From grassroots to global movement! 

All over the world - from Brazil to Russia, from China to the Congo and from Palestine to South Africa - community philanthropy has emerged as an essential tool for strengthening communities' voice and power.

Join us in Johannesburg to celebrate the dynamism and potential of this flourishing movement at the Global Summit on Community Philanthropy, 1st - 2nd December 2016!

Call for ideas

What are the burning issues or essential tools that you would like to discuss at the Summit? Ideas for inspiring speakers? Creative ways to present your work? Send us your ideas!

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Earlier this year the Global Fund for Community Foundations and the Global Alliance for Community Philanthropy announced a landmark event in the field of Philanthropy - the Global Summit on Community Philanthropy, to be held on 1 - 2 December 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Not infrequently, people ask me how community organizations can become independent of international funding. Part of the answer, I believe, lies in reformulating the question.

“Independence,” is a smokescreen. First world countries that claim to be independent are often dependent on the natural and human resources of the global south. Even donors who claim to be independent because they have endowments are hiding the fact that their resources were taken through exploitation of workers and sometimes from war.

Instead of asking how we can become independent, I suggest we ask how we can achieve “dignified interdependence” – a system of relationships that acknowledges that we are all givers and receivers and that recognizes our value to one another.

Here I propose six possible steps that civil society and community philanthropic organizations can take to become less dependent on international funding and more dignified in their interdependence:

1-Act as if you are poor

The world is at a point and time in its evolution, when a shift – and a very rapid one at that – is inevitable.  In fact it is already happening.  To take a broad sweep – rapid environmental degradation, hazards, and disasters; increasing conflicts; weakening - or in countries like mine, failing States; and widening disproportionate economic gaps between people, are only a few of the markers.  Like never before, with the help of technology and communications we are more connected as people.  Despite colour, taste, size, location, interests, we are increasingly realizing that as humans we are basically the same.   Essentially we are not happy when we do something wrong e.g.