01
What is the
Constitutionalism fund?
The Joint Fund to Promote and Advance Constitutionalism in South Africa (Constitutionalism Fund – CF) is a collaboration between The Atlantic Philanthropies (represented now by the Social Change Initiative), the Ford Foundation and The Open Society Foundations, with a combined investment of US$25 million to be spent on grantmaking over a ten to twelve year period.
02
What are the
objectives of the
Constitutionalism fund?
The Constitutionalism Fund has three objectives:
- Promoting and advancing constitutionalism.
- Advancing transformation of the field and its institutions.
- Advancing sustainability of the field and its institutions.
03
What is the
South african constitution?
The constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of government. The current constitution was drawn up by Parliament elected in 1994 in the first non-racial elections and promulgated by President Nelson Mandela on 18 December 1996. The Constitution came into effect on 4 February 1997.
04
promoting and advancing
Constitutionalism
The Constitutionalism Fund aims to breath life into the constitution, such that the people of South Africa use it as a living document supporting the substantive promotion and realisation of rights, with particular attention to those who are poor, stigmatised or marginalised.
05
cf objective:
Transformation
Transformation of organisations and social movements in this field refers to the importance of them reflecting the values of the constitution and the demographics of the country.
06
cf objective:
Sustainability
Sustainability of organisations and social movements refers to institutional capacity to pursue their goals over the long term and resilience to withstand inevitable changes in staff, leadership and funders.