Our Beginning

The emergence of the Bangladesh Freedom Foundation is an expression of intent at reviving the tradition of philanthropy as an instrument and catalyst for national development. The idea was first mooted in the course of informal consultations between a group of eminent citizens and the Ford Foundation, which had decided to close its Bangladesh operations in 1997 as part of its global restructuring. At that stage, the Ford Foundation made an informal commitment to providing support for the establishment of a national philanthropic foundation. Upon further consultations, the out-going representative of the Ford Foundation formally requested Mr. Mahfuz Anam, Editor, The Daily Star to serve as the Chairperson of an Advisory Committee to oversee the establishment of this foundation with initial financial, logistical and technical assistance from Ford.

The Bangladesh Freedom Foundation (BFF) was formally established in September 1997 as an independent non-profit trust. The Foundation also registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau of the Government of Bangladesh in April 1998.?