What We do

Who We Are

The Adsum Foundation was established in 2008 in Belfast, Northern Ireland with the goal of investing money in people and communities in the developing world.

We have worked in partnership with some of the biggest NGOs around the world, and some of the smallest, to learn and tap into their years of expertise and this process has helped shape our approach to giving. Among other things we have helped build wells in Tanzania, helped provide disaster relief in Pakistan and funded the distribution of mosquito nets in Uganda, all the time learning from each project and putting this newly acquired knowledge to use when evaluating the next one.

How We Do It

Our strategy has evolved so that now when evaluating a new project or organisation, the main question we ask ourselves is Would this still get done without our investment?  If the answer is yes then in the majority of cases we tend not to get involved. This allows us to focus on projects that for one reason or another are not on the radar of the larger organisations or could be too small to attract their attention and for which the struggle for funds is ever greater.

Two of the key things we look for is good leadership and accountability which we feel is vital for both the success of the project and for our relationship with the charity responsible for carrying it out.

We also look at the long term effect of the project on the community and surrounding area. We only want to invest in sustainable projects so we look at who it is helping and will it still be here and be useful when the next generation comes along?

Partnering

We are aware that our resources are barely enough to scratch the surface of the situations we encounter and as a result operate partnering schemes to try and lever as much investment as possible, on top of our own, for the charities we feel should be supported.

Often people want to give and get involved in giving schemes but do not know how or perhaps are wary of entering a sector they are not familiar with.

We have spent considerable time and money researching the process of what happens before we invest in a charity and this can involve examining their history, meeting them face to face and on occasion seeing their work first hand. Only after this do we make our decision. By putting our own money into an organisation we believe that this demonstrates to potential investors our trust in a charity and our belief that these projects are worth supporting.

From the beginning at the Adsum Foundation we have benefited greatly from the advice and know-how of many people in the sector, both those who were giving and those receiving funds, so that when we came to focus our strategy and narrow the direction of our investments we could do so with confidence that we were making informed decisions.

Luckily so many people were generous with their time in explaining their experiences to us and likewise we are happy to share our experience with people who want to know more and perhaps in time get involved in giving themselves.

With our partnering schemes we aim to make it as easy as possible for interested companies and individuals to take the next step towards making a positive and vital contribution to those in the developing world who want to help themselves.