Strong Livelihoods. Restored Land. Stable Communities.
Letter from the CEO
2025 was marked by profound change. The closure of the largest foreign assistance agency, USAID, created upheaval. Other major donor countries followed suit, leading many nonprofits to close. As a result, hunger, poverty, and instability increased in marginalized communities.
Nuru is still here because of generous supporters like you. You enabled us to focus on what we do best: reduce hunger, poverty, and instability through livelihoods that stabilize communities and equip families to thrive. Since 2008, through Nuru's efforts to strengthen agribusinesses for farmers and pastoralists, over 456,000 people have benefited from improved food security and increased incomes.
Together, we equipped tipping point communities to build prosperity and stability. While conflict continued to unfold across West Africa, leaving rural communities at a critical tipping point, we launched in two new countries: Benin and Togo. This brings the Nuru Collective's reach to eight countries and marks the establishment of Nuru's Resilience Corridor.
In addition to this progress, I am proud to announce that Nuru was named a Best Nonprofit Workplace (the third year in a row). We work hard to maintain a healthy culture rooted in our mission and values.
Thank you for standing with us and believing in a hope-filled future in the face of uncertainty.
Be Hope. Be Light. Be Nuru.
2025 Milestones You Made Possible:
We established the resilience corridor.
Nuru scaled to the West African countries of Benin and Togo, achieving its goal of establishing a cohesive resilience corridor. Conflict spread at an alarming rate across this region in 2025. Burkina Faso was even named as the epicenter of global terrorism. Resilient communities with sustainable livelihoods remain critical to disrupt the spread of conflict.
Nuru Benin launched in the first quarter, quickly establishing an office, organizational policies, and a strategic plan. Later in the year, expansion efforts shifted to Togo, where Nuru established a board and conducted community research to evaluate intervention viability. In 2026, the Nuru Collective will focus on deep and durable impact across its eight countries of operation, while effectively linking its regional approach in West Africa.
We adapted to USAID's end.
The abrupt closure of USAID in early 2025 cut Nuru Burkina Faso's budget in half and left the Nuru Collective with a significant gap in anticipated future government funding. Nuru was sustained by generous supporters who stepped in to help, including Trafigura Foundation, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and Swiss Re Foundation.
The crisis highlighted the extraordinary power of local leadership, as Nuru Burkina Faso Executive Director Aïssetou Sawadogo led her team to quickly adapt.
"We used the moment as a chance to reflect on our strategy, realign, and double down on new partnerships to diversify funding and keep our community-driven strategies. It's been a tough year, no doubt. But it's also shown us that our resilience is not just a programmatic goal. We live it every day."
- Aïssetou
We championed people & planet.
The Nuru Collective expanded Nature-based Solutions to strengthen climate resilience and economic stability in rural communities. In Ethiopia, backed by the Swiss Re Foundation, Nuru Ethiopia completed its first year of implementation on a three-year initiative that includes planting 300,000 trees as a means to equip farmers to adapt to and mitigate climate risks. Nuru Nigeria partnered with Africa Nature Investors (ANI) to launch the Gumti Sustainable Livelihoods Project near Gashaka-Gumti National Park. This effort promotes climate-smart agriculture to improve food security while reducing encroachment and resource pressure on Nigeria's largest national park. Nuru also partnered with Viridian Ecosystems to scale regenerative agriculture and create carbon market opportunities for rural smallholder farmers and their agribusinesses. These locally-led initiatives drive long-term social, economic, and ecological resilience.
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Together, we can continue cultivating hope in marginalized communities.
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