This was the key take away for me. How then do we as civil society pitch our interventions to support local communities in that regard? From the point of view of ZGF, who I was representing at the conference, this was an opportunity to continue our exploration of the potential and efficacy of local philanthropy, and to learn how like-minded organisations like KCDF and Kagiso Trust in South Africa have actualised this and made it work. This is a direction that ZGF is increasingly keen to go towards. In this vein, we have received a US$6,650 grant from the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF) to undertake a feasibility study for local philanthropy development in Zambia. As exciting as this new direction potentially is, caution has to be exercised. Like I mentioned earlier, aid channeled through civil society can deliver tangible results that make a difference in the lives of many. So donor agencies still have a role to play. I am of the view that the relationship between civil society and communities on one hand, and donor agencies on the other needs to be on a more equal footing.
Civil society needs to adopt more long-term thinking in terms of its ability to fund development work in local communities, and exploring the potential resources and assets of those communities is not only a desirable first step, but one that is necessary. Local development need not be entirely dependent on donor agencies. Rather, civil society, acting with communities, should come to the table with something already in hand, with donor agencies potentially coming in to supplement. This is a more sustainable way and one that will enable local communities to really be at the centre of interventions that are ultimately meant to benefit them. This is probably not a journey that is devoid of hurdles of one sort or another, but it is one whose undertaking will result in long term benefits. These benefits will ultimately shift the power towards communities and enable them to be the key players in their own development.
The author with Jenny Hodgson, the Executive Director of GFCF and Breatrice Grillo, Board Chair ZGF.
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