WHAT WE DO
COMMUNITY HEALTH &
WELLBEING
Encouraging active, social, meaningful lives that promote good health, well-being and proper public health, safety and sanitation.
EDUCATION, CULTURE &
COMMUNITY
Ensuring universal access to primary and secondary education and vocational training, respecting and reviving local identity, wisdom, arts and culture; encouraging the involvement of people in shaping their community and creating a culture of sustainability.
LOCAL & SUSTAINABLE FOOD
Supporting sustainable and humane farming, promoting access to healthy, low impact, local, seasonal and organic diets and reducing food waste.
EQUITY & LOCAL ECONOMY
Creating bioregional systems and economies that support equity and diversity, meaningful local employment, fair trade, and low carbon industries.
HEALTHY LAND & WILDLIFE HABITAT
Protecting and restoring biodiversity and natural habitats through good land use planning and integration into the built environment and developing structures and civil works that enable people to live well.
SUSTAINABLE WATER &
WATERSHEDS
Using water efficiently in buildings, farming and manufacturing. Designing to mitigate local issues such as flooding, drought, water course pollution and impacts of climate change and protecting and enhancing watersheds.
SUSTAINABLE HOMES
Advancing access to housing that uses local and sustainable materials, labour and technologies and that are energy efficient and resilient to climate change.
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT
Reducing the need to travel by car, and encouraging active, shared and low and zero carbon modes of transport such as walking, cycling, and public transit.
ZERO WASTE
Cleaning up waste, reducing waste, reusing where possible, and ultimately disposing of zero waste to landfills, incinerators and in nature.
CLIMATE CHANGE & ZERO CARBON
Mitigating and adapting to climate change and shifting away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy.
Sfaira works with private and public organizations worldwide to solve critical problems in ten priority areas by funding local, high impact, sustainable solutions to community development issues.
PRIORITY AREAS
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Sfaira Foundation gives preference to supporting community organizations planning and developing policies, projects, programs and activities aligned with our broader philosophies:
COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL: We believe communities have ownership of all assets and control over decision making and activities.
COMMUNITY NEED AND IMPACT: We fund projects that meet a genuine, identified need and have potential for significant or direct community impact and benefit and are led by the community within which it’s taking place.
ETHICAL: We support organizations that promote peace and justice and demonstrate respect and appreciation for human diversity in all its forms, such as race, culture, religion, gender, ability, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.
RECOGNITION OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND TITLE: We recognize and respect the principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and look for applicants that work with, or towards, supporting Indigenous peoples where applicable.
COMMITMENT TO ANTI-RACISM: We acknowledge the structural and systemic racism and discrimination that affects people and communities of colour and support and fund projects that actively address, promote, and strengthen anti-racism, social justice, diversity, inclusion, and equity.
SUSTAINABLE AND INNOVATIVE: We support projects that offer innovative and traditional solutions to issues that have the potential to be sustainable over the longer term.
EVIDENCE-BASED DECISION-MAKING: We support projects that draw on local, traditional and scientific knowledge.
STRENGTHENED NETWORKS: We support organizations that work in partnership with other organizations, institutions and governments and that actively encourage collaboration and relationship building across key stakeholders.