Agency

Oak Foundation is family-led and reflects the vision and values of its founders. In all its work Oak pursues rights-based approaches, gender equality and partnership with the organisations we fund. We support civil society as a pillar of democracy and justice and nurture innovation and visionary leadership within it. We value diversity both within Oak and among our partners; we seek to be inclusive, flexible and engage with different points of view. We believe that the best grant-making reflects both careful due diligence and the willingness to take risks.

At Oak Foundation we seek to:

Respect and acknowledge the contributions of others
As a grant maker we know that we are but a small part of the changes we seek. Our role is to support and enable others to make the world a safer, fairer and more sustainable place to live. We strengthen partners with first-hand knowledge and experience of the fields in which we work. We take pride in their achievements and are honoured to support their efforts.

Promote social justice 
We are passionate in our pursuit of social justice and the protection of wildlife and the environment. We seek partners who share this passion. We strive to be courageous in this pursuit by tackling difficult problems and addressing the root causes of injustice. We trust our partners and accept that change takes time and sustained effort. We aim to lift up the voices of the most vulnerable and support them to understand and pursue their rights.

Achieve high impact
We strive to be purposeful and strategic in our grant-making. We define the impact of our investments in consultation with partners and support their capacity to assess and measure progress. We believe in the power of collective action in setting and achieving ambitious goals.

Learn continuously from both success and failure
We seek to build honest relationships with partners in which both success and failure offer opportunities for learning. We strive to be respectful listeners and responsive to change, unexpected consequences and external developments that require shifts in strategy and expectations. We welcome feedback and believe learning should improve grant-making in real time.

Be authentic 
We work to apply these values inside Oak Foundation as well as in our grant-making. We strive to support, learn from and value the contributions of all colleagues. We aim for a workplace in which all staff members feel respected and able to reach their full potential. We strive for an organisation in which innovation is rewarded, diversity is embraced and both success and failure are shared. We want to work as a team, across programmes and offices, in our pursuit of social justice.