WASHINGTON, DC, September 14, 2026 — Nuru has received an $8.5 million, three-year grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to scale regenerative agriculture in marginalized communities, advance cooperative union and federation integration in South Ethiopia Regional State, and build nature-positive pathways to sustainable funding. With funding from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, Nuru will positively impact 450,000 people across the region.
“We are deeply grateful for the Helmsley Charitable Trust’s support as we scale Nuru’s proven approach to strengthening cooperatives and the rural economies they serve. By working locally to connect mature agribusinesses, cooperative unions, and regional federations, we are building the institutional foundation for change across vast landscapes. We are connecting the farmers who manage the land with the markets, resources, and systems needed to create lasting economic and ecological resilience. Together, we are ensuring hundreds of thousands of people can build a more prosperous future while having the tools, agency, and economic opportunity to steward the landscapes that sustain their families, their communities, and future generations,” said Casey Harrison, Nuru Chief Sustainability Officer.
By providing comprehensive technical assistance, business coaching, and strategic partnerships grounded in digital innovation, Nuru will strengthen cooperative capacities, enabling smallholder farmers and pastoralists to build resilient, durable incomes. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s timely investment will be highly impactful in Ethiopia, where poverty is once again on the rise due to the compounding effects of climate shocks, instability, severe inflation, and economic changes.
“Nuru’s approach starts at the smallholder, subsistence farmer and supports their transformation into rural entrepreneurs, farmer cooperative members, and finally, agribusiness professionals that are connected to mature markets,” said Walter Panzirer, a Trustee with the Helmsley Charitable Trust. “We’ve seen Nuru’s impact on the Gamo and Gofa Zones in Ethiopia and share with Nuru the belief that building resilient livelihoods not only charts a path out of extreme poverty, but also protects against natural resource challenges, climate shocks, and regional conflicts.”
Nuru’s approach strengthens community-owned agribusinesses, supporting rural households to increase their incomes while adopting climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and agroforestry practices that boost yields and diversify incomes. The initiative will reach 450,000 people through 400 primary cooperatives, 19 cooperative unions, and one cooperative federation in South Ethiopia Regional State.
“It has been my privilege and honor to make a transformative impact with cooperatives to lift families out of extreme poverty. Promoting greater agency through cooperative systems has been our mission at Nuru Ethiopia for years. Now, we have a new opportunity to level up our engagement through the investment ‘Building Sustainable Funding Pathways for Professional Cooperatives in Ethiopia’. These pathways enable communities to restore their land, diversify their livelihoods, and secure strong foundations for future generations. For the communities we serve, this is our moment to turn local resilience into lasting economic growth in ways that benefit people and the planet,” said Abiy Meshesha, Nuru Ethiopia Managing Director.
Key components of the initiative include:
“Economic empowerment can change everything–for an individual, their family, and their community. In past projects with Nuru, we resonated with the holistic nature of its accompaniment strategy, not stopping at farming advisory and training alone but incorporating financial literacy and technology improvements which help sustain more resilient livelihoods and food security,” said Melissa Crutchfield, Program Director of the Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa Program at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. “We’ve seen that approach have remarkable impacts over the last few years, and we know the potential is huge for it to resonate in Ethiopia as well.”
Helmsley Charitable Trust has invested in Nuru for more than a decade, including recently in West Africa, to cultivate rural community resilience. With support from Helmsley, Nuru has now reached more than 505,000 people since its founding. Nuru is honored to continue working with Helmsley in Ethiopia, scaling a model of cooperative professionalism that bridges the gap between remote smallholder farms and global markets, and creating a lasting legacy of economic and ecological prosperity.
###
About Nuru
Nuru is a global collective that enables inclusive and sustainable prosperity by identifying communities at the stability tipping point, strengthening rural livelihoods and market systems, and fostering stabilizing connections that repair social fabric and pave a pathway to peace. Nuru envisions a world without cycles of unjust poverty, where resilience and hope are cultivated in the most marginalized communities. The Nuru Collective operates through a network of locally-led NGOs in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Benin, and Togo, supported by Nuru US as a strategic partner. Learn more by visiting nuruinternational.org.
