NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Empowers Africa, a non-profit foundation based in the United States that supports programs on the ground in 17 countries Sub Saharan Africa, is pleased to announce its 2015 grant recipients. The foundation has made 25 grants to 23 non-profit organizations amounting to over $195,000 (USD) for programs that support education, healthcare, wildlife protection and small business development. Since its inception on March 1st, 2013, Empowers Africa has granted over $530,000 (USD).
The 2015 Empowers Africa grant recipients are:
- African Parks
- African Wildlife Foundation
- Big Life Foundation
- Cheetah Conservation Fund
- Children in the Wilderness Trust
- Global Witness
- Healing Hands of Joy
- The Imibala Trust
- Inzalo Community Projects NPC
- Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
- Nkomo Primary School
- Nkuringo Orphans Group
- Rural Education and Environmental Development Organization/Nkuringo Integrated Model School
- Friends of Samara Trust
- Singita Community Development Trust/Malilangwe Trust
- Peace Parks Foundation/SA College for Tourism
- The African Bush Camps Foundation
- The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
- Unite the World with Africa Foundation
- Virunga National Park
- Wilderness Wildlife Trust
- WildlifeDirect
- Woodward Ethiopia
Empowers Africa held its annual gala dinner at The Explorers Club in New York City on April 23rd, 2015. The event raised over $150,000 for human empowerment and wildlife protection in Africa. Guests included: Beth Rudin DeWoody, Dennis Basso, Nina Griscom, Chris Mack, Jenny Kennedy, Sandra Ripert and Jennifer Creel. The auction consisted of prints by Firooz Zahedi and Andy Biggs and exotic trips to Botswana, Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda, Chad and Zimbabwe. The organization honored Global Witness and its co-founding Directors Patrick Alley, Charmian Gooch & Simon Taylor - winners of the 2014 Ted Prize and the 2014 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Their work includes investigating and documenting environmental crimes depicted in 2006 blockbuster Blood Diamond and the 2015 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature Virunga.
Empowers Africa is a 501(c)(3) that focuses on funding programs in communities that surround protected conservation and wildlife areas or World Heritage sites; programs in urban communities where tourism is a strong source of development; and programs that support the protection of wildlife and land conservation. Visit the organization’s website at www.empowersafrica.org.
