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The David and Elaine Potter Foundation is motivated to use philanthropy to encourage the values and beliefs of the founders within society in its largest definition. The Potters believe in ‘the constructs of the rational mind – the great edifice of human thought – science, philosophy, the social sciences, the arts and ethics’. The underpinnings of their views are intellectual and moral without being oriented towards religions or nationalism. They believe passionately in the power of reason and in the significance and importance of all individuals in society. By extension, their principles embrace tolerance and an ‘intolerance to intolerance’.
By removing race, religion and tribe in considering their values, the Potters are ultimately interested in engaging in projects all across the world, helping to alleviate the lack of educational and economic opportunity that exists.
Like most people in our society, the Potters share a simple heritage of ‘helping one’s neighbour’. And like others, they believe their good fortune should encourage their generosity.
There are unlimited possibilities for achieving the Foundation’s aims, including the support of ideas and social innovation through research and the support of programmes that encourage pluralism and civil society.
Many examples of this approach are evident in the Foundation’s grant making to date. The ongoing University of Cape Town Leadership Programme is providing scholarships to postgraduates in an effort to strengthen civil society in South Africa. A general grant to the Centre for Investigative Journalism is being used to expand its reach in training investigative journalists. The Foundation’s new grant to Cambridge University has endowed a lectureship in Governance and Human Rights. A grant to Independent Diplomat, a non-profit advisory group, is contributing to its efforts to enable broader participation in diplomatic forums such as the United Nations.
The Foundation has also given smaller grants to a number of institutions, in an array of issues including human rights, prison reform, the environment, individual educational grants, health related charities and the performing arts. It is committed to multi-year grants where relevant and to the concept of general core support grants.
This approach to grant-making gives the Foundation a great deal of flexibility to respond quickly to particular areas of interest. It offers the possibility to experiment with many different types of grantees and subject areas. It allows for the provision of the small amounts of seed money that smaller organisations with lower overheads require to grow. It enables the Foundation to change focus relatively quickly to adapt to the often rapidly changing needs of the charitable sector.
Given the fast pace of change in the modern world, the volatile nature of the regions of interest and the potential opportunities to collaborate with other foundations, it may be necessary to review our approach periodically. Even though the basic values will not change, the way we focus our resources may well alter over time.
We have five areas of interest: Civil society, Human rights, Education, Research, and the Arts. To find out more about each area of interest and to see examples of organisations we have supported, please click on the links below:
Civil society
Human rights
Education
Research
Arts
To see a full list of grants made, please click here
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