New ways of deciding and doing in development are happening around the world. This includes a new appreciation for how building local giving – as an expression of voice, civic participation, solidarity and dissent – can put communities in the driver’s seat of their own development.
In a bold move to recognize and support the growing global community philanthropy field, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is supporting the Giving for Change programme to promote community philanthropy as a strategy for achieving community-led development by increasing local ownership, buy-in and claiming of rights, and by challenging the notion that development is something that is “done to” communities by external actors.
Programme activities will focus on three areas:
- At the community level: using action research, peer learning, and small grants to promote community philanthropy as a strategy that builds local assets, agency, and trust in pursuit of local priorities and development objectives, and to engage key actors (government, donors, private sector) from a position of voice and power.
- At the national level: influencing national actors – including government, emerging philanthropists, and individual donors – to support the development of community philanthropy. Advocating for a more enabling environment to promote the power of local philanthropic giving as a driver of social change.
- At the global level: partnering with, and influencing, international development actors in sector-wide dialogues and debates to appreciate, support and promote the development of community philanthropy as a central pillar of broader efforts to #ShiftThePower. Making the case that development processes will only be successful if they are locally-owned, resourced and driven. Growing a global movement of actors committed to supporting community philanthropy as a strategy for people-led development.
Keep checking back here as we share news and learnings from our work together. Our hope is that the programme will have wide relevance and spark interest far beyond those involved – specifically for those working to build a culture of giving in their own communities, and especially for those thinking “but I’m not sure we could achieve that where I live…”
Meet the Giving for Change alliance partners here. For more information on the programme, contact Ese Emerhi, Global Network Weaver at the Global Fund for Community Foundations ([email protected]).