent’s support, the communities have also terraced their land and planted trees, techniques which both conserve soil and water. The number of communities requesting Excellent’s support, not just in Kenya but in other drought prone regions too, continues to grow as people hear of the miraculous benefits of sand dams. They too desperately need the security of a water source that is dependable all year round and unaffected by groundwater levels.
Since its formation in 2002 Excellent has supported over 220,000 people to gain access to clean water. It’s 2020 goal is for 3 million more people every year to have access to clean water.
£10,000 will fund a sand dam – providing clean water for life to around 1,000 people
For more information on Excellent’s work please visit www.excellent.org.uk or contact Alexandra Oatham alexandra@excellent.org.uk / 0208 232 9057.
Registered Charity Number 1094478
