One Economy Foundation faces financial constraints after a major donor withdrew, resulting in a reduction of employees from 37 to 25.
The founder of One Economy, Monica Geingos sat down with NBC's Reporter Hendrina Kanyolo to discuss the challenges faced by the non-profit organisation to stay afloat.
The One Economy Foundation is known for its community work, from supporting gender-based violence victims to offering therapy, rehabilitating drug users, and providing youth development skills over 11 years.
But the foundation today faces financial turbulence, sending home 12 staff members.
Despite this, core operations and programmes remain unaffected.
Geingos explained that changes in the funding landscape are a global issue, saying non-governmental organisations the world over are fragile because they rely mostly on donor funds.
“And when you experience a withdrawal like that, you can only do two things: increase your revenue and reduce your expenditure. As a result, some staff members were affected, which is heartbreaking. But that is the reality of the industry and the sector we operate in.”
Geingos highlighted that although they lost a major donor, the foundation relies on multiple revenue streams.
“We have a risk matrix as part of our governance framework, and the board places significant emphasis on ensuring that we have multiple donors, which we do. It also requires us to secure multi-year contracts, which we have, and to pursue other revenue-generating initiatives, which we are also doing.
She said it is saddening to leave some of the staff members, but they promptly communicated transparently, offering affected staff to be considered internal candidates for future vacancies.
Geingos highlighted that lessons learned included the importance of transparent and quick communication, building donor trust and treating all employees fairly.
She promised the organisation would continue maintaining core operations despite the cuts while inviting the public to participate in the foundation's fundraising activities.