The United Nations Foundation
© UNHCR/S. Rich
The UN Foundation (UNF) is a US public Charity endowed by Ted Turner in 1998 to support UN causes with advocacy, partnership-building and fundraising through more than 15 initiatives and campaigns.
The UN Foundation links the UN's work with others around the world, mobilizing the energy and expertise of business and non-governmental organizations to help the United Nations tackle issues including climate change, global health, peace and security, women's empowerment, poverty eradication and energy access.
Since 2008, UNF has supported UNHCR with more than USD 12 million and has made a significant difference to the lives of refugees and people forcibly displaced.
The UN Foundation supports us through:
Nothing But Nets is a global grassroots campaign to raise awareness and funding to fight malaria, a leading cause of death among children in Africa. Nothing But Nets works with UN partners like UNHCR to purchase nets and distribute them to refugees in Africa since 2008.
Net distributions are typically part of a wider public health effort within a country coordinated by the Ministry of Health, the UN and other local and international organizations. Over the years, the campaign has engaged thousands of individuals to help achieve the UN goal of ending malaria deaths in this generation, actively advocating for change and greater investment.
Girl Up is the United Nations Foundation’s adolescent girl campaign. Girl Up engages girls to take action and is led by a community of nearly half a million passionate advocates who raise awareness and funds, helping to reach girls living in places where it is hardest to be a girl. Some of those girls have been displaced by conflict. Working with UNHCR, Girl Up is able to support programs focussed on girl’s needs and protection.
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (Alliance) is hosted by the UN Foundation and promotes the adoption of clean cooking solutions and adoption of clean cook stoves and fuels. The Alliance has been a key technical partner in developing the UNHCR Global Strategy for Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE).
The UN Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council was created in 2011 as an advisory council to bring together entrepreneurs and thought-leaders to find innovative solutions to global problems. The Global Entrepreneur Council is aware of the precarious situation that people displaced by conflict and violence have to live in. In 2015, the Council helped UNHCR support livelihoods and entrepreneurship for refugees in Uganda.
Key stats and figures
- UNF’s Nothing but Nets program has provided more than one million insecticide treated bed nets since 2008. In 2016, an in-kind contribution of approximately 500,000 more nets, valued at greater than USD 1 million and for use in sub-Saharan Africa, is expected.
- UNF’s Girl Up campaign has supported a UNHCR project providing education for Somali refugee girls in eastern Ethiopia (Jijiga camps) between 2012 and 2015. The three-year agreement included a financial commitment of USD 800,000 in total.
Contact us
If you are interested in exploring a partnership with UNHCR, please contact us at partnership@UNHCR.org