The Liberia Institute for the Promotion of Academic Excellence (LIPACE) has welcomed a new partnership with the Mortenson Family Foundation, including a $40,000 unrestricted gift to support the organization’s work in Liberia over two years.
The gift will be provided in two installments of $20,000 in 2026 and $20,000 in 2027, providing LIPACE with flexible resources to strengthen its work and continue responding to the priorities of the children, young people, families, and communities it serves.
For LIPACE, the partnership represents more than financial support. It reflects a shared belief in locally grounded solutions, community voice, and addressing the underlying challenges that affect opportunities for young people and families.
The Mortenson Family Foundation’s partnership approach focuses on improving the standard of living for youth and families in developing communities, with particular attention to community voice, systems-level change, and addressing root causes. These priorities align closely with LIPACE’s approach to development.
Across its work, LIPACE seeks to create opportunities that respond to challenges identified within communities, from helping out-of-school children build foundational literacy and numeracy skills to strengthening livelihoods and contributing to stronger education systems through LIPACE’s flagship Achievement Hub project in Kakata, Margibi County.
The two-year gift provides LIPACE with greater flexibility to strengthen these foundations while continuing to advance the outcomes and activities at the heart of its work. It also reflects an approach to partnership that recognizes the importance of trusting locally rooted organizations to understand their context and make informed decisions about how resources can best support their mission.
LIPACE welcomes the Mortenson Family Foundation as a partner in its continuing journey to expand educational and economic opportunities for children, young people, families, and communities in Liberia. Throughout the two-year partnership, LIPACE will continue to track progress, learn from implementation, and remain accountable to the communities at the center of its work.