Report to the Global Board of Directors

May 2010

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Report of the Office of the Global Board Chair

Executive Summary

Since the time of our last meeting, The Hunger Project (THP) has been undergoing a period of transition. Since the resignation of Jill Lester, effective February 28, 2010, a leading specialist non-profit search firm, Isaacson Miller, has launched the search for a new President and CEO. The Office of the Global Board Chair, comprising Steve Sherwood and Sheree Stomberg, has been working closely with the Leadership Team at THP's Global Office to ensure a smooth transition period. Åsa Skögstrom Feldt, Country Director of THP-Sweden, has joined the Leadership Team to ensure Partner Country representation.

Despite this challenging transition time and the lingering effects of the global financial downturn, the work of THP in ending hunger and poverty around the world has continued, unabated. The establishment of new partnerships with institutional and governmental funders within our Program Countries continues to be an area of great achievement. The most significant highlight of the period comes from Uganda: during a visit to Mpigi Epicenter in February, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda pledged to provide financial support in the amount of US$10 million over five years for THP-Uganda to work in partnership with the National Planning Authority to scale up its Epicenter Strategy. While this agreement has yet to be formalized, such a recognition of our work is indeed an exciting precedent that may help convince other African governments to emulate the example by involving THP in their national planning commission, or equivalent body dealing with issues of hunger and poverty.

In addition, the Office of the Global Board Chair (Steve Sherwood and Sheree Stomberg) held a successful meeting with the new president of the Robertson Foundation regarding our scale-up demonstration in Ghana.

During the period, the 2010 budget and the 2009 Consolidated Audit were completed. A draft is ready for Audit Committee review and acceptance at the May Board Meeting.

Our global fundraising totaled at $11.72 million for the year 2009. Overall, this represents a 20.5% drop in funding from 2008. First quarter results are also significantly less than the same time in 2008, due almost entirely to the fact that we came into 2010 with $1.05 million less already raised for the new year. One of our biggest and most important challenges is to revitalize and expand unrestricted funding, particularly in the United States. As we begin to establish larger designated funding agreements, this puts a demand on us for stronger core capabilities in advocacy, policy analysis, program monitoring and evaluation that must largely be funded with unrestricted funds. In order to address these issues, the US fundraising team held a set of strategy meetings during the first quarter, including with Partner Country representatives to look at best practices. Included in the recommendations for moving forward is to hold a reenergized Fall Event in the United States.

THP has continued playing a leadership role in policy discussions to fulfill the strong G8 commitment to food security, particularly as it relates to gender. During this period, THP also participated in policy discussions on reforming overall U.S. Development Policy, in the Global Health Initiative and the Global Education Campaign.

Moreover, THP's exposure was significantly broadened during the period, which was marked by unprecedented media coverage around the world, in part due to the success of the book The Power of Half by the THP investor and father-daughter team of Kevin and Hannah Salwen. In addition, staff members received numerous awards and accolades and took a number of opportunities to present our work in various forums.

Office of the Global Board Chair: Steve Sherwood and Sheree Stomberg