Disclaimer: This Founder Series was originally published on DNF Newsletter Substack.

Dear Founder,

Welcome to the final interview of the year, or as I like to call it, my parting letter before DNF, as you know it, comes to a close. Conducting this interview was an absolute pleasure, and you’re about to see why. My guest today is a remarkable woman who, I must say, has my dream career—making meaningful contributions to the social impact space in various ways. Without revealing too much, let’s dive right into it.

Pelumi from DNF: Welcome to Dear NGO Founder (DNF), a publication for nonprofit founders who want to do social good effectively. My name is Pelumi Ogunade. As with every other interview, I’m going to start with the common question: Can we meet you?

Special Guest: Thank you so much, Pelumi, for having me on Dear NGO Founder. My name is Adaeze Obiozor. I like to think of myself as a multi- or tri-sector expert. I’m the founder of Ascend Philanthropy, formerly known as The Good Company, a philanthropy advisory firm. I’m also the founder of the Africa Oral Health Fund for Children, and I hope we’ll get a chance to talk more about that. I work as a High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNI) or niche client advisor.

To explain it in simple terms, my company helps clients who serve HNIs design strategies to acquire and retain wealthy clients. I also own two other companies. One is called Tooth Fairy, an oral health, play-learn, and entertainment company for children. My mission is to democratize access to oral health care and oral health products while teaching children healthy oral habits during their formative years. The other is a coaching practice that helps senior-level executives enhance their executive presence and appearance. That’s a holistic overview of who I am and the different capacities I work in.

Pelumi: When I first came across your profile on social media, I was intrigued by your career. Upon further research, I became curious about how you arrived at Philanthropy Advisory and Venture Philanthropy. Your first degree is in Biology (sciences), you trained in appearance and personal image, and then worked in PR as a senior account executive. How did you arrive at philanthropy?

Ms. Adaeze: Wow! You’ve done your research, Pelumi, I must say. As a young girl, I wanted to become a pharmacist or pursue something in medicine. My first degree was a case of being a young Nigerian who didn’t get my desired course of study and had to settle for something else. While I was in school, and even at a very young age, I always had an eye for detail. I would watch ads from brands like Coca-Cola and Guinness and want to be in the room where such ideas were created. I wanted to understand the thought process behind such genius campaigns.

I also had an eye for luxury and the finer things in life. I like to describe myself as an accidental entrepreneur. I was the girl whose friends would ask for help shopping whenever I traveled and who paired items for them. So, I worked in fashion and PR before starting my first company 12 years ago. I also worked in corporate communications, managing client reputations. I collaborated with corporates like Nigerian Breweries, managed the wardrobe and image for international judges on Maltina Dancehall, and worked with celebrities. I enjoyed helping brands identify what made them unique. I was very successful in this role, rising to lead the luxury arm of the business before leaving to start my first company.

I founded J’ennique Consulting, a marketing firm representing clients and creating strategies tailored to their market objectives. My focus was on working with multinationals rather than SMEs. During the first two years, we secured the account of the Malaysian External Trade Commission, which sought to strengthen trade ties between Nigeria and Malaysia. We leveraged various trade opportunities, including Formula One. This was my entry point into serving HNIs.

With the success of that project, I realized one of my core competencies was strategic partnerships. I excelled at connecting brands and creating collaborative benefits for them. Over time, I became fascinated with the psychology of affluent individuals—why they buy and how they acquire wealth. These realizations led to the creation of what I call the Affluent Marketing Solution, which I pitched to private banks, asset management firms, aviation companies, luxury brands, and more. I began showing them how to effectively serve wealthy clients. We soon began working with Tier-One HNIs, and I like to think we pioneered the concept of HNI marketing.

The Turning Point

Ms Adaeze: Things were going well until clients started coming back to ask how they could establish their legacy. At the time, I didn’t have an answer and would refer them to others in the industry I knew. What changed was that we received the account of the former President of Gambia to work on his nonprofit foundation during the Ebola crisis. The objective was to help reinstate people who had been affected by Ebola. We were tasked with creating a campaign for this purpose, and we found ourselves fully immersed in the project. This experience set us on the path of exploring legacy, philanthropy, and strategies for NGOs. It was such an interesting project, we strategized and handed it over to those who would execute the campaign.

After that, I realized there was a significant need. You know Maslow’s Hierarchy? At a certain point, people reach a level where they’ve achieved success in business, family, and wealth, and they start asking, What’s next? In the course of working with the 1% of the 1%, I noticed they had estates, family offices, and wealth advisors, but there was a gap. Family businesses in Africa and in Nigeria, rarely last beyond the second generation, and at most the third, which is an exceptionally small percentage. I saw an opportunity there, and I wanted to change that.

Pelumi: That is an interesting journey ma’am. Your experience in working with HNIs on the continent. What would you say is the biggest factor driving their philanthropic activities? Faith? Family? Societal obligation? PR/damage control?

Ms. Adaeze: I like that you added PR/reputation. For example, corporate brands covertly engage in CSR for branding purposes, which I think reflects a misunderstanding of philanthropy and social development. If done right, it will naturally advance the brand. One thing that has consistently stood out in my experience with wealthy individuals is their family values. Yes, faith is intertwined, but it primarily comes down to their value systems—the belief systems of the company, individual, and family.

There’s a psychology and thought process behind why they give. Giving is increasingly approached as part of instituting a legacy while giving back. It’s a strategy to ensure the family name and business are preserved for years to come. For example, take Mo Ibrahim and his foundation. You’ll find that the good works a person does—what we call giving or philanthropy—last longer than the name of the person or their business. What starts as personal or family values is now evolving into a wealth preservation strategy.

Pelumi, very wealthy Africans or Nigerians—and even globally—now have what you’d call family offices. They work with wealth advisors and are structuring philanthropy as a form of investment. This is where impact investing and venture philanthropy come in. They are channeling their wealth into enterprises or ventures that achieve two goals: generating returns, although not at the rate of commercial investments like venture capital. It’s what you’d call slow capital. They understand that it won’t yield quick returns, but more importantly, it will yield the returns of legacy. It’s an intelligent and strategic way of preserving wealth by investing in ventures that generate profit while doing good in the world. This is what I aim to achieve with Ascend, where we plan to raise funds and invest by engaging wealthy families and encouraging them to invest in such ventures.

Pelumi: Zeroing in on HNIs that are millennials, are you seeing a generational shift in how wealth is being managed and given by them? Are they taking a different approach?

Ms. Adaeze: Absolutely. What I would say is that millennials, and even the generation coming after us, are becoming more aware of the need to plan for wealth and succession. However, let’s focus on millennials because I am one, and we are the next generation building and acquiring wealth. While many of us understand the importance of planning, not enough of us realize that there are different or multiple structures for doing so. What differentiates the 1% of the 1% who have sustained wealth from some millennials now acquiring wealth—including through inheritance—is that their fathers had clarity and understood how to institute that wealth properly.

Millennials need to recognize that while wealth is one thing, legacy and a good name are another. Often, a name and a legacy can open doors long after the wealth itself is gone. You know the term “old money“? The reason it’s called old money is that the name endures, and that name continues to open doors.

Pelumi: Your work in philanthropy advisory involves working with HNIs, corporate organizations, and foundations. What metrics are used in determining an NGO’s viability?

Ms. Adaeze: You always hear people say, “Be clear about your mission.” I’ll start by saying, before being clear about your mission, think of new and non-traditional ways to solve the problems that plague development in Africa. This is important in assessing you for funding. For example, at Ascend Philanthropy, we’re using technology not only to solve funding issues but also to improve impact reporting through our SaaS (Software as a Service) product currently in development. Funders need to be able to measure the impact you’re making and report it upwards.

They’re also looking at your administrative costs. How are you planning to be efficient without incurring a lot of administrative expenses? This is why the software I mentioned earlier, which we intend to offer to institutions and foundations, is not only a plug-and-play solution that makes reporting as transparent as possible but also automates some tasks to reduce administrative costs.

Cont’d

How you’re structured for funding is also key. Let’s use my company, Tooth Fairy, as an example. It already employs a non-traditional way of creating awareness about oral health and fun ways to teach children hygiene habits. When we started, we used to set aside 5% of our profit for social impact. Then I started to think about how insufficient 5% is. In considering how to do more, I had to think about structuring the company in a way that donors would want to invest in it. They don’t just invest in projects as it were; they prefer to invest in interventions and solutions where the impact is quantifiable, long-term, and measurable. This led to the Africa Oral Health

Fund, where I had to structure things to deploy venture philanthropy as a vehicle for funding instead of relying solely on the initial 5%. It’s important to note that not every venture for social good is a charity. If you are structuring it as charity, more often than not, you may not get the response that you want that can help you build sustainable impact.

Summarily, they’re looking at how you define the problem you’re solving and if it shows new thinking. What potential impact would your solution have, and how are you measuring that impact? How are you doing this? Are you and your team clear? An additional tip is that at the end of the day, donors invest in people.

Pelumi: What should nonprofit founders bear in mind when planning for funding?

Ms. Adaeze: Like I said above, are you thinking about non-traditional ways to solve problems? If you’re trying to solve problems in maternity health, for example, reducing the mortality rate, are you using technology or any form of innovation? You have to be clear on your mission, how you want to achieve it, and know how to communicate it clearly. Avoid being swayed by funding. Let’s say you want to end period poverty, then you move into quickly providing underwear for little girls. You discover at some point that your work is hard to measure. If you know what you’re doing, be willing to play the long game and stay in it for the long haul.

You need to understand donor psychology. Are you looking for institutional donors, or are you looking at corporate donors? You must understand their motivations for giving, and you had asked the question about it earlier for individual donors. You must understand how they came into the wealth that you want them to give you because nouveau riche and old money have different money perceptions. You must understand their family values. Have they instituted their family governance and all of that? When you understand that, you know how you can approach them. Now, if you’re doing a charity, you can just speak to Mr. Lagbaja, and Mr. Lagbaja can just give you a couple of nairas. For institutions or corporations, understand their giving activities and why they’re giving.

Lastly, be clear on your funding strategy. With my funding strategy for Africa Oral Health, I know that we’re raising a huge sum. We’re trying to raise $500,000 with the Africa Oral Health Fund for children. Because we’re a new fund, we don’t have a track record like those who have been working for years. We realize that we would need to show traction, proper governance, and that we are an investable initiative. Our funding is in phases, and we are currently going the route of crowdfunding. We have other giving options that are not money, like products and strategic partnerships. I would say your funding strategy has to be intentional and tight.

Pelumi: In Venture Philanthropy, how do you manage the balance between Return on Investment (ROI) and Social Impact?

Ms. Adaeze: Remember that I said it is slow capital. As a funder, what is priority to you is social impact. It is not always balanced. A funder already goes into it with that mindset, or else they would have invested in a commercial venture. So I would say it is dependent on the funder and what is most important to them. The return on legacy building and social impact is often higher than any financial reward.

Pelumi: Still on raising funds, can you share a specific instance where you tried to raise a significant sum of money and the biggest challenge you encountered?

Ms. Adaeze: I can’t share client examples due to confidentiality. Let’s talk about my experience with the Africa Oral Health Fund for Children. The biggest challenge is finding the right fit between the donor or funder and the mission. For the Africa Oral Health Fund, one of the ways we aim to advance oral health is through policy advocacy. We want to integrate oral health into the general health education curriculum, going beyond “brush your teeth twice daily.” Our disease intervention focus is Noma and Periodontitis, which disproportionately affect children in the North. Our goal is to reduce the prevalence of these oral health diseases by 30% in Nigeria, thereby contributing to the WHO 2030 target of a 10% global reduction. The states in the Fund’s 5-year mission include Kaduna, Lagos, Kano, Anambra, Rivers, Sokoto, and Abia.

Our approach is multifaceted. Beyond policy advocacy, we also aim to provide oral health products through strategic partnerships. However, I have had funders ask if we could frame our work solely as an education initiative, even though there is an educational aspect to it. I have been asked if we could include women’s health. These requests highlight the challenge of finding alignment with funders who truly share our mission.

Another challenge that founders often face, which indirectly affects fundraising, is building the right team. You need a team capable of operating at a high level with limited resources while keeping operational costs manageable. Striking this balance is another significant hurdle.

Pelumi: What role do you see venture philanthropy playing in addressing Africa/Nigeria’s social challenges and what are some of the sectors you see as most ready for a venture philanthropy approach?

Ms Adaeze: Venture Philanthropy will play a significant role in addressing social challenges and social impact in Africa. International funders or foundations, development institutions are shifting towards an impact investing approach in tackling social issues. Private individuals are also approaching giving differently. It is measurable and sustainable. A sector that I see would be Education for example, it is an area with a lot of potential. Women’s health definitely, there are a lot of reproductive health issues on the rise and need for solutions. Look at the work that Health Tracka is doing for example. There is Climate Change and Waste Management. Waste is one of the biggest issues that Africa is facing, being able to dispose and manage waste right. Food security is also another issue. There are other areas as well.

Pelumi: Thank you, Ms. Adaeze, for such an insightful conversation so far. As the interview draws to a close, I want you to advise two groups of people. If you were to advise a young nonprofit founder on anything, what would you say?

Ms. Adaeze: Number one is to invest in the process. What is the process? Invest in skills and relationships. Don’t be in a hurry. The second is to always question your why and motives too. There’s an issue with founders who think nonprofit money is free money, who don’t deploy capital for the purpose it was received. Are you here to solve problems? I’ll reiterate your why again. It will steady you when things get tough.

My personal reason for what I’m doing in venture philanthropy and instituting giving as legacy building is because I believe Africa can attain self-sovereignty through giving and philanthropy. Right now, we’re invited to world stages to have conversations around Africa. We are being invited not as contributors, but as beneficiaries. I see an Africa where at some point we will be at that table, and there’s an exchange where we’re contributing as much as we are receiving, like the West. It’s my moonshot idea, and it’ll probably outlive me. It is possible with solid relationships across Africa and a unison of objectives.

Cont’d

The origin of my why is connected to my dad. I was born with a silver spoon, but at some point, we started to eat with a “wooden spoon.” One of the mistakes my dad made was not instituting and planning for wealth. One thing my dad was big on was giving. There are too many instances where people would approach him for school fees, feeding, and different things. He didn’t structure it. If he did, his children would have been able to leverage it when we were down on liquid assets. We would have been able to use that name and track record. This is why I want to see African millennials institute wealth through giving. Giving is powerful, Pelumi. As a person of faith, I see in scriptures that God is a God of generations. And the people who encountered him would raise up a stone or altar so they and their children don’t forget. That is institutionalizing, and that is legacy.

When I wake up on days thinking if these dreams will ever come true—can I achieve this with Ascend Philanthropy, this concept of philanthropy, and these tech products? My why keeps me going. Remember to keep upskilling. From my first company to building three companies, and the one I’m building now, I upskilled. I didn’t have all the resources when I started, and it didn’t stop me. At every phase, I invested in people, relationships, and information. Information is found amongst people, and people invest in people. It’s important that you invest in yourself. That is my personal advice. The technical things can be learned in books.

Pelumi: Thank you for getting personal with that question. Now, for the aspiring philanthropists who dream of becoming funders, including those from my generation (Gen Z), what advice would you give them?

Ms. Adaeze: I would say that giving is a powerful tool—don’t just see it as giving money away. Be intentional with your giving. Just as you plan your wealth and investments, plan your giving or philanthropy with the same level of intentionality.

You don’t need to have a lot of money to be a philanthropist, and you don’t need to be old to start. There are many ways to give. You can give your money, your time, or your expertise. As you grow in your journey as a philanthropist, consider volunteering your time or expertise with a foundation or initiative that is addressing a problem close to your heart. And remember, no amount is too small.

I also want to share a concept that might be helpful. Think about the idea of investment clubs. If you’re passionate about giving, you can bring together like-minded individuals who share your passion. In the West, for instance, people form giving clubs where they pool resources to support a specific cause. It’s a good way to amplify impact through collective effort.

Lastly, I would recommend joining associations focused on philanthropy—there are quite a few out there. Start by subscribing to their newsletters to stay informed and learn about diverse causes. Beyond education and healthcare, there are other impactful areas you might find appealing. It’s important to actively seek knowledge about giving, the various causes, and the potential impact of your contributions.

Dear Founder,

We have come to the end of this week’s interview. I hope you found this conversation insightful and helpful. Personally, my takeaway is that If venture philanthropy is the future, nonprofits need to prioritize data, documentation, and storytelling. On a personal level, her journey reminds me that my contribution to social development relies on identifying my strengths, reflecting to uncover gaps, and deploying my skills and social capital innovatively to solve problems. What is your takeaway?

Disclaimer: This Founder Series was originally published on DNF Newsletter Substack.