Adara Group

Adara Group is a social-impact organisation built around a business-and-not-for-profit partnership model. It combines Adara Development, an international development organisation, with two corporate advisory businesses: Adara Advisors Pty. Limited and Adara Partners (Australia) Pty Limited. The group’s stated development focus is improving health and education outcomes for people living in poverty, particularly in rural communities in Nepal and Uganda. The organisation was established in Bermuda in 1998 by New Zealand-born businesswoman Audette Exel and a small group of friends. It originally operated under the name ISIS Group, a name inspired by Isis, the Egyptian goddess associated with children and motherhood. In 2014, amid the rise of the Islamic State and the resulting negative associations with the acronym ISIS, the organisation adopted the name Adara Group. The rebranding applied to the wider group and reflected an effort to distinguish its social-impact and advisory activities from the extremist organisation commonly known as ISIS. Adara Development began its field work with development research in Humla, Nepal, and with relationships connected to Kiwoko Hospital in Uganda’s Luwero Triangle. Over time, its activities expanded into health and education programmes, work with vulnerable children, disaster response, and support for local civil-society organisations. The organisation has been involved in post-earthquake relief in Nepal following the 2015 earthquake, work concerning children trafficked in Nepal, and the establishment or support of neonatal services for premature babies in Uganda. Its Nepal activities have included partnerships with local organisations such as the Himalayan Innovative Society and the Himalayan Children Society. The defining feature of the Adara model is the relationship between the commercial and charitable sides of the group. Adara Advisors and Adara Partners undertake corporate advisory work, while profits from the private businesses are directed toward covering the core support costs of Adara Development. This structure is intended to allow donations and programme funding to be used more directly for development work, while commercial expertise and revenue help sustain the organisation’s administrative platform. The group’s corporate advisory arm developed further in June 2015, when Adara Partners was launched with support from a panel of founding members that included Australian businessman David Gonski. The founding panel members contributed their involvement on a pro bono basis. Public reference material identifies Adara Partners as an Australian business, but does not provide enough information to establish its present ownership, leadership roster, financial scale, or continuing operating status. Adara Group is therefore best understood not as a consumer or fashion label, but as a hybrid social-enterprise group whose identity rests on linking professional-services activity with international development. Its publicly described work centres on practical health and education interventions, partnerships with local organisations, and assistance to communities affected by poverty, vulnerable children, and humanitarian emergencies.

Adara Group was founded in Bermuda in 1998 by New Zealand-born businesswoman Audette Exel and a small group of friends. The organisation initially operated as the ISIS Group. Its original name referred to Isis, an Egyptian goddess associated with children and motherhood, rather than to the modern extremist organisation that later became associated with the same acronym. Soon after its creation, the group’s development organisation began research and programme activity in Humla, Nepal, and developed connections with Kiwoko Hospital in Uganda’s Luwero Triangle. These early relationships established the geographic and thematic direction of the group’s later work: assisting rural and disadvantaged communities through health, education, and related development services. The organisation formalised its charitable presence in the United Kingdom in 2002, when it registered as a charitable trust. In 2009, Adara Development USA was established under the former ISIS Foundation USA name, and it received US 501(c) status in 2011. These entities helped extend the group’s international support and fundraising structure, although the available reference material does not provide a complete account of their current legal or operational status. In 2014, the wider organisation changed its name from ISIS Group to Adara Group. The decision followed the rise of the Islamic State, whose use of the ISIS acronym created reputational and communications problems for an organisation working in international development. The new name separated the group’s identity from that association while retaining the underlying development mission. Adara’s operating model links a development organisation with commercial advisory businesses. Adara Advisors Pty. Limited, formerly ISIS Asia Pacific, and Adara Partners (Australia) Pty Limited generate income through corporate advisory activities. According to the group’s described model, profits from these private businesses are used to cover Adara Development’s core support costs. The arrangement is intended to combine commercial discipline and professional expertise with a not-for-profit mission, allowing development resources to be directed toward programme delivery. The commercial side expanded in June 2015 with the launch of Adara Partners. Australian businessman David Gonski was identified as one of the founding panel members supporting the new business, and the founding panel members participated on a pro bono basis. The available material does not identify a complete list of executives or describe the subsequent evolution of the advisory business. Adara Development’s programme work has included health and education initiatives in Nepal and Uganda, support for children who have been trafficked in Nepal, and the establishment or support of neonatal units for premature babies in Uganda. Following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the organisation also participated in disaster relief. In Nepal, Adara worked with local non-governmental organisations including the Himalayan Innovative Society and the Himalayan Children Society. These partnerships reflect an approach based on working with local organisations rather than relying solely on an externally operated delivery structure. Publicly available reference material presents Adara Group as a hybrid organisation combining international development and corporate advisory activity. It does not establish current financial figures, a definitive present-day headquarters, a complete leadership list, or the group’s current legal status. Those details require additional verification.

1. 2015Adara Partners launched

   The group launched Adara Partners with support from founding panel members including David Gonski.

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2. 2014Group renamed Adara Group

   The organisation changed its name from ISIS Group to Adara Group following the rise of the Islamic State and the resulting confusion surrounding the former acronym.

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3. 2011US 501(c) status received

   The US development entity received 501(c) status.

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4. 2009US development entity established

   Adara Development USA was established under the former ISIS Foundation USA name.

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5. 2002United Kingdom charitable registration

   The development organisation registered as a charitable trust in the United Kingdom.

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6. 1998Organisation founded in Bermuda

   Audette Exel and a small group of friends established the organisation, then known as the ISIS Group.

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A social-enterprise partnership that uses corporate advisory profits and professional expertise to support health, education, and poverty-alleviation programmes.

• Adara DevelopmentInternational development organisation1998

  The not-for-profit development arm of the group focuses on health and education for communities living in poverty. Its described work includes programmes in rural Nepal and Uganda, assistance for children who have been trafficked, neonatal care initiatives, local-NGO partnerships, and disaster response after the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

• Adara AdvisorsCorporate advisory

  Adara Advisors Pty. Limited is one of the group’s private advisory businesses. It was formerly known as ISIS Asia Pacific. The group’s model directs profits from its commercial businesses toward the core support costs of Adara Development.

• Adara PartnersCorporate advisory2015

  Adara Partners (Australia) Pty Limited is a corporate advisory business launched in June 2015. Its founding panel members, including David Gonski, supported the venture on a pro bono basis, while the commercial model was designed to contribute to the development organisation’s support costs.

• 2015Launch of Adara PartnersOther

  The group sought to strengthen the commercial side of its business-and-not-for-profit model.

  What changed. Adara Partners was launched in Australia with support from a founding panel that included David Gonski.

  Aftermath. The business became part of the group’s mechanism for generating advisory profits to help cover Adara Development’s core support costs.

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• 2014Rebranding from ISIS Group to Adara GroupStrategy

  The organisation’s former acronym became closely associated with the Islamic State, creating a serious identity and communications problem for an international development organisation.

  What changed. The group adopted the Adara Group name and its development arm was subsequently identified as Adara Development.

  Aftermath. The rebrand distinguished the organisation from the extremist group while preserving its focus on health, education, and poverty alleviation.

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• 2015Adara Partners launches in Australia

  Adara Group launched Adara Partners, a corporate advisory business supported by founding panel members who contributed their involvement pro bono.

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• 2015Adara responds to the Nepal earthquake

  Adara Development undertook disaster-relief work in Nepal following the major 2015 earthquake.

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• 2014ISIS Group changes its name to Adara Group

  The organisation changed its name from ISIS Group to Adara Group as the rise of the Islamic State created an increasingly problematic association with the former name.

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1. Adara Group
2. Adara Group website