How it began
Starting in 2007, on behalf of a client, Geneva Global implemented an initiative in Burundi and Rwanda to address the prevalence of five neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
The results—significant reductions in disease prevalence—were so dramatic that the client was eager to scale the program throughout Africa and beyond.
Therefore, to invite collaboration with other donors, the client asked Geneva Global to create a pooled philanthropic fund.
The result was the END (Ending Neglected Diseases) Fund, which launched in 2012 with the aim to control and eliminate NTDs that debilitate, blind, disfigure, and cause early death to over 1.5 billion of the world’s poorest people.
Our work
With seed money and support provided by our client, we incubated and launched the END Fund, which included:
- Operations and back-office support. We registered the charity in both the US and the UK, created the initial organizational and governance structures, and put in place starting financial, administrative, and granting procedures.
- Program management. We set up and designed the END Fund’s initial program strategy and provided dedicated Geneva Global programs and grant management staff to support the END Fund’s initial programmatic efforts.
- Fundraising. We created marketing materials, identified a target donor list, and, in partnership with our client, found the initial investors to launch the END Fund.
The END Fund CEO joined in 2012, and while the organization was still staffing up, our team served as the fund’s program management staff.
This included identifying programs in additional countries, conducting due diligence on implementing partners, monitoring and evaluating the work, and providing custom in-depth reporting for the fund’s board and donors.
The END Fund is now an independent entity and has continued to grow and to improve the lives of tens of millions of people around the world every year.
