Turner Kirk Trust

Don’t try easy things, try hard things. We support charitable projects with a high probability of failure because they have the greatest probability of significant impact. #PermissionToFail #STEM #conservation #ECD #philanthropy

There are certain things we look for when we consider donating to an organisation. Before digging into the project itself, we consider the people that are working on it. ➡️ Passionate ➡️ Engaged ➡️ Risk-taking These are the qualities we look for. #PermissionToFail #STEM #conservation #ECD #philanthropy

Philanthropy is more risk-averse than it should be. At the Turner Kirk Trust, we approach things a bit differently. We believe that ‘failing’ can be instrumental in finding innovative solutions. #PermissionToFail #STEM #conservation #ECD #philanthropy

SolarAid's Light a Village project is scaling up and set to provide sustainable lighting to Malawi and beyond. Back in 2021, the Turner Kirk Trust funded a pilot of SolarAid's Light a Village project in Kasakula village, Malawi. Successfully providing solar lighting to 500 households in Kasakula, the pilot demonstrated the project's potential as a scalable solution to sub-Saharan Africa's energy crisis. Now, with the support of Malawi's Ministry of Energy, SolarAid has plans for a nationwide scale-up. Read the details in the article linked below: https://lnkd.in/gbZCpkNY #PermissionToFail #STEM #conservation #ECD #philanthropy

Finding solutions to problems is hard… … but what if you removed the pressure to succeed? The fear of failure limits researchers: → They have limited room to breathe. → They feel less able to experiment and take risks. → They favour traditional paths that guarantee success. → They avoid potentially fruitful avenues for fear of failure. When you remove the fear of failure, you allow researchers to step into unexplored spaces. → They have more space to breathe. → They have the freedom to experiment with new ideas. → They have the flexibility to explore less traditional paths. → They have the potential to make unexpected breakthroughs. At the Turner Kirk Trust we believe that failure leads to opportunity. That’s why we encourage it. Failure means learning what doesn’t work and, ultimately, gets us closer to finding the solutions we need. #philanthropy #STEM #PermissionToFail #ECD

How do you make good decisions? Particularly in our complicated world, which offers plenty of noise. This was one topic of discussion when our co-founder, Ewan Kirk, was interviewed on Jazz FM’s Jazz Shapers programme. Listen to the clip below to hear why Ewan favours rationality above other approaches. #philanthropy #STEM #conservation #PermissionToFail

Why is investing in early childhood development critical? Your early years set the tone for the rest of your life. During this time, more than a million neural connections form every second. How do you build these paths? By interacting with your environment. A safe, healthy environment with access to the necessary resources means a child will have high-quality experiences. So, what does this look like? ➡️ Quality healthcare and nutrition. ➡️ Loving, present caregivers. ➡️ A safe, secure environment. ➡️ Interactions that stimulate their development. As a child, these experiences form the foundation for learning, behaviour, and health throughout your life. Of course, you’d want these foundations to be strong. But not every child has that opportunity. Millions of children across the globe are impacted by poverty, conflict, and crisis. This often means: ❌ They don’t receive proper healthcare or nutrition. ❌ Their caregivers struggle to access vital resources. ❌ They experience unsafe, violent environments. ❌ They don’t get the right stimulation for development. Without the proper care and resources, children struggle to develop properly. They suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally – and so does society at large. By investing in early childhood development (ECD), we invest in human capital. These early years have a knock-on effect as we grow into adulthood. If we want to ensure long-term, positive change, we need to start at the very beginning. The key is investing in ECD programmes and prevention and intervention schemes. They’re the most beneficial and cost-effective way to impact all aspects of life positively – those directly affected, wider society, and the economy. #ECD #philanthropy #PermissionToFail

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to philanthropy. Your values naturally feed into your philanthropic behaviours, and this looks different from one person to the next. Whatever your philanthropic values, it’s important to have a personal connection to the people who are actually delivering the project. Philanthropy is, to a great extent, a people project. When you support a project, you’re going to end up spending a significant amount of time with those people. And you need to work effectively. You want to know that you’re going to enjoy spending time with them and work together efficiently and productively. #PermissionToFail #STEM #conservation #ECD #philanthropy

Listen to the charity you’re donating to.    Watch the video below to discover why our co-director, Ewan Kirk, shared this piece of advice on the #UntappedPhilanthropy podcast with Kerrin Mitchell #PermissionToFail #STEM #conservation #ECD #philanthropy 

Did you know that there are many ways to get involved in philanthropy? It may be surprising to hear, but it’s not all about donating money. Philanthropy is a spectrum, meaning there are many different avenues by which anyone and everyone can get involved. At the Turner Kirk Trust, we want to inspire as many people as possible to get involved in any way they can. To do that, we’re debunking some common misconceptions about philanthropy. ➡️ Myth 1: philanthropy is an endeavour exclusively for the wealthy. Truth: there are different types of philanthropy. You can volunteer your time, contribute your expertise to finding solutions to problems, and – of course – donate funding for projects or scholarships. ➡️ Myth 2: philanthropy is a solo venture. Truth: philanthropy thrives on collaboration! No one individual or organisation has all the resources needed to undertake a solo philanthropic mission. That’s why we partner with world-leading universities, institutions and non-profits – to bring together the necessary support, expertise and funding to solve problems. ➡️ Myth 3: philanthropy only has a small impact on society. Truth: the impact of a philanthropic endeavour can be wide-reaching and long-lasting – not only for a single community but for society at large. We’re not trying to solve government-level problems like eradicating malaria. We’re using targeted philanthropy to address the root cause of social issues to do three things: 👉 Catalyse larger change. 👉 Bring in large-scale funding to take innovations forward. 👉 Inspire others to use their expertise and give where and how they can. #PermissionToFail #STEM #conservation #ECD #philanthropy