The NNPC Limited/FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited Joint Venture has launched a new multi-year funding programme aimed at helping established Nigerian non-governmental organisations scale interventions that have already demonstrated measurable social impact.
The initiative, known as Impact FIRST: Heritage, was unveiled at a grant presentation ceremony in Ikoyi, Lagos, on August 12. It is designed as a longer-term extension of the existing Impact FIRST programme, moving beyond one-off annual grants to sustained support for organisations with strong governance, accountability and delivery records.
According to information released by the joint venture, the original Impact FIRST programme was launched in 2024 and has supported 15 NGOs whose programmes have reached more than 20,000 beneficiaries across Nigeria. The new Heritage track is reserved for previous beneficiaries that have demonstrated the capacity to sustain and responsibly expand their work.
Five organisations were selected for the inaugural cohort: The IREDE Foundation, which provides prosthetic limbs and support for child amputees; Asido Foundation, which works on mental health rehabilitation and reintegration; Cerebral Palsy Centre, which supports people living with cerebral palsy; Health and Development Support Programme, which delivers eye-care interventions; and Health Emergency Initiative, which works to improve access to emergency healthcare and strengthen first-response capacity.
The structure of the programme reflects a growing debate in the social-impact sector about how NGOs are financed. Many nonprofit organisations operate through short project cycles, which can make it difficult to retain staff, invest in internal systems or expand interventions that have already been shown to work.
Multi-year funding can give organisations more predictability, but the effectiveness of such models depends on the quality of monitoring, governance and long-term partnership between funders and grantees. For corporate social-investment programmes, it can also shift attention from the number of grants awarded to the depth and durability of outcomes produced.
The launch comes as Nigerian NGOs face rising demand for services across health, education, disability inclusion and social protection, while also navigating tighter donor budgets and growing pressure to demonstrate measurable results.
For the five selected organisations, the Heritage programme could provide an opportunity to deepen existing work rather than repeatedly rebuilding projects around short funding cycles. For the wider sector, the model will be closely watched as another test of whether corporate philanthropy in Nigeria can move from episodic giving toward longer-term institutional support.
Leave a Reply