The New York Times Communities Fund has supported global poverty reduction efforts for more than 100 years. Since The Fund’s establishment in 1911, it has raised more than $354 million. Currently, the nonprofit organization helps more than 1.5 million people yearly.

How It Works

Originally known as The Neediest Cases Fund, The New York Times Communities Fund annually raises money for thoroughly selected nonprofits with local to global impacts. The 113th campaign supports nonprofits such as First Book, which provides underserved schools across the U.S. with reading materials and the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), which promotes female education in rural Africa.

CAMFED

In 1993, Ann Cotton OBE founded CAMFED, aiming to drastically increase the number of girls in rural Africa who complete secondary school. Poverty prevents an astounding 95% of girls in this region from finishing school. CAMFED combats the social and financial barriers these girls face to not only allow them to stay in school but to blossom.

CAMFED increases a girl’s accessibility to education in several thoughtful ways. The organization pays school fees and provides girls’ uniforms, books and bicycles, helping young girls combat financial restraints. CAMFED also trains teachers and peer mentors to provide girls with social support, making them more likely to stay in school. After graduating, the girls will have access to finance, support and business training from CAMFED to ensure their success and ability to pass on their knowledge to the next generation.

Since 1993, CAMFED has aided the schooling of 7.2 million children, including 2.2 million girls completing secondary school, from the most deprived regions in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Through access to education, these girls become empowered women who inspire positive change in their communities. The support CAMFED provides lifts girls from poverty, putting them in a position to encourage and share knowledge with others to allow them to do the same.

Hispanic Federation

The Times also supports the Hispanic Federation. While the nonprofit mainly supports Hispanic communities and institutions in the U.S., it has granted $200,000 to Conservación ConCiencia in the Caribbean since Hurricane Maria devastated the region in 2017.

The Hispanic Federation’s donation focused on developing Puerto Rico’s resiliency to weather-related power outages that spoil fisheries’ stocks. Hurricane Maria left parts of Puerto Rico without power for months, destroying the food and income provided by fishing.

The Hispanic Federation’s grant to Conservación ConCiencia funded solar panels to prevent similar devastation from occurring in the future. This infrastructure makes families less likely to lose their livelihoods and fall into poverty after a natural disaster.

Takeaways

The New York Times Communities Fund fights global poverty by supporting nonprofits such as CAMFED and the Hispanic Federation. After more than 100 years of existence and positively impacting millions, the organization will likely continue using its influence to strive for a better world.

– Madison Fetch

Madison is based in Glasgow, Scotland and focuses on Business and Politics for The Borgen Project.

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