Philanthropy

At Krutham, we work with philanthropies in South Africa and across the continent to develop strategy and endowment plans, with an impact investing lens. We help conceptualise, design and launch catalytic capital and blended finance structures that align mission-related and programme-related investments.

What does it mean to be a foundation in Africa? What is the most effective way to extend the reach of your programmes at a time when the cutbacks in international development aid are rippling across the sector? What assets do you have, or can you develop, to maximise the impact of your work? Krutham supports foundations and family offices across Africa to understand these questions and recast their programme and investment strategies to maximise the reach of available assets. We advise clients on how to grow their assets over time to ensure their work continues and multi-year commitments can be sustained.

The Krutham approach

Krutham’s philanthropy practice brings the emerging world of impact investing into the realm of foundations and family offices. We work with teams and trustees to ensure core purpose, impact objectives and approaches align both mission investments and programme budgets. We combine technical expertise with the latest impact investing insight to help these organisations develop their own impact investing pathway. We play a leading research role across the continent into the policies and regulations that shape the future of impact.

Impact strategy development

Our work helps foundations and family offices achieve measurable social and environmental impact while seeking financial returns with available financial resources. We help these organisations move beyond traditional grant making and into impact investing. Investment Policy Statements articulate this shift in strategy, balancing the grant commitments made to partner organisations with available financial resources and exploring the potential of higher yielding assets to boost cash yields and extend programme reach.

Research and advocacy

Contribute evidence-based analysis to research initiatives such as Accelerating Impact that inform policy and practice for impact investing and the Impact Investing Handbook for Foundations.

Collaboration for impact

We convene the Foundations Xchange Platform which brings together South Africa’s leading corporate foundations each quarter to share insights and collaborate on impact-driven interventions. We showcase the work of leading African philanthropies though the annual African Impact Investing Awards.

Impact capacity development

We bring the Impact Investing Handbook for Foundations to life through masterclass training programmes that help philanthropies understand the potential of impact investing as a strategy. Our workshops and briefings extend from conceptual introductions to regulatory, financial and reporting practises, delivered with practical examples.

Impact capital funds

We design, implement and manage impact investment funds that address pressing social challenges. These can be bespoke, single entity funds or be designed to “crowd in” capital from a range of other funders, both philanthropic and commercial reflecting a range of return (social and financial) expectations.

Our work includes

Project Review

A review of a global foundation’s projects in Uganda and Kenya. We developed a new strategy for the projects and supported the foundation to improve their sustainability.

Future Strategy Development

A review for one of South Africa’s largest corporate foundations of its 20 years of operating history with recommendations for an evolved strategy for the future. Our detailed report became the strategic guide for the future development of the foundation.

Endowment Strategy Development

We have advised several foundations on how to optimise the cash flows from available endowment assets. We considered approaches to match future programme commitments and aspirations to projected income streams with detailed modelling and then created short- and medium-term plans to grow endowment assets without compromising on programme delivery.

Evergreen Capital Fund Development

This multi-party collaboration saw us provide technical, accounting, legal and IMM input into the design and launch of an evergreen capital fund that targets early stage small and medium firms in the green technology arena.

Programme Support

A global foundation asked us to develop a large turnkey project to deliver youth employment outcomes, utilising an innovative pay-for-performance model. This work led to Krutham being awarded an implementation role to set up the infrastructure and manage the project’s pilot phase.

Comprehensive Impact Platform Development

This platform concept combines an impact investing strategy and a catalytic impact fund framed within a national impact investing ecosystem development plan, all designed to develop mobilise capital into small business and community development in a southern African economy that has significant development needs.

Comprehensive capabilities

Krutham’s impact team combines long-standing research, development, reporting and finance capabilities to support your journey to greater, more considered impact.

Strategy and Endowment Development

Investment Policy Statement review and redesign for impact
Board and leadership training on impact investing
Risk assessment and portfolio allocation review
Legal and tax impact assessment of strategy plans
Fund structure development and integration of blended finance components

Ecosystem Development

Impact investment market building
Cross-sector partnership facilitation
Masterclass training on impact investing
Policy reform for taxation and disclosure taxonomies
Handbook and guidebook production

Thought leadership

“Globally, foundations are learning that through impact investing they can magnify the difference they make in the world. Impact investing enables them to catalyse their limited financial resources to have a much greater impact than through grant-making programmes alone. ”

From Krutham’s Accelerating Impact, Paper 2: Taxation and PBOs

Ready to scale your impact?

If you lead a foundation and you are seeking to deepen your impact, scale your programmes, collaborate with like-minded foundations or develop your endowment strategy, we can help you design and implement impact finance solutions that work.