Covid-19: Small Foundation’s approach & support: an open letter to our partners
Dear Small Foundation partners,
I hope that you, your colleagues, and families are safe and well.
I wanted to write to give you an update from Small Foundation in light of the coronavirus pandemic. We have been in touch with many of you directly, and your feedback and suggestions have contributed deeply to the principles underpinning our approach. Thank you for all that you are doing.
We are in uncharted territory with the highest level of global uncertainty in at least a generation. This has caused us at Small Foundation to re-evaluate our role and our capacity to support. We have determined the following for ourselves:
- Continue to focus on our vision, mission and goal, and on our guiding principles;
- Maintain a long-term view, focusing on the long-term implications of the crisis;
- Listen to our partners and peers, be open to adjusting, communicate.
What does this mean for you, our partners? Above all, we are conscious that this is a difficult and uncertain time. With any current funding agreement, we are open to reviewing and reconsidering timings and milestones.
Second, we see the flood of information related to the crisis and are working to make sense of it. We have been collating as many resources and data as we can on the sub-Saharan African rural business environment. Please let me know if you would like us to share this list with you.
Third, we are seeking to communicate more proactively with you and other partners as the situation evolves. You will find our more recent updates on our blog. We would be happy to amplify your stories through this channel and across our networks.
Finally, we are considering non-financial ways we can best support you. We are open to your views on what support you need most; please let us know.
Please do reach out to us in this extremely difficult time and we are very open to your ideas and suggestions, and keen to hear from you.
Yours sincerely,
Conor Brosnan
Chair & CEO
Small Foundation
