Ken Banks awarded significant MacArthur grant for FrontlineSMS
Ken Banks’ organisation, kiwanja.net, in collaboration with Stanford University, has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to build on its work with FrontlineSMS. The MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media.
The grant will allow FrontlineSMS to be taken from its current proof-of-concept phase to full release and support the development of a new mobile-based information portal for the NGO community. The project is due to commence this summer and will run for a period of nine months.