Why We Created Friends of Talem

At Talem Foundation, we provide small grants to extraordinary nonprofit organizations doing grassroots work in healthcare, education, and economic development around the world. We see firsthand the impact these organizations make. They are often deeply connected to their communities, understand local needs, and are creating meaningful change with limited resources.

But there is one challenge we hear about again and again: it is not easy for international nonprofits to connect with U.S. donors. There are relatively few U.S. foundations that specialize in supporting non-U.S. charitable organizations. The reason is simple: providing grants and facilitating donations across borders requires significant due diligence and ongoing compliance with IRS, OFAC, and other applicable regulations. It can be complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. At the same time, U.S. donors generally cannot claim a charitable tax deduction for donations made directly to foreign organizations.

For many international charities, the traditional solutions are to establish a U.S. affiliate or find a fiscal sponsor that can handle the required compliance and issue tax receipts to U.S. donors. But our grassroots partners have told us that these options can simply be too expensive.

And we agree.

The organizations we work with should be spending as much of every donation as possible on their missions—not “paying to play” through expensive sponsorship arrangements or fundraising platforms that charge thousands of dollars in fees and take a percentage of every donation.

That is why we created Friends of Talem.

Friends of Talem is a charitable fundraising platform designed to help connect carefully selected grassroots organizations with a community of caring U.S. donors. Through Friends of Talem, Talem Foundation provides fiscal sponsorship, donor tax receipts, thorough due diligence, and ongoing oversight through our direct working relationships with the organizations we support.

And perhaps most importantly, we do not charge our partner organizations a single dollar to be on the platform, and we do not take a percentage of the donations they receive.

We believe generosity should go as far as possible.

Our goal is simple: to make it easier for U.S. donors—including individuals, families, and Donor-Advised Fund contributors—to support exceptional grassroots organizations around the world with confidence.

This is just the beginning.

Over the coming months, we will use this blog to introduce you to the mission behind Friends of Talem, share stories from our grassroots partners, and explore new ways donors and Donor-Advised Fund holders can make a meaningful impact around the world.

We invite you to meet Friends of Talem—and discover the organizations changing lives, one community at a time.

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Friends of Talem is a 501c(3) public charity operating a charitable fundraising platform strictly in compliance with US and California regulations.