OVERVIEW: The MasterCard Foundation focuses its global development grantmaking on financial inclusion, education and learning, and youth livelihoods.
IP TAKE: The MasterCard Foundation funds a wide range of issues, but is not an easily accessible foundation as it tends to partner with large NGOs and academic institutions over local and grassroots organizations.
PROFILE: Gifted with shares from the financial services company MasterCard, The MasterCard Foundation was established in 2006, functions separately from its corporate sister. The foundation ultimately seeks to “[a]dvance education and financial inclusion to catalyze prosperity in developing countries.” It prioritizes giving in Africa to create an "[i]nclusive, more equitable Africa by supporting the implementation of proven development models and scalable approaches." The foundation believes that the key to prosperity is through "[e]ducation, skills training and financial inclusion," and as such, its investments reflect this dedication.
Grants for Global Development, Work Opportunity, Women and Refugees
The MasterCard Foundation’s work overlaps several focus areas to support their mission. Its international work predominately focuses on Africa with several satellite offices established there. Global development work tends to focus on supporting women, refugees, and others seek financial inclusion and learning in Africa. Mastercard has evolved it’s giving approach to include a country-led approach rather than an issue-driven approach. For Mastercard, this means a primary focus on African nations, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda.
In 2020, the foundation created the Young Africa Works program to help young Ugandans and refugees find work opportunities in agriculture, tourism and hospitality, and construction and housing. Youth Employment in Africa helps to facilitate Young Africa Works’s work. The foundation helps young people who live in poverty and are “vulnerably employed. These countries will have an enabling environment for growth, job creation, education and skills development, and an ability to influence within regions. We will also prioritize working with African organizations.”
Among grantees, several beneficiaries of MasterCard grants include women and refugees. While MasterCard does not have a specific grantmaking strategy for women and refugees, it does include them in giving strategy.
The foundation also offers funding through about ten initiatives that are focused on improving financial inclusion and livelihoods through education, scholarship, research and improving access to financial services, among others. And in 2022, it partnered with Carnegie Mellon University and the government of Rwanda to invest $275.7 million to strengthen technology, innovation, and research in Africa, and to expand access to education for youth from disadvantaged communities across the continent, particularly young women, young people with disabilities, and refugees.
Grants for Global Health
While The MasterCard Foundation has awarded grants to projects in low-income countries around the world, Africa is now the priority region. MasterCard, in 2020, launched the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program to meet urgent needs created by the pandemic in Africa, which has become the Saving Lives and Livelihoods program. Flush with $1.5 billion, the program works to create vaccines, strengthen the CDC in Africa, and expanding vaccine manufacturing in Africa.
Important Grant Details:
The MasterCard Foundation's grants range from $100,000 to $250,000 for multi-year programs. The foundation also awards several grants between $1 million to $5 million. It does not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry about funding or what it refers to as “concept notes.” The foundation occasionally issues requests for proposals.
Information is a bit sparse on The MasterCard Foundation’s application process for the remainder of its programs. According to the foundation’s most recent tax filings, once it reviews a concept note, if the work aligns with the foundation’s objectives, it will invite the applicant to submit a full proposal. The best bet, here, would be to reach out to program staff for clarity on the foundation’s application process.
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