Everyone should be free to live a safe and dignified life, have a family and make their contribution to society. The Other Foundation works to change the views, practices and institutions that prevent people – because of who they are or who they love – from being able to do that in southern Africa. We gather support for those who are working to protect and advance the equality, freedom, and wellbeing of homosexual and bisexual women and men, and transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming people – and we give support in a smart way that helps groups to work better for lasting change.
Our Mission
The Other Foundation is an African trust that advances human rights in Southern Africa, with a particular focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI), and gender non-conforming people. Our primary purpose is to expand the resources available to defend and advance the equality, freedom, social and economic inclusion, and wellbeing of LGBTI people in the Southern African region. We do this by working as a fundraiser, a grantmaker and a movement builder. Read our full mission statement here. More information about how we started can be found here.
Our Grant-Making
Being a community foundation, the Other Foundation practices participatory methods in all its work. Rather than considering grant proposals entirely on its own, the Foundation asks a panel of peer reviewers, selected through an open application process, to help review and assess grant applications. Peer reviewers are chosen to collectively form a diverse group from different countries in southern Africa with different perspectives and skills. They work individually first, then in teams, and finally all together in a group to decide which projects to recommend for funding. This gives meaningful expression to the identity of the Other Foundation as an LGBTI community foundation. Click here to see who the peer reviewers have been in the Foundation’s grantmaking so far. Click here to read a comparative report that assesses the Foundation’s participatory grantmaking practices against others or here to see a report about the Foundation’s inaugural round of participatory grantmaking in 2014. The report will be of interest to foundations and philanthropists interested in more accountable and transparent ways of making grants. Click here to see a full list of grants that have been given by the Foundation and any current calls for grant applications.
Our Fundraising
The Other Foundation is funded by a growing number of private and public donor agencies as well as individuals. It has a particular interest in increasing the number of individuals in southern Africa who regularly donate to the Foundation in support of its mission.
Your Questions
We would love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments. Answers to some frequently asked questions about the Other Foundation are answered here. Please contact us either by email, phone, or letter. Details of how to do that are on our Contact Us page.
Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile
Award-winning cultural architect, communications specialist, development practitioner, educator, human rights advocate and Botswana’s first openly trans-identifying public figure.
Rosie Motene
Queer feminist author, gender activist, speaker, counsellor, life coach and a pan-African entertainment manager.
Paula Sebastião
Co-founder of Arquivo de Identidade Angolano (the Angolan Identity Archive). Technical advisor on projects working to overcome stigma and discrimination in the provision of health services.
Caine Youngman
Human rights activist working to protect and promote the human rights of LGBTIQ people, children, sex workers, prisoners, women, immigrants, and people living with HIV in Botswana and beyond.
Nalumino Likwasi
Project management and programming specialist with a background in activism to advance and protect women’s human rights, as well as those of sexual minorities. Co-founder of the Women’s Alliance for Equality.
Alan Msosa
Former programme manager in the Office of the Ombudsman (Malawi) with a PhD in human rights from the University of Essex (Britain). Post-doctoral fellow at the University of York (Britain).
Danilo da Silva
Acclaimed advocate for LGBTI people in Mozambique, Africa and globally. Founding executive director of LAMBDA in Mozambique.
Neville Gabriel
African philanthropy practitioner experienced in grantmaking. Economic justice activist and civil society strategist with a track record in establishing successful organisations. Chief executive officer of the Other Foundation.
Contact Us
The Other Foundation is grateful for the support it has received from
