The Cypress Fund Fills a Crucial Gap in Philanthropy

At a time when organizations countering deadly violence require more support than ever, the philanthropic community has pulled back dramatically from issues of nuclear non-proliferation and peacebuilding. Since 2000, the W. Alton Jones Foundation, the Merck Foundation, and the Starr Foundation have all discontinued their funding in the area of non-proliferation. In the same period, the Hewlett Foundation (the field’s major funder), the Soros Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, the Winston Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the MacArthur Foundation have all either disbanded or dramatically reduced their programs in areas related to conflict resolution and peacebuilding. There are remarkably few foundations still giving substantial grants in these areas, meaning that academic institutions and NGOs must scramble for funds, without the ability to conduct long-term projects or effective strategic planning. While governmental funding from USAID, the Department of Defense, and European programs does exist, the administrative requirements of these grants are overwhelming for all but the largest organizations, and a governmental provenance can compromise the perceived neutrality of NGOs working in the field.


The Cypress Fund is Nimble

NGOs operating at the intersection of a number of disciplines suffer disproportionately as foundations narrow their scopes and pull back from troubled areas of the world. Given its small size and flexible program areas, the Cypress Fund can fund across disciplines and can support seed projects that might not fit within the scope of larger foundations. The Cypress Fund supports innovative, practical, initiatives drawing upon multi-disciplinary learning, reach beyond the boundaries of traditional peacemaking and security to create pockets of safety. For example, we might consider funding the following kinds of programs, all of which weave a conflict prevention element into other substantive areas:

	An American research institution working with Indian and Pakistani scientists to safeguard nuclear weapons and components;
	A Ugandan aid agency providing night-time havens for children threatened by the Lord’s Resistance Army;
	Democracy advocates in South America, Africa and Asia banding together to form stronger democratic institutions and civil society networks in their regions;
	Environmental advocates in the Russian Far East working to resist degradation of the region’s vast natural resources, and to create civil society networks to counter powerful government and corporate encroachment on land use.
	A non-governmental health organization teaching civic leaders and health professionals to provide vaccinations and health education for citizens of Mozambique.

The Cypress Fund Spreads Knowledge

A critical part of the Cypress Fund’s grantmaking is the development and dissemination of new theory, ideas, and knowledge to guide policymakers and citizens in a complex international landscape. We have strong networks in the fields of peacebuilding and nuclear non-proliferation, and can use those connections to make sure we are gathering the best ideas from our grantees, and are disseminating the knowledge to people who can use it. With our connections to a number of top academic institutions and think tanks, we can help bridge the gap between theory and practice and can create partnerships between academic institutions and NGOs working on the ground. We can use our convening authority to hold conferences and develop “best practices,” and we can draw on our technical ability to build a web platform for new ideas emerging from the work of our grantees. In all our work, the Cypress Fund seeks not only to forward our goals of peacebuilding and non-proliferation, but to create ideas that make a difference in the world.