lfrPhilantrophy

The value of community philanthropy: Results of a consultation

Summary

This report sets out results from a consultation to explore ways to stimulate and develop community philanthropy as a means of contributing to the sustainability of civil society and supporting the effectiveness of development aid.
The consultation was undertaken in 2010 and 2011 by the Aga Khan Foundation USA and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in association with the Global Fund for Community Foundations. The Ford Foundation also contributed resources to the process.
Three meetings were held (in Washington D.C., Johannesburg, and Dhaka). Three working papers were written during the process, and two articles published in Alliance magazine so that a wider constituency could offer feedback. People who took part in meetings are listed in Annex A.
MAIN CONCLUSIONS
Community philanthropy should be a central feature in developing civil society and enhancing the effectiveness of development aid. Having local people involved as donors is a game-changer in efforts to build civil society and enhances the prospects of sustainability of external funding when the program ceases. If successful, community philanthropy also leads to more lasting, entrenched outcomes by increasing local ownership and local accountability.
Despite its potential, community philanthropy is under-developed. There should be a joint program to develop the capacity of the field of community philanthropy, so that it can more effectively partner with foundations and development agencies. Such a program should strengthen the infrastructure, build key links between partners, and enhance technical features such as definition, performance, and evaluation. The program should also aim to increase the pool of funders, and to raise awareness of community philanthropy among official development aid practitioners for whom it is presently invisible.

Review by Wilde Ganzen

Maybe one of the first attempts (2010 and 2011) to bring together views and experiences from North America, Africa and Asia on community philanthropy and its significance for durable local development.
Useful list of aspects that need to be addressed to make community philanthropy worthwhile. What ‘ ‘helps’ and what ‘hinders’ is listed on page 7.

Keywords

Community philanthropy Domestic resource mobilisation Donor relations Donors, international Philanthropy

Author: Barry Knight

Publisher/source/organization: AGA KHAN FOUNDATION USA and CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION

Place and year of issue: Washington DC 2012

Type: Report of meeting or event

Country/region: Worldwide

More information

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