Tostan Inc.

“The form 990 was prepared by the outside accountants. A draft of the return was reviewed by senior management and finance committee. The final form 990 was provided to the board of directors before filing with the irs.”

“All employees and board members are asked to annually submit any conflicts of interest in writing. New hires will be asked if there is a conflict and notice will be given to the senior management immediately and board yearly. If a conflict arises, the board of directors determine whether the conflict exists and, if so, the board votes to authorize or reject the transaction or take any other action deemed necessary to address the conflict and protect tostan's best interests. Board members have a duty to disclose any possible conflict of interest. The board of directors determines whether a conflict of interest exists and, if so the board votes to authorize or reject the transaction or take any other action deemed necessary to address the conflict and protect tostan's best interests. Votes will be by a majority vote, without counting the vote of any interested director, even if the disinterested directors are less than a quorum provided that at least one consenting director is disinterested. An interested board member, officer, or staff member will not participate in any discussion or debate of the board of directors, or of any committee or subcommittee in which the subject of discussion is a contract, transaction, or situation in which there may be a perceived or actual conflict of interest. However, they may be present to provide clarifying information in such a discussion or debate unless objected to by any present board or committee member. Anyone in a position to make decisions about spending tostan's resources (i.e., transactions such as purchases contracts) - who also stands to benefit from that decision - has a duty to disclose that conflict as soon as it arises (or becomes apparent); s/he will not participate in any final decisions.”

“The board committee reviews comparable salaries before making any recommendations for senior staff salaries. The process is documented. A review was last conducted in january 2018. The board committee also reviews comparable salaries before making any recommendations for the key employees salaries. The process is documented. Tostan's compensation policy is to pay at the 25th percentile of the market for senior management and towards the 75th percentile for around 500 african staff members in the field.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“Through its major program, the community empowerment program (cep): the social mobilization activities reached 170 new communities, including 120 new communities in senegal and 50 communities in mali. This increased the number of communities covered by tostan's programs to 3,074 since 2019, including 750 new communities in 2023. 22,946 community empowerment program (cep) participants in four countries - senegal, mali, the gambia, and guinea bissau. In guinea conakry, where tostan previously did direct implementation, the organization now partners with ceguifed, a locally registered affiliate (please see d., far below). 468 communities were covered by tostan programs in gambia, guinea-bissau, mali, senegal, and guinea conakry. 79% of program participants were women and girls. 2,464 neighboring communities reached through cep participant outreach activities. 132 communities covered by a peace and security project (100 in senegal and 32 in guinea conakry). 751 local elected officials from mali and senegal trained on strengthening democracy and civic engagement. 95 participants from 11 countries trained at the tostan training center. 432 communities participated in 9 public declarations of abandonment of harmful practices in senegal, gambia, and guinea-bissau. 925 awareness-raising campaigns organized to promote peace and human security. Tostan also worked with community partners to conduct a wide range of additional programming activities, reaching many hundreds more communities. Please see below for a summary of tostan's main programming efforts across all programs in 2023. The tostan community empowerment program (cep): our unique three-year program empowers community members in five west african countries with the skills and knowledge they need to lead their own development. The cep is a non-formal education program, based on human rights, and is implemented in more than a dozen local languages. It combines modern education techniques with traditional african oral teaching methods and is underpinned by a respectful approach to local beliefs and culture. Impact areas: our work uses a holistic approach for community-led development, and our impacts are found across five key areas: governance, education, health, environment, and economic growth. Each result area is elaborated upon below: governance: cep participants learn about democracy, human rights and responsibilities, leadership, decision-making and problem-solving. Each community democratically selects 19 members to form a community management committee (cmc) and receives training in the skills necessary to implement projects in their communities. These committees constitute a strong leadership presence in tostan communities, contributing to the growth of good governance and democracy. They work to increase democratic participation by encouraging residents to register their children at birth, to vote and run for office as well as participate in national elections. The participation and leadership of women in cmcs are highly encouraged, and in 2023, 100% of cmcs in guinea, guinea-bissau, mali, gambia, and senegal had a majority of female members. These women emerge as community leaders, activists, and role models, showing young girls and boys alike that women can succeed in leadership roles and work alongside men as equals. Education: cmcs organized during the cep-led initiatives that ensure girls and boys are enrolled in school. When a family is considering removing their child from school, cmc members meet with them to discuss other possible solutions. Child/forced marriage is one practice that is a key factor in determining whether a girl will stay in school. Following their participation in our holistic program, hundreds of communities across the countries in which we work pledged to abandon child/forced marriage in 2023, bringing the total number to 10,457. As a result, thousands of girls are likely to have the opportunity to stay in school for longer, rather than be ma”

“Rather than blaming or criticizing, we encourage dialogue around these and other practices that communities feel hinder their vision for their community's development. Participants and community management committee (cmc) members speak with friends and family as well as travel to other communities to raise awareness about what they have learned. Through this process, many communities decide to end fgc together, some without having directly participated in our classes. In 2023, 9 public declarations were held by 432 communities in senegal, the gambia, and guineabissau to announce their decision to abandon harmful traditional practices. Child protection: through our cep module on child protection, cmcs are trained to address the deep social norms and practices that negatively affect children. The child protection module training is for cmc members in communities that have implemented the cep. The module helps build consensus around human rights and children's rights while building awareness of the various moral, social, and legal norms that affect children. Instead of focusing on immediate relief, the module helps communities address the deep social norms and practices that are at the source of these issues affecting children. It emphasizes the importance of education and introduces ideas for how communities can work together to protect their children. The child protection module strengthens the capacity of communities to provide protection for children and prevent violations of children's rights by reinforcing the capacities of communities and their surrounding villages to identify at-risk children, reinforcing the capacities of communities to prevent the trafficking or migration of children to urban centers, reinforcing the capacities of communities to help children in difficult situations such as sexual abuse, incest, forced marriage and fgc, and fostering the creation of dynamic and functional commissions for child protection in all communities. All communities who participate in the cep, specifically the cmcs, are trained in the child protection module. After the training, cmcs establish commissions for child protection (ccps), which lead the community in advocating for children's rights and transforming existing social norms that sustain harmful practices. Thousands of children have been registered at birth by cmcs, improving their access to school and legal recognition. In addition to leading these community-wide projects, cmcs also intervene directly in cases of child abuse. Early childhood development: in order to address this issue, tostan developed the reinforcement of parental practices (rpp) module beginning in 2012. The module aims to reinforce knowledge gained in the cep that encourages parents and other community members to create an environment for children's development. As a result, the module will help improve children's early development and learning, allowing them to perform better and stay in school. Research has shown that certain social norms and traditional practices in senegal can hinder the brain development of infants. For example, the belief that infants must be protected from dangerous spirits: to protect them certain parents avoid looking newborn babies in the eye and speaking regularly and directly to them. However, recent discoveries about brain development in young children have shown importance of stimulating interactions between parents and their children. During the rpp module, facilitators share with community members simple techniques that enrich interactions between parents and their young children and are all linked to children's basic human rights to education and health. These techniques include speaking to their young children using a rich and complex vocabulary, asking their children questions and helping them respond, playfully copying their children, telling them stories, and describing objects in detail to them. Primary caregivers in each community are trained to teach others the”

“Community development grants allow cmcs and individual community members to put the literacy, numeracy, and project management knowledge they gained during the cep into practice. These grants provide a way for community members to participate in income-generating activities, allowing them to provide for their families and sustainably invest in their communities. Mobile phone for literacy and development (mpld) module: the module focuses on using mobile phone technology, specifically sms text messaging, as a tool to reinforce literacy and numeracy skills, and is now an integrated part of the cep. Mobile phones and their networks are becoming increasingly more prevalent in the communities with which we partner. We found that using mobile phone technology is a relevant and innovative way to reinforce literacy and numeracy skills learned in the cep. Tostan facilitators teach participants the practical uses of standard mobile phone functions and how sms texting can be used as a tool to practice their literacy skills. The mobile phones are used to reinforce literacy, organization, and management skills, as well as to build consensus around local development initiatives. Sms texting becomes a sustainable and relevant option for reinforcing literacy and numeracy as access to mobile phone technology increases. Mobile phones and sms text messaging can be used as a tool to accelerate positive social transformation. They connect women and with their communities; amplify the voice and influence of youth and marginalized groups in a community's decision-making process; organize advocacy work; and accelerate large-scale social movements. All communities benefiting from the cep (see above) are benefitting or will benefit from tostan's mpld programming during the 3-year cep period. The peace and security program: the peace and security program reinforces conflict prevention and management skills learned during the cep through additional classes over six months and establishes a community-led structure to lead and strengthen peace-building and human security at the community level. Skills learned include improved communication and problem-solving skills as well as the peaceful resolution of community and familial conflicts. The prison project: aims to help detainees reintegrate back into their communities through participation in a modified version of the cep. Participation builds their knowledge of human rights and equips them with practical skills to start income-generating activities. We also facilitate family meditations to help integrate former detainees back into their communities upon release. An international agreement addressing prison conditions in africa allows prisons to form partnerships with organizations and ngos like tostan to provide rehabilitation services. These services encourage the successful reintegration of prisoners into society upon their release. As part of the modified version of the cep we implement in prisons, facilitators lead class discussions on topics including human rights education, problem-solving, hygiene, health, and literacy, as well as provide family mediation and skill trainings in project management and income-generating activities. Upon release, participants also have access to start-up funds for the establishment of small businesses. The revenue generated from the skills trainings and economic activities of the prisoners who are still imprisoned make these funds possible. In 2023 the prison project (pp) worked in seven senegalese prisons. In 2023, detainees participated in cep sessions on democracy, human rights and responsibilities, problem solving, health and hygiene, and practical skills in literacy, numeracy, project management and income generating activities. Several initiatives to improve living conditions were led by detainees including cell cleaning days; sports competitions; cooking; and classes teaching wolof, french and english and the interpretation of religious texts. Tostan recorded pe”

“Inspiring the global conversation on wellbeing: tostan staff actively participated in numerous social change leaders' convenings and international networks to advance community wellbeing on a global scale. Our engagement spanned 17 major global events, reflecting our commitment to sharing our community-led development model internationally. In kigali, rwanda at women deliver, several tostan team members and partners made important connections and hosted side events which included a ttc alumni gathering in partnership with giz. D. Affiliation: the country operation in guinea has changed to a new partnership model. In 2023, tostan guinea ceased operations, with a transition of many capacities to an affiliate partner known as ceguifed. Ceguifed, a partner organization independent of tostan, has a mission and vision highly aligned with tostan and will be accompanied by a partnership with tostan for 3 years, following to a well-developed partnership plan. E. Programming looking forward: the strategy to 2030 in 2023 tostan launched its new strategy to 2030: in partnership for wellbeing. This exciting new document has created a framework for tostan's work in supporting community well-being alongside a broad range of partners. The strategy is emphasizing three major, interconnected objectives: objective 1: widen the partnership with networks of communities and contribute to a sustainable movement for community well-being in west africa and beyond. Objective 2: expand engagement of the ecosystems of local, national and regional actors - including government officials, religious leaders, civil society and donors - by reinforcing their capacity and will to support community networks in their journey towards improved well-being. Objective 3: strengthen the connections of networks of partner communities to resources and to supportive structures, and promote collaboration that enables them to accelerate and sustain community well-being. By the end of 2023 tostan's new strategy was well underway with exciting developments across these areas. The organization looks forward to providing updates on its website and in further updates in the coming years.”

“The organization also has additional staff of 644 located in africa.”

“Contract services: program service expenses 956,264. Management and general expenses 177,879. Fundraising expenses 518,289. Total expenses 1,652,432.”

“Exchange rate gain/loss 180,668.”