Our mission is to combat the root causes of poverty in Africa and the Middle-East

The Addax and Oryx Foundation aims to fund focused, high-impact projects with a clear beginning, end and exit strategy, run by small organisations that have little or no access to large funders. The Foundation gives preference to concrete projects that cover more than one of our key areas of focus: health, education, community development, with environmental stewardship cutting across all activities, in the knowledge that they are all crucial to the journey out of extreme poverty.

Due to the large number of applications we have received, we are obliged to temporarily suspend the possibility of submitting projects in order to be able to evaluate the applications received to date and respond in due course.

• Are you a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization?
• Do you contribute to eradicating the root causes of poverty in Africa and/or the Middle East?
• Does your project focus on two or more of the Foundation’s four areas of work?
• Does your project aim to have a lasting and measurable impact for the most disadvantaged populations?
• Will your project ensure sustainable development through capacity building and improved livelihoods?

 Selection criteria

The Addax and Oryx Foundation funds projects that: 

1. Are conducted by registered non-profit, non-governmental organisations (see also under Limitations and exclusions) with:
   • Proven experience and competence in the proposed area of activity.
   • Demonstrated budget efficiency and transparency in the use of funds.
2. Contribute to the eradication of the root causes of poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
3. Focus on the Foundation’s four core areas:
   • Health
   • Education
   • Community development
   • The environment.
4. Create a sustainable and measureable impact for the most underprivileged populations.
5. Ensure sustainable development by building skills and empowerment for the long-term.

The Foundation gives preference to projects that cover two or more of its core areas, and to small organisations run by highly committed individuals who are directly involved in the projects they propose.

The organisations it supports commit to biannual reporting on the progress of the project and the use of funds. The Foundation is strongly committed to efficient technical and financial management of the projects its finances.

The Foundation has developed a policy document as a recommendation to NGOs requesting funding for water-related proposals. The Addax and Oryx Foundation gives priority to projects that encompass the whole cycle of water supply, in particular, the natural recharging of underground water through intact ecosystems.

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Limitations and exclusions

The Foundation does not support:

• On-going programs
• Individuals or their families directly
• Religious or faith-based projects, programs or organisations
• Political organisations and/or events
• For-profit organisations
• Third-party fundraisers
• Unregistered charities
• Projects outside Africa and the Middle East
• Sports sponsorships
• Research when it is the project's sole purpose
• Professional conventions, conferences, seminars
• Requests solely for travel, accommodation and/or meal expenses
• Requests solely for operating or administrative expenses

Funding process

Selected projects are submitted to the Foundation’s Board, which meets 3-4 times per year. Once a project is approved by the Foundation’s Board, it is the subject of a Funding Agreement that defines precisely the duties of the implementing organisation towards the Foundation and vice versa. This implies an efficient and transparent use of funds with regards to the stated project objectives. The implementing organisation is required to provide biannual narrative and financial reports during the project and a final report three months following the end of the project. The Foundation commits to supporting the implementing organisation financially according to a jointly established schedule.

It has been brought to our attention that fraudulent messages occasionally circulate, indicating that payment is required by the Addax and Oryx Foundation for membership in order to submit a project proposal. We underline that the Foundation never requires any association to contribute or pay any expenses or fees towards submitting a funding request.