For the third year running, BRAC has been ranked Number One NGO in the world. The rankings, known as the 'Ivy League' of the non-profit sector, are carried out by NGO Advisor, a Geneva-based independent media organization that highlights innovation and impact in the non-profit sector.
BRAC is well established in the field. Headquarted in Dhaka, Bangladesh, BRAC operates in 11 different countries and employs more than 100,000 people. Originally among the pioneers of Bangladeshi microcredit and microfinance in the 1970’s, the organization now helps people across a range of sectors, including (but not limited to) Economic Empowerment, Education, Gender Issues and Community Building.
Amongst BRAC’s life altering work is BRAC Boat Schools, which featured in this year’s HundrED Global List. Boats Schools are an innovative, concept-led project providing high quality education to children who would otherwise be unable to attend school due to water based barriers like seasonal flooding. Free to attend, BRAC Boat Schools allow even the most impoverished children access to education. But their impact doesn't stop there.
As well as providing education, BRAC’s Boat Schools actively promote female empowerment. In fact, all teachers on board the boats are women and more than half of all students are girls; BRAC now supports more girls beyond the age of five than any other NGO that specialises in free and accessible education. Today, more than 500 BRAC Boats grace the waters of Bangladesh and the Phillipines, making school a reality for more than 14,500 students.
NGO Advisor rankings take into account 185 strict criteria relating to an NGO's impact, innovation and sustainability. As well as ticking every box, BRAC was even awarded extra scoring this year in recognition of the clarity of its strategic vision for the next five years and its ambition to expand its international reach. NGO Advisor referred to BRAC as “leading the nonprofit world toward its next degree of efficiency and leverage”, saying that “thanks to BRAC, we are now entering the ‘For-Good’ era”.
Please join us in congratulating BRAC on their incredible achievement and be sure to check out Boat Schools and their other innovative, life-changing projects around the world.
