Katharine Hopper, Account Manager, Oxfam GB, United Kingdom

Why come to this Symposium?

It's interesting for Oxfam to get a sense of the impact of the financial crisis on foundations. We have to understand what they’re going through, so we can continue to build successful relationships, inspire them to support our work and demonstrate the impact their support has on the communities we seek to assist. In the end, isn't this the reason we're all here? To support and help those who are poor and vulnerable.

What did you learn here?

It's interesting to see different ways in which foundations are facing the challenge, both by broadening and narrowing their activities, but yet still very much retaining their commitment to their mission and values. I must also say that I was very pleased to see how willing the foundations are to work with partners to develop joint solutions.

Social investment has been widely discussed, where does Oxfam stand on this topic?

Oxfam has been working on this for quite some time. Recently we have begun looking at the ‘missing middle’, the area between micro-credit and international investment: we launched the "Enterprise Development Programme", a business-based approach to poverty reduction offering a mix of grants and loans, along with business know-how, to carefully selected small and medium-sized enterprises in the developing world. The aim is to deliver economic growth alongside inclusive social change.