{"id":49082,"date":"2026-04-14T11:07:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T08:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/?p=49082"},"modified":"2026-04-14T11:07:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T08:07:58","slug":"philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/fr\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"Philanthropy in Action: Reimagining Community-Led Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philanthropy is undergoing a profound and necessary transformation. Once defined largely by generosity and donor intent, it is now being reimagined through the lenses of agency, dignity, and sustainability.<\/p>\n

\n

On Wednesday, 18th<\/sup> March 2026, Strathmore Business School (SBS), through the Nonprofits, Social Enterprises and Philanthropy (SUNSEP) Hub, brought together practitioners to discuss how to shift from donor-dependency to local communities in raising resources to support grassroots initiatives. Rooted in the broader theme of shared responsibility, the webinar titled \u201cPhilanthropy in Action: Reimagining Community-Led Giving\u201d reflected a growing global consensus that impact is no longer about giving more but giving better, together.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This was not merely a conversation. It was a system-level interrogation of how philanthropy must evolve.<\/p>\n

Opening the session, Dr Aruna Varsani, Founder of Together for Better Foundation, grounded the conversation in her lived experience. Her work across marginalised communities exposed a fundamental gap: solutions exist, but communities are too often left out of the design process.<\/p>\n

Through her foundation\u2019s work in menstrual health and climate-conscious innovation, she emphasized that effective philanthropy begins with deep contextual understanding, respect for culture and local systems, and trust-building. Confronting stark realities such as period poverty, her approach prioritised capability-building by training communities, embedding skills transfer and local ownership, and sustaining long-term engagement.<\/p>\n

Her perspective redefined philanthropy as an ongoing process of collaboration, learning, and shared empowerment. Philanthropy is not merely a matter of resource distribution; it recognises communities not as passive beneficiaries but as active partners, knowledge holders, and co-creators of solutions.<\/p>\n

From a corporate lens, CS. Godwin Simba, CEO of Finnet Trust & Governance Expert, challenged one of philanthropy’s most entrenched assumptions: that giving is inherently external<\/em>. He introduced a powerful reframing to the conversation. \u00a0Africa is not just a recipient of philanthropy; it is one of the most generous regions globally, though often unrecognised due to informal systems of giving.<\/p>\n

He outlined the evolution of corporate philanthropy from donor-driven CSR, short-term optics-based interventions, and boardroom decision-making toward co-created, community-led models grounded in long-term sustainability and shared accountability. Drawing on Finnet\u2019s work, he stressed the integration of economic sustainability, the building of multi-sector coalitions, and shifting power and impact measurement to communities themselves. For CS. Simba, \u201cThe best philanthropy is not the kind that makes donors feel good \u2014 it is the kind that makes communities feel capable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Bringing a deeply reflective dimension, Madam Ashley Kitisya, Director for Africa, Laudato Si\u2019 Movement, anchored the discussion in ethics, values and moral responsibility. Her intervention reframed philanthropy as fundamentally a question of justice rather than charity.<\/p>\n

She highlighted a critical tension in many initiatives: while emphasis is often placed on activities and outputs, little attention is given to the underlying processes, relationships, and power dynamics. She called for value-based philanthropy grounded in human dignity, solidarity, stewardship, and participatory discernment, ensuring communities actively shape decisions and outcomes.<\/p>\n

She introduced a transformative lens, emphasising that the true measure of impact is not merely what is delivered, but how relationships are transformed and whether communities gain greater agency. By stressing the importance of forming leaders who, in turn, form other leaders, she framed philanthropy as a catalyst for empowerment rather than simply a provider of resources.<\/p>\n

Though not a primary speaker, Dr William Murithi, as SUNSEP Lead, played a pivotal role in enriching the discourse by raising critical systems-level questions. He asked what happens when donor funding ends, how projects can transition from dependency to sustainability and how organisations can negotiate power and values with funders. His contributions emphasised long-term planning, diversified funding, embedding co-creation from the outset and aligning research, governance and practice. Reinforcing a key principle, he stressed that sustainability is not a phase to be considered later but a fundamental element that must guide every initiative from the outset.<\/p>\n

Across all contributions, one theme emerged clearly: no single actor can achieve sustainable impact on their own<\/em>. The webinar reinforced this by highlighting each sector\u2019s role. Civil society provides proximity and trust, corporations contribute resources and scale, faith-based institutions offer ethical grounding, and academia brings research and systems thinking. When these forces converge, philanthropy transcends individual actions, forming a collaborative ecosystem that drives lasting, collective impact.<\/p>\n

The dialogue highlighted key insights shaping the future of philanthropy. True impact must be defined by communities themselves, making their voice non-negotiable. Trust emerges as the currency of sustainable change, without which even well-resourced initiatives falter. Philanthropy should be designed for continuity, ensuring projects outlive funding cycles and is guided by ethics and core values. Ultimately, collaboration is essential- when sectors work together as an ecosystem rather than in silos, the collective impact becomes far more enduring and transformative.<\/p>\n

By Ian Abuki Mose, an International Relations student at Strathmore University, SUNSEP Project coordinator, and Philanthropy<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":49083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhilanthropy in Action: Reimagining Community-Led Giving - Strathmore University Business School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/fr\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philanthropy in Action: Reimagining Community-Led Giving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/fr\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Strathmore University Business School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-14T08:07:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Philanthropy-in-Action-Reimagining-Community-Led-Giving-web.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Strathmore Communications Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u00c9crit par\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Strathmore Communications Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Strathmore Communications Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3ec403dfc43c0eb6c67f0307594d1334\"},\"headline\":\"Philanthropy in Action: Reimagining Community-Led Giving\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-14T08:07:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1959,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Philanthropy-in-Action-Reimagining-Community-Led-Giving-web.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/philanthropy-in-action-reimagining-community-led-giving\\\/\",\"name\":\"Philanthropy in Action: Reimagining Community-Led Giving - 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