Nairobi — Today, an estimated 250 leaders and activists from a network of community organizations, civil society, foundations and development gathered for a two-day conference themed "Durable Development - Shifting the Power, Building Community Resilience", aimed at championing the power of community-led development.
The event, hosted by the Kenya Community Development Foundation, KCDF, in partnership with Africa Philanthropy Network (APN) and Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF), seeks to demonstrate the power and impact of working with community organizations. It also marks the 20 th anniversary of KCDF, Africa's oldest home-grown grant-making philanthropic institution.
Bringing together global and African expertise in community philanthropy, the conference will provide case studies on how complex problems from gender inequality, poverty, the environment to social justice can be addressed, as well as explore how this approach can be expanded in Kenya and beyond.
"Our work with communities has taught us they don't want handouts. They know best what the problems are and what help is needed to overcome them. Organizations based in communities have local knowledge, are trusted, and ultimately have a long-term stake in the communities they serve," said Janet Naumi Mawiyoo, Executive Director of KCDF. "By investing in them, and building resilience, the aim is to shift the power to those intended to benefit from charity and ultimately transform their situation."
Dramatic changes in the political and economic landscapes of many low and middle income countries are changing the traditional notions of "development". As the KCDF example illustrates, models that encourage local giving, leverage investing and enhancing local assets, strengthening capacities, and building trust among communities, has the potential to grow and contribute to sustainable development.
Initially started in 1997 by a group of individuals, disillusioned by the traditional development model, KCDF has raised an endowment of $8 million USD with the bulk of funds now raised in Kenya. It now provides annual grants to local community based organizations across the country.
"The tendency in Africa has been to depend on external aid to solve our problems. By giving local people the power and allowing communities to be equal partners, the impact of even a small grant can be the catalyst for them to succeed and sustain the impact," said Stigmata Tenga, President of the Foundation for Civil Society in Tanzania and Executive Director for the Africa Philanthropy Network. "It is time to not just talk about empowerment but shift power to local people, especially the poorest and most marginalized, a model that allows to control their own destinies."
As many countries in Africa reach middle income status and the number of wealthy grow, the African Philanthropy Network, a continent-wide membership based organization of African philanthropists and innovators, is working to grow the sector and build an effective force for transformation, and sustainable development.
"Traditional donors often rely on heavy bureaucratic processes to "implement" projects. Instead small grants directly given to community groups can deliver vital social change and contribute to much more sustained and people focused development" said Jenny Hodgson, Director, The Global Fund for Community Foundations, that also serves as a secretariat for the Global Alliance for Community Philanthropy, which was established to advance the understanding and practice of community philanthropy. "With 1800 community foundations around the world and growing, it demonstrates that people want to be engaged in solving problems but in a way that has a local ownership and lasting impact."
Experience from the Global Fund for Community Foundations has demonstrated that while money is important but it is only one of the many tools required for sustainable community development. In addition to the grant, support in the form of technical assistance, leadership development, convening, mentoring, peer learning, institution building, knowledge networking, that can lead to long term, locally owned and sustainable change within communities.
Media are welcome to attend and interviews can be arranged with partner organizations as well as local community based organizations. For more information, contact Melvin Chibole, KCDF's Communications and Knowledge Management Manager (+254.736.44.9217 or melvin.chibole@kcdf.or.ke).
Background on Organizers:
KCDF is a Kenyan development organization, founded and registered in 1997 as a public foundation that supports communities to initiate and drive their development agenda by harnessing and growing their resources to sustainably meet their needs. KCDF's strategic niche is anchored on a model that enhances growth and sustainability of communities through capacity development, community philanthropy and local resource mobilization. KCDF thus invests significant resources to build, strengthen and sustain the core capacities of these communities by developing thoughtful, long-term collaborations with other actors such as governments, non–profit organizations, the private sector and individuals to achieve social justice.
The Africa Philanthropy Network (APN) is a continent-wide network of African grantmaking organizations and other philanthropic entities that facilitates networking and experience-sharing among established and emerging African philanthropic institutions. APN aims at consolidating the voice for African philanthropy to address social injustice and development issues on the continent.
The Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF) is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world. Through small grants, technical support and networking, we help these local institutions to strengthen and grow so that they can fulfil their potential as vehicles for local development and as part of the infrastructure for sustainable development, poverty alleviation and citizen participation.
