Spark Microgrants

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Model & Strategy

Spark’s model is a democratic, community-based approach to international development, built on the belief that communities facing poverty have the knowledge to solve local problems but lack the resources and capacity to do so.

Spark trains emerging governments and leading civil society organizations in deploying an inclusive village planning process where women and men, young and old, plan for local development together. Each village engages in a 6-month planning process and is awarded a 1-time $8,000 village fund to turn a project— such as a farm or a school —into reality. Each village launches a savings fund to finance future local projects.

At a Glance
Founded: 2010
Co-Founder & Executive Director: Sasha Fisher
Economic Empowerment
Location of work: International, Africa
http://www.sparkmicrogrants.org/
Spark Microgrants
New York, NY
Enabling communities to put their ideas into action
Meet Sasha Fisher

Sasha co-founded Spark in 2010 after experiencing the power of community-driven development at local NGOs in southern India and the negative side effects of top-down aid on local drive and innovation while working in South Sudan. She wanted to know how to catalyze rural villages who aren’t organized into action. Sasha has a BA in Human Security and Studio Arts.

Sasha moved to East Africa in July 2010 to develop the Spark MicroGrants model. Her previous experiences in South Sudan, South Africa, India, and Uganda have led to her passion for community-led development. Sasha holds a BA from the University of Vermont in Studio Art and a self-designed major of Human Security, a paradigm for development that recognizes the rising legitimacy of non-state actors in securing basic human needs.

IMPACT

Spark has worked with over 320 rural communities across Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Ghana, and has benefitted over 250,000 lives.

Spark village partners have collectively launched over 505 projects, with over 300 projects implemented independently after the Spark process. 86% of projects are successful and 85% of communities continue to meet regularly after Spark, with 93% launching secondary projects independently of Spark.

Spark is currently working with the Government of Rwanda on a national scale strategy to ensure that every village across Rwanda can benefit from the Spark process.

Spark Microgrants News

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  • RT @sashadfisher: 9. "Poverty is often measured using annual income. But using monthly data from India shows that “experiences of poverty a…
  • RT @sashadfisher: 10. "Expansion of the coffee mills in Rwanda led to increased “women’s paid employment, women’s and their husbands’ earni…
  • RT @sashadfisher: 8. "In rural Kenya, a “future orientation” workshop that teaches participants techniques to imagine a positive future, la…
  • RT @sashadfisher: 7. "Inviting Zambian farmers to participate in a simple budgeting exercise (i.e., think through their budget and formulat…
  • RT @sashadfisher: 6. "In Kenya, workshops and couples’ therapy sessions to decrease alcohol consumption lowered prevalence of sexual intima…
  • RT @sashadfisher: 5. "In Bangladesh, a temporary savings subsidy doubled formal savings, and resulted in increased food and non-food expend…
  • RT @sashadfisher: 4. "Better weather (which means more agricultural income and better nutrition) at age 2 in Indonesia leads to higher adul…
  • RT @sashadfisher: 3. "Gold mining in the Philippines created new bodies of stagnant water, which boosted malaria cases by nearly a third (r…
  • RT @sashadfisher: 2. "A ten day increase in the overlap between school days and peak farming periods in Malawi translates to children losin…
  • RT @sashadfisher: This is a goldmine of dev #econ nuggets, here are a few: 1. "Eliminating school fees for secondary school in Tanzania le…
  • We’re working with two local partner trainers – @FOCCAD and @SOFFMalawi1 to implement the Facilitated Collective A… https://t.co/MPPzlOfDWb
  • We honor women & girls for their invaluable contribution to the well-being of their communities. The voices of wome… https://t.co/7M40rgEH5T
  • “As we encourage family members to unite, civil society and government continue to collaborate to bring the communi… https://t.co/KH2QRFqWUU
  • # The FCAP model encourages female participation and voice in public gatherings and teaches families the importance… https://t.co/hijoLCN5Pe
  • RT @DavidToovey: "If people have been well taught and mentored, then it's possible to build strong families. We need to support them in thi…
  • RT @DavidToovey: Happening now at #Umushyikirano2023: A panel discussion on Strengthening Families and Communities 🔹Min. @BayisengeJn 🔹M…