Local funding, global impact

The Legatum Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Legatum, a Dubai-based investment giant, has made a name for itself by creating dynamic collaborative funds targeting a range of social issues from modern slavery, neglected tropical diseases, and out-of-school children.

Now building on more than a decade of impact through the Freedom Fund, the End Fund, and the Luminos Fund, Legatum is launching a fourth vehicle, the Resilio Fund, dedicated to providing microgrants to frontline NGOs working humanitarian settings.

Resilio, which is due to be officially launched in 2025, aims to mobilise US$100m in its first five years to support grassroots organisations based in a range or crisis zones including Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Lebanon.

The idea, explained Legatum Foundation's president, Guy Cave, in an interview with Circle’s podcast, Shaping Philanthropy, is to target humanitarian response directly to affected people, rather than rely on funding to trickle down through institutions.

“We’re supporting a very local approach that’s looking at getting behind what communities are already doing to help themselves,” he said. “These microgrants are totally what we would call ‘trust based’ - they can spend however they think is right.”

Resilio, like Legatum’s other funds, was tested first as a pilot in 2021. Since then it has worked across half a dozen countries, including Myanmar, where village communities displaced by aerial bombardments were able to receive cash for food within 24 hours, and in Sudan, where youth volunteers have mobilised to help communities affected by violent conflict.

“At a practical level, it’s fast and efficient, because with cash people can buy things locally,” Cave said. “It also means they have a real sense of ownership, and it gives them dignity.” And he added that post-grant evaluations had also shown how many recipients had used first grants to fund survival but then moved towards strengthening their resilience to be better prepared for future disasters.

During the interview, recorded at Legatum’s HQ in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Cave also talked about how another of the Foundation’s pilot programmes, a justice initiative targeting people stuck in pre-trial detention, was helping to reduce overcrowding in Ugandan prisons.

Other topics explored in the interview include the importance of measuring impact (not just "input") and how good partnerships are key to effective collaboration.