Publications

Annual Report 2021

Check out Oak's 2021 annual report. We hope you enjoy reading about the great work of our partners.

DOWNLOAD THE 2021 ANNUAL REPORT HERE

Annual Report 2020

Learn more about Oak and the great work of our partners by reading our 2020 annual report.

DOWNLOAD THE 2020 ANNUAL REPORT HERE

Annual Report 2019

Learn more about Oak and the great work of our partners by reading our 2019 annual report.

DOWNLOAD THE 2019 ANNUAL REPORT HERE

Annual Report 2018

Learn more about Oak and the great work of our partners by reading our 2018 annual report.

DOWNLOAD THE 2018 ANNUAL REPORT HERE

Annual Report 2017

Learn more about Oak and the great work of our partners by reading our 2017 annual report.

DOWNLOAD THE 2017 ANNUAL REPORT HERE

Annual Report 2016

Learn more about Oak and the great work of our partners by reading our 2016 annual report.

DOWNLOAD THE 2016 ANNUAL REPORT HERE

Leadership transition in Ethiopia & CB resource on leadership transition

Oak Foundation commissioned a short research project with civil society organisations in Ethiopia. The aim of the research was to learn what we could do as an outside funder to better support healthy leadership transition in partners.

DOWNLOAD THE LEADERSHIP TRANSITION REPORT HERE

Funding Organisational Development

Oak Foundation together with Laudes Foundation, MAVA Foundation, Mercator Foundation and PeaceNexus Foundation reflected on, articulated and shared their learning about supporting Organisational Development (OD). In this paper they share their key insights on how to engage in OD, describe a standard OD process and address dilemmas. It promotes OD as a key dimension in the daily work of any grant making foundation.

DOWNLOAD THE FUNDING ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PAPER HERE

Summary of safeguarding learning review

This document is a summary of the outcomes presented in the safeguarding learning review report.

DOWNLOAD THE SUMMARY OF THE SAFEGUARDING LEARNING REVIEW HERE

Child Safeguarding Policy

The child safeguarding policy helps us lay down standards of conduct and behaviour, provides a clear overview of what is acceptable and not, and gives instructions in cases of violations. Discover what this policy entails by reading the following document.

DOWNLOAD OAK'S CHILD SAFEGUARDING POLICY HERE

Resonance in a stakeholder ecology

The goal of this study is to identify key factors of success and practical processes that enable funders to engage effectively with intermediaries. This study is part of a learning process at Oak Foundation and provides an external view to aid Oak in the development of its thinking.

DOWNLOAD THE STUDY HERE

Planning for monitoring, learning and evaluation (MEL)

The following publication was developed to give the Oak Foundation a sense of how other foundations are tackling monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) questions, and to show a range of options for Oak to consider as it develops its own MEL Plan. If you are curious to learn more, check out the following document.

DOWNLOAD THE PLANNING FOR MEL PUBLICATION HERE

Forces for Nature – An interview with Kristian Parker

Kristian is the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for Oak Foundation, based in Switzerland. He oversees Oak’s Environment Programme. Read about his interview with the Environmental Funders Network where he talks about Oak's Environmental Programme, our core funding grants and offers some advice to new funders interested in supporting environmental work.

DOWNLOAD THE FORCES FOR NATURE INTERVIEW HERE

Grantee Perception Survey 2022

The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) conducts surveys of grantees on their perceptions of their philanthropic funders both on behalf of individual funders and independently. The purpose of these surveys is two-fold: to gather data that is useful to individual funders and to form the basis for broadly applicable research reports. The Grantee Perception Report (GPR) shows an individual philanthropic funder its grantee perceptions relative to a set of perceptions of other funders whose grantees were surveyed by CEP. Check out the following document to read the results of the survey conducted with Oak grantees in 2022.

DOWNLOAD THE 2022 GRANTEE PERCEPTION REPORT HERE

Grantee Perception Report 2016

The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) conducts surveys of grantees on their perceptions of their philanthropic funders both on behalf of individual funders and independently. The purpose of these surveys is two-fold: to gather data that is useful to individual funders and to form the basis for broadly applicable research reports. The Grantee Perception Report (GPR) shows an individual philanthropic funder its grantee perceptions relative to a set of perceptions of other funders whose grantees were surveyed by CEP. Check out the following document to read the results of the survey conducted with Oak grantees in 2016.

DOWNLOAD THE 2016 GRANTEE PERCEPTION REPORT HERE DOWNLOAD THE 2016 GRANTEE PERCEPTION REPORT HERE

Grantee Perception Report 2011

The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) conducts surveys of grantees on their perceptions of their philanthropic funders both on behalf of individual funders and independently. The purpose of these surveys is two-fold: to gather data that is useful to individual funders and to form the basis for broadly applicable research reports. The Grantee Perception Report (GPR) shows an individual philanthropic funder its grantee perceptions relative to a set of perceptions of other funders whose grantees were surveyed by CEP. Check out the following document to read the results of the survey conducted with Oak grantees in 2011.

DOWNLOAD THE 2011 GRANTEE PERCEPTION REPORT HERE DOWNLOAD THE 2011 GRANTEE PERCEPTION REPORT HERE

Photography guidelines

Oak loves sharing photos of peoples' beautiful faces, but we must be sure to maintain the highest ethical and professional standards when taking and using images. Follow the general principles in these photography guidelines to protect children and adults from harm.

DOWNLOAD OAK'S PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDELINES HERE

Global branding and media guidelines Denmark

If you feel that mentioning our funding or using our logo would enhance your programme or organisation, please follow the information outlined in this document. Here you will find out more about our branding and media guidelines for grantees in Danish.

DOWNLOAD OAK'S BRANDING AND MEDIA GUIDELINES DK HERE

Global branding and media guidelines India

If you feel that mentioning our funding or using our logo would enhance your programme or organisation, please follow the information outlined in this document. Here you will find out more about our branding and media guidelines for grantees in India.

DOWNLOAD OAK'D BRANDING AND MEDIA GUIDELINES INDIA HERE

Global branding and media guidelines Portuguese

If you feel that mentioning our funding or using our logo would enhance your programme or organisation, please follow the information outlined in this document. Here you will find out more about our branding and media guidelines for grantees in Portuguese.

DOWNLOAD OAK'S BRANDING AND MEDIA GUIDELINES PT HERE

Global branding and media guidelines English version

If you feel that mentioning our funding or using our logo would enhance your programme or organisation, please follow the information outlined in this document. Here you will find out more about our global branding and media guidelines for grantees.

DOWNLOAD OAK'S BRANDING AND MEDIA GUIDELINES ENG HERE

Foundation wide Newsletter October 2022

The following bi-annual Oak wide newsletter contains a letter from our president, a link to the Grantee Perception Survey, an article on co-designed programmes for leadership development, career opportunities and the latest stories from our Partners. Check it out!

DOWNLOAD THE OCTOBER 2022 FOUNDATION WIDE NEWSLETTER HERE

Foundation wide newsletter May 2022

The following bi-annual Oak wide newsletter contains a letter from our president, an announcement about our Annual Report, the launch of the Housing and Homelessness new strategy. There is also a section about Child Safeguarding, and how Hill Learning Centre made child safeguarding a priority. Check it out!

DOWNLOAD THE MAY 2022 FOUNDATION WIDE NEWSLETTER HERE

Foundation wide newsletter October 2021

The following bi-annual Oak wide newsletter contains a letter from our president, an interview with the Environment Programme's new director, an announcement about a new programme strategy, a video about our child safeguarding support, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE OCTOBER 2021 FOUNDATION WIDE NEWSLETTER HERE

Foundation wide newsletter April 2021

The following bi-annual Oak wide newsletter contains a letter from our president, an announcement about three new programme strategies, a video about our capacity building support, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE APRIL 2021 FOUNDATION WIDE NEWSLETTER HERE

Foundation wide newsletter July 2020

The following bi-annual Oak wide newsletter contains a letter from our president, an update about how we have been supporting our partners through Covid-19, an interview with our new Housing and Homelessness Programme director and more.

DOWNLOAD THE JULY 2020 FOUNDATION WIDE NEWSLETTER HERE

Foundation wide newsletter December 2019

The following bi-annual Oak wide newsletter contains a happy holidays message from our President and reveals Oak's updated website, new programme strategies and more.

DOWNLOAD THE DECEMBER 2019 FOUNDATION WIDE NEWSLETTER HERE

Foundation wide newsletter March 2019

The following bi-annual Oak wide newsletter contains an opening letter from Oak's new president, information about core support grants, an interview with the Chair of the Board of Trustees and more.

DOWNLOAD THE MARCH 2019 FOUNDATION WIDE NEWSLETTER HERE

How can we “build back better”? July 2020

A part of July 2020s' newsletter and against a backdrop of dramatic world events, Oak's President grapples with how we can “build back better”. Read on to find out how he thinks this is possible.

DOWNLOAD THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER HERE

Programme Strategy – Housing and Homelessness Programme

Oak’s Housing and Homelessness Programme believes in a society where more people live in decent homes and fewer people experience homelessness and housing insecurity. This means challenging systems that cause homelessness and enabling strategies that create more housing opportunities for everyone. We believe in building greater power within communities and organisations that work most closely with people, strengthening their collective capacity to achieve change. Our grant-making seeks out organisations that are developing ambitious strategies, shaped by people with lived experience and rooted in robust evidence.

DOWNLOAD THE HHP PROGRAMME STRATEGY HERE

Programme Strategy – Environment Programme

In this strategy summary paper you can read about the Environment Programme's five-year strategy (2021-2026) and the focuses on safeguarding our future by restoring our connection to nature, and changing the ways we feed and fuel our world.

DOWNLOAD THE EP PROGRAMME STRATEGY HERE

Learning from the 2020 Environment Programme Evaluation Results

In 2020, Oak Foundation commissioned Emerald Network Ltd to conduct an external evaluation of the Environment Programme (EP)’s strategic framework (2016-2020) to inform the development of a new strategy (2021-2025). Different from past evaluations, this focused on the various dimensions of the strategic approach itself as a tool to deliver impact. 

DOWNLOAD THE EVALUATION SUMMARY REPORT HERE

Programme Strategy – India Programme

Oak Foundation’s India Programme strategically partners with and invests in not-for-profit organisations that supports efforts to sustainably improve the lives of marginalised people in West Bengal, a state in the eastern region of India on the Bay of Bengal. These include vulnerable workers, Indigenous communities known as Adivasis, and adult and child migrants, whose needs and rights have been neglected for decades.

DOWNLOAD THE INDIA PROGRAMME STRATEGY HERE

Rethinking the way learning happens – Learning Differences Programme

Based on interviews with students, families, teachers, and leaders, the LDP identified several attributes we believe are critical to realising our vision of building a world in which schools unlock the creativity and power of students with learning differences – along with every young person – and equip them to shape more just and equitable communities. To learn more about these attributes, click on the document below. Within the document, you can find links to a Resource Library aimed at supporting practitioners working to build those attributes and an Assessment Library to identify metrics and assessments for monitoring student development of the attributes.

Rethinking the way learning happens DOWNLOAD THE LDP REPORT ON RETHINKING THE WAY LEARNING HAPPENS HERE

Research to Action: Improving K-3 Literacy Instruction – Learning Differences Programme

Oak Foundation partnered with Education First, a national education strategy and policy consulting organisation, to research efforts to improve students’ literacy in the early grades of their schooling, with special attention to supporting students with learning differences.

DOWNLOAD THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EARLY LITERACY LANDSCAPE SCAN HERE DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT OF THE EARLY LITERACY LANDSCAPE SCAN HERE

Partner Resource Guide – Learning Differences Programme

The Learning Differences Programme is committed to Oak-supported resources being freely available to help diverse learners thrive. In this resource guide you can learn of some of the tools and resources that support students with learning disabilities and learning differences and their educators and families. We hope you will find them useful.

LDP Partner Resource Guide DOWNLOAD THE LDP PARTNER RESOURCE GUIDE HERE

Evaluation conducted on philanthropy in India – Evironment Programme

Between December 2015 and September 2017, three of Oak’s climate and energy programme grantees conducted external evaluations with the support of Oak. All three of these organisations are think tanks based in India. The evaluations were not aimed at rating performance but were instead meant to help the organisations understand their efficiency, relevance and ability to identify new opportunities. The evaluations presented a great opportunity for us to not only learn more about these organisations, but also reflect on the process of evaluations themselves.

Highlights of an Oak evaluation conducted on philanthropy in India DOWNLOAD THE HIGHLIGHTS OF AN OAK EVALUATION CONDUCTED ON PHILANTHROPY IN INDIA HERE

Programme Strategy – Learning Differences Programme

Oak Foundation’s Learning Differences Programme strategically partners with and invests in not-for-profit organisations that improve education for students with learning differences. Learn more about the programme strategy here.

DOWNLOAD THE LDP PROGRAMME STRATEGY HERE

New strategy and strategic learning and evaluation system – Issues Affecting Women Programme

The Issues Affecting Women Programme (IAWP) developed a new strategic plan over the course of 2011 with two pillars: building women’s rights movements and combating violence against women. Read more about the programme's new strategy and strategic evaluation system here.

DOWNLOAD THE NEW IAWP STRATEGY AND EVALUATION HERE

Strategic reflection and assessment – International Human Rights Programme

This strategic reflection and assessment of Oak Foundation’s International Human Rights (IHR) Programme’s communications funding was conducted with the goal of learning lessons that can be applied to communications grant-­making by Oak and other funders going forward. This report seeks to review various approaches to assess its respective impact. Read more here.

DOWNLOAD THE IHRP STRATEGIC REFLECTION AND ASSESSMENT HERE

Working within the confines of COVID-19

The following guide contains a collection of key organisational resources, tools and ideas that have recently materialised in an effort to support not-for-profit organisations during Covid-19.

DOWNLOAD THE WORKING WITHIN THE CONFINES OF COVID-19 RESOURCE HERE