Association of Foundations

Building Foundations, Building a Better Future

Our History
The Pioneer Network of Foundations
Networking was a concept virtually unheard of in the 1970s. It was particularly alien to non-government
organizations in the Philippines, at least, until the Association of Foundations (AF) came to be.

Established in November 1972, AF is the country’s first network of non-government organizations

(NGOs). Its mission is to enable its member foundations to develop sustainable programs that serve their
communities.

Through the years, AF has become a bridge to grant opportunities, capacity builder, data bank,
consultant, and an advocate of key issues. It is committed to the constant growth and professionalism of
its member foundations in their efforts to improve the quality of human life.

AF is the most experienced federation of foundations in the country, and perhaps the most
heterogeneous in membership. Its well over one hundred member foundations come from all over the
Philippines—from highly urbanized Metro Manila to the northernmost province of Batanes to the southern
island of Mindanao. These foundations are involved in education, science and technology, health, art and
culture, governance, social development and other special interests such as environment and micro-
finance. The AF membership includes leading non-profit institutions, corporate foundations, and even
small organizations based in remote rural areas. Such diversity is a clear reflection of AF’s pluralism, its
multi-cause orientation being one of its main strengths and constant challenge as well.

In its early years, AF operated primarily as a clearinghouse of information among foundations. It also
initiated the accreditation of member foundations in order to maintain the highest standards of integrity at
a time when foundations lacked the esteem they deserved.

AF became the venue where people and foundations with expertise in specific fields shared their
knowledge and experiences with those who were smaller or newer. With this, the National Science
Development Board looked at AF member foundations as the dedicated few aiming for credibility in the
highest degree.

As a result, AF also operated as an advocacy body dedicated to fostering a deeper public understanding
of foundations as institutions of nation-building. It published the first-ever Philippine Directory of
Foundations in 1974, followed by a four-volume edition in 1979 and subsequent updates backed by an
electronic databank in 1990 and 1996.

In the late 70s, the role of AF expanded to include fund sourcing to ensure the survival of its member
foundations. It was also at this time that AF actively lobbied for issues such as tax incentives and other
policies that threatened to stifle the growth of non-government organizations. AF was determined to
establish itself as a partner of government in the task of national building.
In the decade following the EDSA Revolution in 1986, AF mobilized a total of P25 Million for 45 projects
nationwide. It put together the Philippine-Canadian Human Resource Development Program which
prioritized capability building among member foundations. In 1992, AF hosted and managed the United
Nations Development Programme Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme. AF also
became a founding member of the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC), Caucus of
Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), the National Coordinating Council on Local Government
(NCC-LG), and the Federation of People’s Sustainable Development Cooperatives. In the same year, the
League of Corporate Foundations (LCF), which advocates philanthropy among business corporations in
the Philippines, began as a sub-sector of AF. Its international affiliations include involvement in the Asia-
Pacific Advisory Forum of CIVICUS, a world alliance of civil society organizations. Today, AF is the only
umbrella organization of Philippine foundations recognized by the Council on Foundations (USA).

After nearly 3 decades of trailblazing work, AF has truly made an impression on government and non-
government institutions, in the Philippines and around the world.

Members Directory:

http://afonline.org/af-community/