Tearfund | Why Tearfund's partnership model works

What’s different about Tearfund’s approach to aid and development?

If you have ever travelled to a community where Tearfund works you won’t have seen a Tearfund NZ office. While many aid and development organisations have offices and a visible presence overseas, Tearfund’s approach is to work through trusted faith-based partners who are part of the communities they serve. Because poverty is complex, we believe that local experts are best placed to find local solutions which will bring lasting change. So we come alongside our local partners, joining them in the work they are doing, and supporting them to deliver the best aid and development programmes possible.

How do we choose which projects to support?

Our partnership approach is key to both robust contextual analysis and project design. Frequent liaising with local partners ensures that we work together in the pre-design research process and then are informing the design conceptually, as well as refining draft versions of the final activity design.

Each project proposal we accept goes through a peer-review process to make sure that it is strong and effective . Then we work further with the partner to refine any details.

We usually work through partners we know or that other Tearfund’s or our Integral Alliance partners recommend. The Integral Alliance is a group of Christian aid organisations where members collaborate on disaster responses and disaster recovery projects.

What are the advantages of our partnership model?

Our partners determine the help they need to solve an aspect of poverty or need.
Programmes are delivered in a safe and culturally appropriate way.
Through the Integral Alliance and other Tearfunds, we can sometimes share monitoring and evaluation costs.
The Integral Alliance membership allows Tearfund NZ to contribute to fast efficient responses to disasters through well-organised collaboration and joint funding.

One of the biggest advantages for our generous supporters is knowing that their gifts sent to our partners are being used effectively. They can also be assured that our expert programmes staff are monitoring the effective use of funds. Working in low-income countries can be challenging and complex, so our staff work with the partner to adjust strategies that are not meeting targets to ensure the best possible outcomes.