The Global Fund for Community Foundations has been appointed Secretariat of the Global Alliance for Community Philanthropy, a new multi-donor, multi-stakeholder initiative supported by founding partners, the Aga Khan Foundation USA, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and USAID, which aims to make the case that growing local ownership and accountability leads to stronger communities and that this should be a key focus of development practitioners.

The Alliance offers an exciting opportunity to advance the field and the understanding of community philanthropy globally and the ways in which it can mobilize trust, assets and capacities and, by doing so, strengthen local development outcomes.

For more information click here.

Bernie Dolley, Director of Ikhala Trust, Cape Town, South Africa talks about the role that philanthropy must play, the questions we as the philanthropic field need to be asking of ourselves, the value of small grants, and overcoming barriers posed my emphasis on quantifiable outcomes in philanthropy.

Click on the attachment below to read the interview.

“Weaving our Fabric in the Arab World” captures the story of Naseej (a Community Foundation based in Amman, Jordan) between the years 2005 and 2012, its achievements and efforts to engage youth in their own development, to build active communities across the region and to positively influence the social, economic and political conditions at various levels. “As the report describes all elements of our Foundation and work, Naseej uniqueness remains very much at the heart of our conceptual framework and working ethics, the holistic approach to development and in our extended network of partners - individuals and structures - across the Arab World and beyond”, says Hania Aswad, Executive Director of the Foundation.

This report, written by Jenny Hodgson and Barry Knight, is a first attempt to establish a baseline for the field of community foundations and other types of community philanthropy organizations in Africa. This is an important field united by a focus on building local assets, promoting local giving and strengthening the communities in which these organizations operate. The report draws on data collected by the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF), both through its grantmaking and knowledge building programme, and information provided by non‑grantee partners interested in being included in this cohort.

This short publication, launched in September 2011, highlights the lessons learned through the Bill of Rights Programmes the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland with funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies . The programme helped to build awareness and generated much discussion about the Bill of Rights process, content and how a rights-based approach might be used to deliver on community development objectives.

This report summarises the projects supported under the programme and traces the Community Foundation’s thinking in developing a new model for a rights/social justice-based approach to community development.

Download the publication by clicking here.