Giving for Change News
Giving for Change News

Giving for Change News

The grapevine that grew in adversity

Carrying on in the middle of violent conflict requires skill, resilience, and nous.  For the Palestinians, the last 100 years have brought colonisation, expulsion, and military occupation, followed by a long and difficult search for self-determination and for coexistence with the nation they hold responsible for their suffering and loss. 

The Alliance of Funds: Collaborative philanthropy under construction in Brazil

Although collaboration is an old practice among philanthropic organizations, the idea of “collaborative philanthropy” in Brazil is relatively new and is a concept still under construction. Here in Brazil, collaboration is creating new relationships in the field of philanthropy for social justice. It all started in 2021.

The canoes of community philanthropy and the people investing in each other

Canoes working together are better than boats with just one captain. The various canoes distribute power and decision-making influence in a way that creates income at scale and inclusive development. When a few people want to cross a river they might use a canoe, but if the people are many, one canoe is not enough. Community philanthropy happens when the canoe that is being used ceases to be enough. To cross the river with more people, you need connected canoes moving together and looking out for each other. This has been our guiding philosophy in Baixada Maranhense.

The women who stood up for the “witches” of Northern Ghana: Community philanthropy’s role in challenging stigma and discrimination

In 2020, a 90-year-old woman, Madam Denteh, was publicly lynched to death in the Savannah region in Ghana after being accused of witchcraft. The video of the lynching went viral and attracted police and national security investigations, resulting in the arrest of some of the perpetrators. Like in many parts of the world, a belief in sorcery and witchcraft still exists in Ghana, and accusations of witchcraft are followed by social stigma and discrimination. While both men and women have been accused of witchcraft, the accused are disproportionately women. In some cases, they have been murdered and mobbed following allegations of witchcraft against them.

A different way is possible: Re-imagining development in Mozambique

Working in civil society in Mozambique is a challenge.  Not only is the country classed as repressed by the Civicus Monitor, but the northern province of Cabo Delgado has been subject to an armed insurgency since October 2017, claiming thousands of lives and displacing an estimated half of the province’s population.

“Everyone has power – how to unleash and unlock it is what matters” – Wilde Ganzen

In this interview we speak with Kees de Jong, Director of Wilde Ganzen in the Netherlands. Wilde Ganzen supports community-based organizations in the Global South, and their Dutch fundraising partners, in joint efforts aimed at achieving a better future, based on the belief that communities should have control over their own development.

“It’s about moving away from a cold, prescriptive way of looking at the world” – Global Fund for Community Foundations

In this Q&A Ese Emerhi, Global Network Weaver at the GFCF, reflects on the emergence of community philanthropy as a new paradigm for development, and how the Giving for Change programme can take the field to the next level. She considers the role of donors and INGOs in a redefined architecture for aid – and reflects on some of the mind-set shifts (including her own!) that will be required to make this a reality.