Is your humanist/atheist/skeptic/freethought group looking for opportunities to engage in charitable giving? If so, the new Foundation Partners Program might be just what you're looking for.

How it Works

Partners collect member donations in any amount and submit to the Foundation each month. Contributions made by individual Foundation members who are also members of the Partner group will also accrue to the group's total.

As with individual members, Partner groups can distribute their donations as they wish across our ten cause areas. The slate of beneficiaries changes each quarter, and Foundation Partners are an important voice in helping us choose future charities.

How Partners Benefit

Each Partner receives a web badge identifying the group as a Foundation Beyond Belief Partner. Additional awards/badges will be made available to groups that meet (optional, self-determined) contribution goals for a given period and as total contributions pass certain benchmarks. The name, logo, and link for each Partner organization is displayed on the Partners Program page in the main menu on our website. Groups have password access to the entire FBB website to nominate and debate future beneficiaries and to participate in our developing social network dedicated to humanist philanthropy.

The Foundation will forward regular reports on the work of our featured charities to keep Partners fully informed of the importance and impact of their donations. There is no fee for participation and no penalty for falling short of optional contribution goals. In short, there is no risk—just an opportunity to join us in encouraging and demonstrating the generosity and compassion of atheists and humanists.

Less than a month after joining the program, one of our charter Partners, Fellowship of Freethought Dallas, is hosting a fundraiser for FBB on Sept 24th called "Cocktails for a Cause." Thanks FoFD!

Need more info? Ready to apply for partnership? Visit our Partners page, or drop us a note here.

Steve Hurd is chairperson of Uganda Humanist Schools Trust, our current Education beneficiary. Our Q&A series continues as Steve answers questions submitted by our members. (Photo: Deo Ssekitooleko and Dan Senku of the Uganda Humanist Association with Steve Hurd)

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Q  I am intrigued by what I've read about Deo Ssekitooleko of Uganda Humanists. Can you tell me more about him and his work? -- James W.

A  I first met Deo in 2006. He was Chairman of the Uganda Humanist Association (UHASSO) at the time and he invited me to lunch with the committee. He explained that he found out about Humanism in 2003 at Makerere University. His first action was to write to Paul Kurtz who sent him a large number of books, which became UHASSO’s Paul Kurtz library.

His next action was to invite IHEU to hold their international congress in Uganda, which they did in 2004. By that time his friend Peter Kisirinya (current Chair of UHASSO and of the Uganda Humanist Schools Association (UHSA) was starting to establish the first Humanist school in a rural location near Masaka. Thus the Isaac Newton High School became the first humanist school in Uganda – and it was entirely self financed. This was followed in 2005/6 by the Mustard Seed School opened in Kamuli by Moses Kamya, a university friend of Deo and Peter. Funding for this came from readers of the “New Humanist” magazine.

In February 2008 Deo used funds from IHEU and a UK charity, which was the forerunner of the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust to establish the Humanist Academy. Today the three schools are providing liberal-secular secondary education to over 400 students from impoverished rural homes, many of them single or double orphans from AIDS and other causes.

Deo is now the East African representative of IHEU. He is trying to foster the establishment of local Humanist groups throughout East Africa, while still very actively involved in the Humanist Academy. You can read reports on the Humanist Academy and the other Humanist Schools in Uganda on www.ugandahumanistschoolstrust.org.

Q  Has there been local religious opposition to the presence of Humanist schools? -- Leigh-Ann F.

A  To talk of opposition would be overstating the case, but here are two anecdotes.

Our Q&A series continues as the staff of Quaker Peace & Social Witness, our current beneficiary in the Peace category, answer questions submitted by our members.

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Q What is the single greatest need of QPSW in the field? Is it people, resources, governmental support, security, something else? – Amanda S., Kansas City, Missouri

A We need all the aspects you mention to implement our projects effectively, although some are easier to find than others. We have been lucky to identify many talented and committed people to work with us in the field, and we take security issues very seriously, delivering quality preparation programmes for our staff working in high risk environments, devising exit strategies, a chain of support and so on.