Per Samra Ghermay
Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good African proverb. I grew up hearing these sayings as comments on my actions – the not-so-silent judgments about the quality of my tasks, the “are you sure about this” questions regarding my decisions, the life lessons to be revealed by a respected elder, who was waiting for the opportunity to transmit them to me. Proverbs are embedded in our stories and are how my elders communicated messages to my sisters and me, and how we were tacitly instructed to do certain things. Proverbs were essentially a game in code. And we accept the challenge with joy and with that we mature even more.
In philanthropy, we have all heard and most likely used the African proverb: “It takes a whole village to raise a child”.
I think it's already beaten, so I prefer this one, which I tend to use a lot more: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with someone.”
Yes, this quote has been attributed to Cory Booker, Warren Buffet, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and many other people, who have used it to enhance their speeches, statements and posts on social media. The only 'collective' aspect of this is that everyone decided 'together' that the homogenization of African proverbs is good business. Still, this does not diminish the fact that proverbs originated in African cultures to address themes such as unity, collective actions, work networks and cooperation. Our proverbs communicate historical facts, insights, revelations, ideas and learnings, and most importantly, they have community and partnership at their core.
The proverb about “going along” that I mentioned reinforces an increasingly prevalent concept in the area of fundraising – that collaboration and working together are much more sustainable than individuality.
From proverbs to practice
Collaborative philanthropy is already at the heart of many indigenous and African community societies. In fact, it was the collaboration and mobilization of resources with diaspora communities that sustained the struggles for liberation, which led to independence from colonial rule. In the wake of Pan-Africanism, a movement based on the belief that unity is fundamental to socioeconomic and political progress, African leaders such as Tanzania's first president, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, recognized that the fight against colonization was a common thread , a shared experience that could unite African nations.
Thus, ideologies based on the spirit of unity were born, built on proverbs and put into practice in favor of the future sovereignty of African nations. This allowed the spread of African community practices such as Mbongi (which translates as house without rooms) beyond the Congo region, Ujamaa (also the fourth principle of Kwanzaa around cooperative economics), which served as a basis for development policies of Nyerere in Tanzania after its independence, and Ubuntu of Southern Africa, where the term is used to convey a belief in the universal bond of humanity. I would further argue that the Shir assembly of Somalia, the Gaçaça courts of Rwanda, and the Judiyais of South Sudan are all fundamental pillars of reconciliation and community healing.
These are just a few examples among many that portray the history, harmony and power of collaborative ideologies and collective action in African societies.
The colonization of collaborative philanthropy
I first heard the term “collaborative philanthropy” linked to a large foundation in early 2019, but this term (also known as impact philanthropy) has been gaining a lot of traction in recent years. Despite its growing popularity in our lexicon, it does not give due credit to the communities that have practiced it, nor does it recognize the history of the fundraising practice that promotes care for the community as a whole.
In fact, it has been co-opted to fit within an institutional environment, and appears to embody a different motivation, a motivation that ignores key actors.
Nowadays, it refers to the work of wealthy financiers and donors with non-profit organizations in support of a social cause. The impact philanthropy framework does not focus on territories or take into account community resource mobilization practices. On the contrary, it reinforces the power dynamics of the rich over their most important collaborators: the people they serve.
Given the investor-type relationship of impact philanthropy and considering that the money comes from the private sector and profitable industries, it can evoke a transactional rather than transformative feel. The true meaning of collaborative philanthropy must be to combat the harms of capitalism and colonialism – it must combat the notion that it is funders who create and cultivate strategies for social change.
I believe that we, as communities and community leaders, have to reclaim the term and the ideology. This reappropriation will help ensure that nonprofits can receive considerable resources to successfully and sustainably overcome systemic barriers in order to transform and uplift communities of color.
Reappropriation
I recently wrote an article for Candid titled “Fundraising will only be inclusive when we recognize the giving legacy of communities of color”. In it, I look at how identity-based giving has, for generations, been an effective way to allow groups aligned around beliefs to come together and actively promote change to address the root causes of their communities' systemic problems. In the article, I cite the examples of Tanda lending circles led by members of the Latinx community, of Susus in West African immigrant communities, and of Ukub in my own homeland of Eritrea.
These types of affinity collective support are often ignored (in the United States) and do not have the same recognition as support from wealthy white donors and established foundations. Tanda, Susus and Ukub, among others, are truly collaborative as they are authentic, intentional and consensual.
We need to continue to recognize the legacy of community resource mobilization, reaffirming and giving representation to members of our communities, where we work collectively towards an objective and not an end goal. We need to challenge and conquer the “isms” that are harmful to the transformational work we do. We need to recognize the impact of traditional practices and collaboration in our communities.
Philanthropy is fraught with complexities that have contributed to a long history of exclusion and paternalism. True collaboration must be demanded, allowing for a democratic process where all parties involved, including communities, can be seen, heard and celebrated. This approach will allow for a smoother transition to building the movement needed to bring about true social change. We need to put aside the mentality that focuses on fundraising without collaboration. Otherwise, we will sound a lot like the author and main defender of colonialism, Rudyard Kipling, who once stated that: “He who walks alone walks faster.”
In other words, we need collaboration to inspire advocacy and reaffirm our work so that, together, we can go far in creating lasting change.
**The original text, in English, can be found on the Community-Centric Fundraising blog through from this link.
