“to teach so that you and others may learn, and to do research so that you and others may come to know”
Originating Trust in Education and Research
The Originating Trust in Education and Research was established by Alvan Azinna Chibuzo Ikoku to honor his parents, Professor Chinyere and Dr (Mrs) Chinelo Ikoku, with an endowment partially derived from their lifelong work obtaining educations, teaching students, and conducting research in university, public and private spheres.
Spanning Continents and Decades
Their work spanned three continents and over six decades. Primary through university education in Southern and Northern Nigeria. Graduate education and university teaching in the United States. Training and consultancy in Europe. Then a move back to Nigeria, at the request of the country’s Vice President, with the task of establishing and teaching in the earliest departments of engineering and finance, at the University of Port Harcourt, where they developed a generation of Nigerians to become highly trained in their respective fields.
An Enduring Source of Inspiration
Prof and Dr Ikoku’s work continues to serve as a source of inspiration for their communities of former students and three surviving children. But it also represents a wider history of teaching, research, and transformative work by peoples of varied African descent, who have substantively contributed to the material, cultural, and intellectual conditions of modern life in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
A Galvinizing Mission
The Originating Trust in Education and Research is thus dedicated to carrying out a central and galvanizing mission for recipients of support from The Ikoku Charitable Trusts and The Ikoku Foundations — namely to teach so that they and others may learn, and to do research so that they and others may come to know; in settings and on subjects pertaining to Africa and its global diasporas, as well as to the most regularly underserved, underrepresented, marginalized, stigmatized, and disenfranchised of the world’s communities.
The Trust’s Finances
The Originating Trust in Education and Research was established as part of the Declaration of Trust of the Chinyere and Chinelo Ikoku Charitable Trusts. It is therefore subject to the general fiduciary responsibilities outlined in the founding Declaration.
Annual Spending
These responsibilities include stipulations that limit appropriated spending in any given year to no more than 5% of the three-year average market value of the Trust’s current principal.
Appropriated Spending I
The Declaration also stipulates that no less than half of such annual spending be dedicated to work on continental Africa.
Appropriated Spending II
It is also expected that such annual spending be overwhelmingly dedicated (greater than 75%) to being of direct benefit to low-income communities and individuals.
To Fund in Perpetuity
Such stipulations are in line with best practices to ensure that the Trust continues to exist in perpetuity and that it continues to have assets to carry out its charitable purposes during that time.
Reports: In Charts and Numbers
Reports: In Charts and Numbers
The Trust’s Projects (Actual and Proposed)
We provide below access to a number of projects partly funded and conceived under the rubric of this Trust. Note that the operations of said projects are typically the purview of The Ikoku Foundations, and so the links will often guide you to their sites.
The Database of Centers for Education and Research
Education Programs in Life, Experience, Expertise and Societies (EDUPLEXES)
Research Programs in Life, Experience, Expertise and Societies (EDUPLEXES)
The Report on Funding for Education and Research
The Report on Funding for Education and Research
The Fellowship in Education and Research
The Fellowship in Education and Research
The Grant in Education and Research
The Grant in Education and Research
The Ikoku Newsletter on Education and Research
The Trusts Areas
The Chinyere and Chinelo Ikoku Charitable Trusts hold and manage the donated assets of The Ikoku Foundations, with specified attention to areas of focus delineated in the founding Declaration of Trust. Below is access to further information in each of the Trusts Areas.
Education and Research
Agriculture and Sustenance
Civic Society and Governance
Contributions to Public Knowledge
Cultural and Technological Innovation
Energy and Infrastructure
Ethics of Research and Care
Human and Environmental Health
Humanistic Inquiry and Expression
Public Opinion and Civic Discourse
Rights and Covenants
Youth Communities
Governace Suited to Local and Global Philanthropy
We have designed the governing structure of the Ikoku Foundations and Foundations in order to be attentive to needs and operations at the local and global level, as well as across the complex states and societies where our communities reside, living shared, interdependent lives.
With Respect Being Central to Our Ethics
At the core of our founding and governing Code of Ethics is a commitment to the most robust conceptions of respect and humanity, including and beyond what the law has protected and provided for, as we fulfill our twin mottos: to serve the public interest in Africa and its global diasporas; and to account for the past while ensuring a shared and just future.
To Ensure a Just and Shared Future for Many
We are inspired by peoples who have contributed to the foundations and development of their societies, despite a history of systemic difficulties. Who maintain an unyielding belief that the betterment of their human condition will foster the betterment of those living around them, and will enhance the futures of the regularly underserved, marginalized, disenfranchised. We draw from their example a vision of the public good and common community that is our hope and objective.
More About Us
The Ikoku Trusts
About Us • Founding & Overview • Governance • Policies • Press & Media • Careers at The Trusts and Foundations