Connect to Care strengthens platform for regional philanthropic partnerships and Global South impact

NGO registration and NGOsource Equivalency Determination strengthen CTC’s foundation for international philanthropy and regional collaboration

Connect to Care (CTC) has reached two significant institutional milestones with its NGO registration and an Equivalency Determination (ED) on file with NGOsource, strengthening its foundation for philanthropic partnerships and its ability to support development priorities in Sri Lanka and across the wider region.

Connect to Care Consulting’s Equivalency Determination recognises the organisation as equivalent to a US public charity for international grantmaking purposes and remains valid until 31 March 2028. Together with its NGO registration, the milestone provides CTC with a stronger institutional platform to engage philanthropic organisations, development partners, governments and technical experts around programmes designed to deliver sustainable impact.

These developments represent an important step for CTC in its broader ambition to serve as a neutral platform for collaboration, connecting local knowledge and institutional experience with global expertise, philanthropy and implementation capabilities.

Chandita Samaranayake, Chairman of Connect to Care, said, “These milestones strengthen the institutional foundation from which Connect to Care can build meaningful partnerships in Sri Lanka and across the region. Our role is to bring together organisations and individuals with complementary capabilities around development priorities where collaboration can create lasting value. We want to provide a credible platform through which local experience, global expertise and philanthropic support can come together around shared outcomes.”

CTC works alongside government, philanthropic and development partners across areas including digital transformation, Digital Public Infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, nutrition and sustainable development. Its approach is centred on strengthening existing institutional systems and bringing together the capabilities required to move programmes from strategy to implementation.

The Equivalency Determination is expected to further support CTC’s engagement with US-based philanthropic organisations by simplifying an important aspect of the international grantmaking process for participating foundations. This creates a clearer pathway for CTC to develop partnerships that can support locally grounded programmes while connecting them with international expertise and resources.

The milestone also comes as CTC strengthens its focus beyond Sri Lanka, with an emerging regional presence across South and Southeast Asia. Rather than applying a single model across different markets, CTC aims to work with local institutions and partners to understand country-specific priorities while identifying opportunities for knowledge, technical expertise and implementation experience to be shared across borders.

Emaali Gunasekara, Chief Executive Officer of Connect to Care, said, “There is significant knowledge and capability across the Global South, but that expertise often sits within individual institutions, countries or sectors. We see an opportunity to connect those capabilities more effectively. Our aim is not to create parallel structures, but to strengthen existing efforts by bringing the right partners, technical knowledge and resources together around clearly defined development priorities.”

This approach reflects CTC’s emphasis on two-way knowledge exchange. Experience developed through programmes in Sri Lanka can provide useful learning for countries facing similar development challenges, while international and regional expertise can help strengthen the design and delivery of initiatives locally.

CTC is also developing structured mechanisms to connect wider pools of expertise to development programmes. Its recently established multidisciplinary Advisory Panel brings together leaders with experience spanning international development, Digital Public Infrastructure, artificial intelligence, enterprise technology, digital policy, academia and organisational transformation.

Through its “Give Back” initiative, CTC is also creating a pathway for experienced Sri Lankan professionals working internationally to contribute their expertise to validated transformation programmes. The initiative is intended to convert professional goodwill into practical knowledge transfer, technical support and measurable contributions to national priorities.

Together, these efforts form part of CTC’s wider objective of building an ecosystem in which governments, philanthropy, development organisations, academia, the private sector and technical experts can collaborate more effectively.