Around the world nearly 2.5 billion people rely on land for their livelihoods yet many do not have the tenure to their land necessary to thrive. Securing land rights for the world’s poorest people is the work of Landesa, who in 2022, received a $20 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

In this interview we hear from Mark Ruffo, who explains why they don’t accept government funding, their capacity building in the Global South and how they are uniquely positioned to help 400 million rural women realise the benefits of strength and land rights by 2027.

Yet while the familiar major gift cycle for principal donors is almost the same as for major donors, it is important to realise there are some subtle but critical differences.