The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is an Independent United States Government Agency which provides grants of up to $250,000 to community groups and small enterprises that benefit under served and marginalized groups in Sub-Saharan Africa.[1] USADF measures grant success in terms of jobs created and sustained, increased incomes levels, and improved social conditions. In 2010 USADF has budgeted over $20 million for project grants in 20 countries. An additional $4.5 million is budgeted for African directed partner organizations that provide technical design and implementation support for USADF grantees.[2]
Type | US government agency |
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Founded | African Development Foundation Act 1980 |
Location | 21 Countries in Africa |
Area served | Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, |
Mission | "To support under served, marginalized communities in Africa with resources that help create better economic opportunities and an improved quality of life"--$17 million to 200 projects in 20 African Countries--$4.8 million to Capacity Building organizations in Africa |
Motto | "Fostering hope, growth and goodwill in Africa |
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Created by an Act of Congress in 1980, USADF began program operations in 1984. It has since provided financing to more than 1,500 small enterprises and community-based organizations. Descriptions, photos, goals and budgets of active projects in each country may be viewed at the USADF website.[3]
USADF's budget is funded through annual U.S. government appropriations for foreign operations, and is governed by a board of directors that includes seven members who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate.[4]
USADF currently operates in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Foundation plans to begin new program in the Turkana Region of Kenya and do special food security project in the Sahel region of West Africa in 2011.[3]
In 2005, the United States Office of Management and Budget rated ADF's programs fully "effective" under its Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART) program, an efficiency recognition that has been accorded to less than 10 percent of United States Government grantmaking programs. ADF receives most of its programming resources from the United States Government, but it has also established strategic partnerships with African governments and private corporations to leverage the impact of its federal funding.
USADF's programs focus on supporting small local or community businesses and individuals. They support programs that will provide increased employment for their areas of service. The fund has two types of grants that applicants can apply for:
Somebody tells you to go away, some people think that the world is not my place Unwittingly they bored me again, like a commercial break before the movie ends Somebody stops me from being me. Somebody says my career is over Of course it is, said somebody else, but it ain’t over till it’s over, I say Cause I will get to you, to you too, I will get to you, to you too. Somebody tells you to be yourself, somebody can’t recognize my voice, They say, they know me better than I’ll ever will and of course they bore me Someone experiments with my nerves, the other thinks my career is over Of course it is, says somebody else If I ever Get to you, to you too, I’ll not forget you. And what I want to say to you is, don’t be so blue, Be so very you, not only Jesus loves you, I guess I can love you, too What’s bringing me down, these million voices, before I get to you / What’s bringing me down, familiar voices