Over the course of more than two decades, The Atlantic Philanthropies have awarded approximately 4,240 grants totalling $3.8 billion through the third quarter of 2006.

We plan to spend our entire endowment by 2020 to make a significant, sustainable impact in our four programme areas – Ageing, Disadvantaged Children & Youth, Population Health and Reconciliation & Human Rights. We intend to award approximately $350 million per year through 2016, the year we plan to complete active grantmaking.

As of 31 December 2005, the value of Atlantic’s endowment was $3.9 billion. Of that, $580 million was committed for grants at year end. The endowment consists of a diversified portfolio of absolute return strategies, private equity investments, global equities and bonds. We also own interests in hotels, resorts, health clubs and retailers through General Atlantic Group Limited (GAGL), a subsidiary. These businesses accounted for approximately 12.1 per cent of the endowment value at year end 2005."

Search Criteria

Our programme staff actively seeks out organisations that share our philanthropic focus in our seven target regions – Australia, Bermuda, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Viet Nam. We do not consider unsolicited applications.

In selecting potential organisations for funding, we search for institutions that demonstrate strong organisational leadership, evidence of past and current successes, financial strength, and the capacity to implement projects and evaluate their success.

Prior to inviting an organisation to submit an application for funding, our programme staff will conduct extensive due diligence. Occasionally, we will seek external verification of our due diligence.

Emphasis on Strategic Learning & Evaluation

Before we award a grant, we agree with grantees upon arrangements to monitor their progress and report on outcomes. We believe that evaluating our grantees’ work and sharing learning about effective strategies are keys to bringing about lasting changes in the programme areas where we concentrate. To that end, we work diligently to help our grantees assess their progress and learn from their experience. We then invest in sharing lessons as to what works and what does not work.