Local Fundraising
Innovations/trends
Historically, reports on giving in Africa have been dominated by perspectives, many of them Western, that overlook the nuances and realities of local giving practices. Studies have tended to focus on formalized, institutional philanthropy – often through large organizations, international development agencies, or high net worth individuals – with the effect of under-recognizing the deeply ingrained and culturally significant traditions of individual giving that exist within African communities.
By directly engaging with CSOs to understand all the different sources of funding they receive and their prevalence, this report sits in contrast to the external narrative and seeks to align it with the internal African experience.
In the first pan-African study of its kind, we reveal that individual giving is a significant source of funding for CSOs. A very considerable 65% of organizations surveyed receive some form
of financial support from individuals. Indeed, it is one of their top sources of funding including during the pandemic.
Notably, donors contribute not only to traditional charitable causes but also to broad advocacy, human rights, social justice and environmental efforts, contradicting the prevailing myth that African individual giving is principally informal and predominantly localized.
Our research highlights that alongside individual donations and community-generated funds sits a third and important category discovered in our surveys that speaks to the interconnected and networked nature of African social engagement and civic participation. Personal sources, our naming of this category in the findings, allude to the cultural ways Africans give to society that they would not call philanthropy.
The report also emphasizes that despite occasional challenges, giving remains steady. For example, individual contributions continued unabated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
While this report tells us about the diversity and prominence of individual giving to African CSOs of all descriptions, its remit does not cover the motivations and demographics behind this giving. It does not compare the value of this giving alongside other, better documented sources.
This underscores the need for a deep er investigation of African individual giving to continue to shift perspectives, document insights and collect data, align funders, fundraisers and other practitioners, and strengthen the role of individual giving in supporting African civil society.
The document is based on a perusal of the existing literature and research on individual giving to African organizations, as well as on a review and analysis of the data sets that emerged out of EPIC-Africa surveys held in 2019 and 2021. Overall, 1027 civil society organizations contributed to these surveys, and 838 of them responded to questions about their funding sources.
This short document is very interesting reading for everyone who is engaged in fundraising for CSOs. Especially useful to feel encouraged to her/his efforts, getting to know that they are far from alone in their efforts!
There are useful links for those interested in the details on which this paper is based.
African Philanthropy Community philanthropy Domestic resource mobilisation Statistics
Author: Halima Mahomed; Sega Diallo; Sarah Hughes
Publisher/source/organization: EPIC Africa: Enhancing Philanthropic Impact www.epic-africa.org
Place and year of issue: Senegal 2024
Type: Research report [Unkown]
Country/region: Africa