Philanthropy is intrinsically linked to ideology-about how the world works, about belief systems, about the role of philanthropy itself. Accordingly,transformingthe system ofinstitutionalphilanthropy demands an ideological underpinning, not just a practice-based one. The last few years have seen several narratives around philanthropic transformation emerge. This paper reflects on thesein relation to African philanthropic narratives, explores some of the tensions and the changes in theinstitutional philanthropy field, and identifies some implications for how these play out on the African continent.