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EExishmumFoundation

Impact

From ideas to lasting change.

We publish impact in one consistent structure so that stories can be read, compared and questioned — including the parts that did not go to plan.

Method

How we tell a story

  1. 01

    The challenge

    The problem as described by the people closest to it.

  2. 02

    The idea

    What was proposed, and why it was worth testing.

  3. 03

    The support

    What we funded, and what else the work needed.

  4. 04

    The work

    What actually happened, including changes along the way.

  5. 05

    The result

    What changed, evidenced rather than asserted.

  6. 06

    The learning

    What we would do differently, including what did not work.

  7. 07

    What comes next

    Where the work goes from here.

Stories

Impact stories

Each story follows the same structure and has been reviewed by the organization it describes.

Education & LearningAsia & Pacific

A teacher-led literacy network takes ownership of its own training

The challenge
Teachers in a rural district described the same problem repeatedly: training was designed elsewhere, delivered once, and rarely matched the classrooms they returned to.
The idea
A group of teachers proposed running their own termly training cycle, with lesson observation and peer coaching replacing one-off workshops.
The support
The Foundation funded coordination time, travel and materials for two full school years, and covered the cost of an independent evaluator chosen by the network.
The work
The network ran nine coaching cycles. Attendance was uneven in the first year, so the group moved sessions into school hours and reduced their scope.
The result
The network reports higher participation in its second year and now maintains a shared, teacher-written lesson bank. Learning outcomes are being assessed by the independent evaluator and will be published with the evaluation.
The learning
Our original reporting template asked for numbers the network could not collect without diverting teaching time. We simplified it mid-grant.
What comes next
The network is preparing to open its coaching cycle to three neighbouring districts.
Climate & EnvironmentLatin America & Caribbean

Rebuilding water security on a changing coastline

The challenge
Saltwater intrusion had made two community wells unusable, and households were spending an increasing share of income on trucked water.
The idea
A community association proposed a combined approach: rainwater capture at household scale, plus repair and relocation of shared infrastructure.
The support
Three years of programme support, technical review by an engineer selected by the community, and a contingency line the association could draw on without renegotiating the grant.
The work
Household capture was installed faster than expected. The shared infrastructure work was delayed by a permitting process no one had planned for.
The result
Household capture is operating and the association is reporting reduced reliance on trucked water. The shared works are under way, with completion expected in the next cycle.
The learning
We under-budgeted for permitting and legal advice. We now ask applicants to price regulatory work explicitly.
What comes next
The association is documenting its permitting experience so neighbouring communities do not repeat the delay.
Health & WellbeingNorth America

Peer support that keeps people out of crisis services

The challenge
A small clinic's caseworkers were carrying more referrals than they could follow up, and people were returning to crisis services between appointments.
The idea
Train and pay peer support workers with lived experience to hold the space between appointments, under clinical supervision.
The support
Capacity support covering supervision hours, peer worker wages and the administrative time to set the programme up properly.
The work
Recruitment took longer than planned. Supervision, initially monthly, moved to weekly after the first quarter at the peer workers' request.
The result
The clinic reports that follow-up contact is now happening consistently between appointments. Outcome data is being collected and will be published once reviewed.
The learning
Paying peer workers properly, and supervising them properly, cost more than the original budget assumed. It was the part that mattered most.
What comes next
The clinic is writing up its supervision model so other services can adopt it.

Results & outcomes

Measured, not claimed

Our evidence standards apply to every story, report and figure we publish.

Evidence before numbers

We publish a figure only when it comes from a source we can name and a method we can describe. Where evaluation is still running, we say so and publish the result when it lands.

Attribution, honestly

Funded work rarely has one cause. We describe our contribution rather than claiming the outcome, and we name the partners whose work carried it.

Grantees review their own story

No story is published until the organization it describes has read it and agreed that it is accurate.

Failure is published too

Every story carries a learning section. Portfolios that did not achieve what they set out to achieve are written up in the same format.

Research & learning

What we are learning

Evaluations, reading lists, toolkits and our published learning notes all live in the resource library.

Open the resource librarySee the transparency centre