Have you heard the saying, “money follows money”? It means that once you’ve received some grant funds or donations momentum builds and more people want to give to your project. It happens in crowdfunding campaigns, and it also happens in rural Malawi.
When we attended the grand opening of the Manyamula COMSIP Cooperative in May 2017, one of the speakers was Paul Chunga of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). ICRISAT had recently formed a partnership with the Cooperative, supporting 60 farmers with seeds and a market for groundnuts (peanuts). They have a goal of improving the lives of small farmer families. A goal very much in line with COMSIP and Spirit in Action.
Paul Chunga of ICRSAT presents information about different groundnut (peanut) varietals.
ICRISAT also recognized the big impact that migration to South Africa from this region has had on the community. They see that the COMSIP Cooperative is playing a role, by investing in community development, in creating reasons for people to stay.
“Together we grow.” Paul Lungu and Sequina show off some of their peanut crop, grown with improved seeds from ICRISAT.
Money Follows Money
Spirit in Action was the first international funder of this Cooperative – originally called the Manyamula Savings and Loans Cooperative, way back in 2010. Since that time, many others have been inspired to support what they see as a strong and impactful organization. Today, ICRISAT is also partnering with this community. “Thank you, SIA, for creating an environment where ICRISAT could come in and invest,” said Paul during his speech at the opening celebration. Money follows money.
Part of the ripple of Spirit in Action is that our grants can help our partners launch their programs, make a name for themselves, and seek out funds from other organizations and institutions. Our grants can help attract other grants. One of the ways we help this happen is by providing letters of recommendation for our strong partners when they apply for other grants. In the last two months, I’ve written three such letters! The ripples continues!