In November 2023, after 38 years of successful operations, Avert embarked on a bold and strategic journey, deciding to transition our two most successful products to local partners in East and Southern Africa and ultimately close our own operations.
There were a number of factors behind our decision that centred both on our success and on the changing environment around us.
On the one hand, all the evidence showed that our work was still needed and that our two brands Boost and Be in the KNOW were successful and making an impact on sexual health literacy and informed sexual health choices in sub-Saharan Africa.
On the other hand, funding realities for small organisations, changes in the HIV epidemic, and changes in funding for the HIV response were all raising red flags about the long-term stability and sustainability of our organisation.
Through our partnerships with local NGOs across East and Southern Africa, we knew there was strong health communication skill and capacity across local organisations in the region, which combined with new and alternative funding sources could bring the products closer to their target audiences.
We identified that if we acted decisively, while still in good financial health, and transitioned our core brands to African-led and African-based organisations who had the skills and know-how to grow and develop them, and for whom the brands would be a strategic fit with significant added value, this would ultimately be a more meaningful and sustainable move in the long term.
We see our transition and closeout not as a sign of failure, but as a strategic success that has enabled our work and mission to live on in new forms.
The more recent seismic events following the Republican Party’s return to office in the US and their cuts to USAID, alongside other overseas development assistance retrenchment by European governments, has highlighted the fragility of our sector and the need for us to be willing to evolve and find more sustainable ways of delivering our missions.
So over the course of 18 months from November 2023, we identified potential transition partners, agreed strategic partnerships, handed over content, branding, technical infrastructure, and data, and mentored key staff in the new organisations – passing over our combined experience and learning on the brands.
We also shifted our resource mobilisation efforts to bring on funding to support the costs of the transition and to support the first year of the new partners operations. With support of existing donors Vitol Foundation, ViiV Healthcare, ViiV Positive Action and Gilead Sciences, we raised over $700,000 for the transition with over $450,000 of seed funding for the transition partners.
We see our transition and closeout not as a sign of failure, but as a strategic success that has enabled our work and mission to live on in new forms. It was an extremely hard decision that required confidence and conviction to deliver, but it was most certainly the best decision to have taken, that has given us the best outcomes.
To ensure the lessons from our transition experience are not lost, we have also published a transition learning report. The report reflects on the lessons we learned throughout our journey, offering insights to other nonprofits that may find themselves facing a similar situation or decision. It is based on our direct experience and from the discussions we had with other organisations who had gone through similar experiences and processes.
The report sets out:
We hope it serves as a valuable resource for nonprofit leaders considering their organisations’ mission, sustainability, impact, and legacy.
Photo credit: Emma Bailey Photography. Photos are used for illustrative purposes. They do not imply health status or behaviour.
