Social funds

Definition
Agencies with non-profit status, independent from the government, that finance small scale-social infrastructure using a bottom-up demand driven approach (Theunynck, 2009).

Social funds were developed in the 1980s to alleviate poverty, particularly by funding small-scale social infrastructure in rural areas to improve services and create employment opportunities. They were also used to provide basic services in the short term as well as during emergencies. The World Bank was a main promoter of social funds (Theunynck, 2009).

References
Theunynck, S. 2009. School Construction for Universal Primary Education in Africa: Should Communities Be Empowered to Build Their Schools? Washington D.C.: The World Bank. Retreived from: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/109291468007863249/pdf/488980PUB0prim101Official0Use0Only1.pdf

To explore further
Jack, W. 2001. ‘Social Investment Funds: An Organizational Approach to Improved Development Assistance.’ In: World Bank Research Observer 16 (1): 109–24. Retrieved from: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/17130/766550JRN0WBRO00Box374385B00PUBLIC0.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Theunynck, S. 2009. School Construction for Universal Primary Education in Africa: Should Communities Be Empowered to Build Their Schools? Washington D.C.: The World Bank. Retreived from: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/109291468007863249/pdf/488980PUB0prim101Official0Use0Only1.pdf