Education charity closes after DfID withdraws funding

09 Nov 2018 News

Education charity Think Global has closed after being unable to replace funding which was withdrawn by the Department for International Development (DfID).

Think Global, an organisation that supports its members to promote development education, used to receive the majority of its £400,000 income as part of a consortium delivering DfID’s Global Learning Programme.

The charity said “changes in UK government priorities” has meant the DfID funding has now been withdrawn.

It said: “This resulted in a substantial reduction to our income that we have been unable to replace.”

The charity said Brexit has also had “a dampening effect” on its ability to potentially access European Union funding.

It also said that its 12,000 members, which include local development education centres as well as large charities like Oxfam and and Save the Children, are increasingly unable to pay their membership fees.

The charity said it had been working for the past 18 months to secure alternative sources of funding, including a potential merger, but it was unable to replace the amount it received from DfID.

According to the charity’s latest accounts, it had nine employees, all of which have now “moved on”.

Programmes to continue

Some of its services will be passed to other charities, but others will close down, the charity said. 

James Luger, chair of Think Global, said: “We are acutely aware that at the very moment we close our doors, the need for global learning has never been greater.

“The challenges of the 21st Century – be they technological, political, economic or environmental – will all require more, not less, of the key tenets of global learning: viewing learning as a process; critical-analytical thinking; openness to others’ perspectives and a deep understanding of the interdependence of society.

“However, Think Global didn’t act alone – we were an effective force for global learning because our members, networks, friends and supporters amplified our message, and this community will continue to promote the vital importance of helping people understand and act on global issues, and help create a world that is just and sustainable for all.”

Think Global was established in 1993 as the Development Education Association to promote development education and global learning.

The association built on and brought together two existing networks, the National Association of Development Education Centres and the Inter Agency Committee for Development Education.

In 2008, the association changed its name to Think Global.

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