Bangladesh Freedom Foundation (BFF) is an independent grant-making organization governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees. The Foundation was formed as a trust under Bangladesh law in September 1997 and registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau of the Government of Bangladesh in April 1998.
Bangladesh Freedom Foundation invests in programs that work towards freeing people from poverty, ignorance and oppression. The present focus of the organization is ‘Promoting Science Education’.
BFF does not support any initiative or organization whose work is contrary to the principles of equality and respect for all religious, cultural and ethnic groups. It does not support any form of religious, ethnic, sectarian, racial discrimination or extremism, nor partisan political agendas.
BFF operates from an endowment grant provided by the Ford Foundation and welcomes collaborative grant-making with institutions that share similar goals and interests.
Our Vision
BFF came out with the vision of ‘Freedom from poverty, ignorance, and oppression through philanthropy’, however, concentrated its thematic focus towards ‘Promoting Science Education at Secondary Level’ since 2010.
History of Origin
Bangladesh Freedom Foundation (BFF) emerged out of informal consultations between a group of eminent citizens and the Ford Foundation in the second half of the nineties following Ford Foundation’s decision to close its Bangladesh operations. During these consultations, the Ford Foundation expressed their interest in providing financial and technical support for the establishment of a national philanthropic foundation and formally requested Mr. Mahfuz Anam, Editor and Publisher, The Daily Star, to serve as the Chairperson of an Advisory Committee to oversee the process. The Foundation was then formally registered as a Trust in September 1997 with Mr. Mahfuz Anam and Prof. Rehman Sobhan, Chairperson, Center for Policy Dialogue, as the founding Chairperson and Treasurer respectively.
Registration
Bangladesh Freedom Foundation was formed as a Trust under the Bangladesh Trust Act 1882 on September 18, 1997. The Foundation was then registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau of the Government of Bangladesh on April 20, 1998 and renewed last in 2018 valid until April 19, 2028.
Governance
BFF is governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees comprising of a diverse group of nationally renowned activists, academics, journalists, industrialists, and social entrepreneurs. All Trustees are independent and are associated with the Foundation in their personal capacity.
The Board of Trustees sets policies relating to grant making, spending, investment, management, governance and independent financial audits. The trustees select the Executive Director who is responsible for implementing board policies and oversees the Foundation’s programs and operations on a day-to-day basis