Our Membership Criteria
Our network welcomes members who…
1. …have a commitment to improving educational outcomes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
2. …grant-make;
3. …receive the majority of their funding from private sources (e.g., endowments, profits, and founding HNW gifts).
Nota bene: We do not consider philanthropic grants (whether from individuals or organisations) to be classified as “private sector funding” in the context of our membership criteria. While the criteria above reflect the formal membership framework agreed as part of IEFG’s 2023 strategy, we recognise the evolving landscape of education philanthropy. As such, IEFG also welcomes applications from organisations that believe they would bring to and gain value from our community but do not quite meet these criteria. Philanthropic intermediaries established specifically to channel philanthropic grants, thereby improving the sector’s efficiency, are one such example.
Benefits of becoming a Member
M embers of the International Education Funders Group (IEFG) are grantmakers that aim to promote basic education in low- and middle-income countries. Membership is for organisations that fulfil the IEFG Membership Criteria stated above.
The International Education Funders Group (IEFG) gives its members a variety of opportunities to enhance their knowledge and improve their practices. We do this by:
- Sending our monthly newsletters, which keep members up to date on important events, insightful blog posts, reports, opinions, and news on education grantmaking.
- Holding at least one member-convening per year – hosted by one or more member foundations – of which every other one is usually held in the Global South. Our annual membership conferences are the pinnacle of the network’s learning and networking opportunities. During these conferences, members and experts discuss a thematic topic of interest to the group in order to remain on top of current and future developments in education grantmaking.
- Organising funder immersion visits (as of 2023) where members get the opportunity to reflect on funders’ roles within systems, to engage in dialogue with local stakeholders, and to strengthen cohesion with other funders, bilateral and multilateral organisations.
- Hosting webinars/virtual sessions on topics and themes of interest suggested by our members to keep organisations connected.
- Supporting more collaboration among members via an interactive Member Dashboard that visualises information on what and where our members fund, who they fund, and where they fit into the larger education funding landscape. We also publish annual IEFG Membership & Thematic Foci Snapshots, which hold information on every member and their thematic interests.
- Meeting at an external event such as CIES or UKFIET (i.e., the academic conferences of our field). At such events, members have the opportunity to raise the profile of education and connect informally through side meetings.
- Connecting members through the IEFG communication platform.
- Encouraging more specialised discussions within thematic cohorts.
- Amplifying our members’ funding work through our social media and communication channels and public newsletter.
- Identifying collaboration opportunities through thematic corners and regional chapters.
Membership Contributions
Membership contributions are entirely optional, yet these contributions play a vital role in sustaining our network’s capacity to establish essential environments for promoting education grantmaking efforts. These voluntary dues mirror the yearly grantmaking budgets of our members.
Therefore, The IEFG Steering Committee invites each member to contribute to the network’s well-being through financial means or by offering resources. Consistent with past practice, members can determine the extent of their financial contribution, with a suggested sum aligned with their organisation’s annual grantmaking budget.