Evolving Practices of International Cooperation

Funders International Network for Development

Peer Learning Journey

Funders International Network for Development

International Cooperation

Participatory Grantmaking

Capacity Sharing

From Transactional to Transformational

Ecosystem Approach

Long-term Trust-Based Funding

Core and Flexible Funding

Addressing Power Dynamics

Locally-held Hybrid Finance Funds

MEL as Situated Knowledge Making Practice

Place-based, Adaptive Approaches

African Philanthropic Ecosystem

Public Advocacy

Context-Specific Locally-led Solutions

Transparent Decision-Making

Youth Decision-Making

Table of contents

Deepdive 1: International Cooperation and Local Partnerships
Deepdive 2: How to Advance Locally-Led Development Within Our Work
Deepdive 3: Innovative Funding Mechanisms and Models in International Cooperation
Deepdive 4: Advancing Youth-Led Local Development
Deepdive 5: The African Philanthropy Ecosystem Weaving Partnerships and Collaborations
Deepdive 6: What’s Next for Advocacy? How Feminist, Community, & Indigenous Funds Are Shaping Bottom-Up Philanthropy
Deepdive 7: Locally-Led Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
In-Person Meet-Up in Brussels
The Peer-learning Journey

Key topics of learning and collaboration

Partnerships

Locally-led development is more than channeling high quality funding as directly as possible to local actors. True partnerships require acknowledging and addressing power dynamics ("the elephants in the room").

It is crucial that words and actions are aligned in collaborations between Global North funders and local partners. Funders often commit to principles such as locally led development and power shifting but fail to implement them meaningfully in practice as also noted in the report Promises versus Progress by PublishWhatYouFund .

Tools & approaches

Useful approaches are participatory grantmaking. FIND member Wilde Ganzen intentionally takes a “passenger seat,” empowering communities to lead the funding strategy and set priorities, while acting solely as a financier.

Helvetas shifted their approach from "capacity development" to "capacity sharing", focusing on mutual learning and acting more as facilitators, conveners, and knowledge brokers.

Success of these approaches depends on flexibility, trust and confronting internal bureaucratic barriers.

Innovative Financial instruments

Various innovative financial models are implemented across Africa, using grant money to mobilize capital in ways that sit between grants and commercial investment. These models include bridge-loans to cover upfront costs for example for events and festivals that can be repaid through ticket sales, a lease-to-own model enabling gradual ownership transfer of expensive equipment to social-purpose organizations. 

It is crucial to drive more locally held hybrid finance funds, patient capital and evergreen investment funds because they aren't dependent on the politics or emotions of Global North funders. HEVA Fund in East Africa can be considered a best practice example.

Youth Strategies

Youth-led development is about actively engaging young people in designing funder strategies and ensuring they have decision-making power over those strategies.
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has strong experience with long-term, trust-based, flexible grantmaking, funding both individuals and institutions with a focus on STEM education. The main learning from La Caixa Foundation is the importance of working through collaborative platforms such as JUNTOS!, rather than implementing one-off projects.

There are opportunities for collaboration between the different FIND members by strategically linking their youth programs in Africa.

African philanthropy ecosystem

Remittances (amounting to $100 billion in 2023) exceed both aid and foreign investment in Africa, and the continent’s growing number of high-net-worth individuals is gaining significance. 

African intermediaries often feel reduced to mere “pass-through” roles by Global-North based philanthropy. 

The COVID19 pandemic temporarily increased direct funding to Africa-led organizations and intermediaries but this positive shift risks reversal following US, EU, and other major donor funding cuts.   

There is increasing emphasis on funding with an “ecosystem approach,” where success is defined by communities rather than funder priorities, as outlined in the study “Philanthropy Ecosystem in Africa” by the Oak Foundation

Public Advocacy

Publicly advocating for locally-led development using convening power is crucial at a time when the USAID funding freeze and cuts to international development cooperation in Europe are severely affecting local organizations across Africa.

For their advocacy, FIND members can learn from two powerful bottom-up movements: Indigenous-led funds and feminist grantmaking.

Successful advocacy strategies include adapting communication and language, influencing bilateral and multilateral donors in their funding approaches, and accepting their funding to then redirect it to movements under less strict compliance requirements.

Locally-led MEL

MEL can be approached as a situated knowledge-building practice connecting local, regional, and global levels. 

Situatedness highlights that all knowledge is both objective and partial, shaped by the perspective from which it is produced.
Success factors are bringing partial perspectives into dialogue, exploring where they contradict, converge, or illuminate each other.

Communities of practice among partners can be effective spaces for collectively deciding what useful reporting looks like, what they would like to learn together, and how results can be synthesized and reported collectively as a community.

Brussels 

International Cooperation and Local Partnerships

"What was your moment of awakening? For me, my sister challenging my position as the firstborn helped me realize that power must be earned, not assumed. Just because your position gives you certain power doesn't mean I necessarily have to fall in line with them.”
Jacqueline Asiimwe - CivSource Africa

Despite growing recognition of the importance of local ownership, global funding systems still reinforce power imbalances. Agendas are often set in the North, core funding is replaced by project-based support, and compliance demands are tightened while capacity support is reduced. This limits the ability of local organisations to define and pursue their own priorities.

During the first webinar of the peer-learning journey, FIND kicked off with a presentation by Jacqueline Asiimwe from CivSource Africa on grassroots-focused, community-driven, and power-shifting grantmaking. The presentation was followed by a discussion, during which each participant was asked: “What is your ‘why’? What is your personal reason for believing in the importance of local ownership?”

Jacqueline Asiimwe, Chief Executive Officer at CivSource Africa

Jacqueline Asiimwe is a Ugandan human rights lawyer and philanthropy advisor with nearly three decades of experience in international development. She is the founder and CEO of CivSource Africa, a philanthropy advisory company established in 2017, dedicated to fostering the growth of philanthropy in Africa and reshaping narratives to create opportunities across the continent. Her work emphasises grassroots-focused, community-driven, and power-shifting grant-making, with expertise in project design, movement building, and addressing the complex systems of disadvantage affecting marginalised communities.

Jacqueline serves on several key committees, including the Steering Committee of the Women in African Philanthropy program at the Center for African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI), the Peer-to-Peer Selection Committee of the Lift Up Philanthropy Fund under WINGS, and the Shift the Power Reference Group at Liliane Fonds.

Key Takeaways

  • Jacqueline shared her "moment of awakening" through a personal story about her sister challenging her authority as the firstborn. This story illustrated that positional power must be earned, not simply assumed.
  • In the context of international development and philanthropy, this translates to recognizing and addressing power dynamics rather than ignoring them ("the elephant in the room").
  • Power and position are often unspoken but shape relationships and partnerships significantly.
  • Instead of ignoring or avoiding these "elephants," they must be openly acknowledged and discussed to build genuine partnerships.
  • Jacqueline emphasized the importance of alignment between words and actions in partnerships. Organizations often sign up to principles like localization and power shifting but fail to implement them meaningfully in practice.
  • Organizations must be clear about their individual and collective "why", why they engage in partnerships, why they want to do things differently, and why effective partnerships matter to them. Without this clarity, actions become disjointed, and partnerships lose coherence.
  • True power-shifting, human-centered grantmaking means truly seeing and acknowledging partners not just as recipients or implementers.
  • Culturally, this is akin to the greeting "I have seen you," which implies seeing someone’s past, present, and aspirations.
  • Accountability is still important, but it must be framed within a mutual, human relationship rather than as a top-down control mechanism. When both sides truly "see" each other, accountability can be integrated as part of shared responsibility rather than an imposed requirement.
  • For power-shifting and locally led partnerships to work, there needs to be political will at every level of the organization, not just among frontline staff or program officers.
  • Consistency in commitment is crucial to avoid dissonance between stated values and actual decisions.
  • Jacqueline challenged the group to remember that philanthropy is fundamentally about love for humanity, not just about money and grants. The question "How deep is your love?" invites organizations to bring compassion and care back into partnerships and practice.
  • In an increasingly fractured world, philanthropy should act as a bridge between communities, fostering connection rather than contributing to division. This requires boldness, courage, and vulnerability from funders and practitioners alike
  • Jacqueline left participants with four key reflective questions:
    1. What was your moment of awakening?
    2. What are the elephants in your room, and how do you face them?
    3. Is there congruence between what you say and what you do?
    4. What is your "why" as an individual and organization?

How to Advance Locally-Led Development Within Our Work

“It was never only about funding the projects, but about transforming relationships and changing mindsets.”
Reham Basheer - Wilde Ganzen

In the second session, FIND members explored how to collectively advance locally-led development within their work. To support this, the session centered peer exchange around the how of locally-led development, through a deep dive into specific tools, methodologies, and ways of working. More specifically, the webinar spotlighted concrete steps foundations can take to shift and share power, enabling local actors to engage meaningfully and equitably.

During the session, Esther Marthaler from Helvetas and Reham Basheer from Wilde Ganzen shared practical tools and methodologies that foundations can use to shift power dynamics and promote equitable partnerships with local actors. Their presentation was followed by a discussion, during which participants reflected on the question: “How is your organisation advancing locally-led development?” They also identified three significant challenges or obstacles that could (or already do) hinder progress or even bring it to a halt.

Esther Marthaler, Partnership & Capacity Development Coordinator & Regional Coordinator for the Sri Lanka Program at Helvetas 

Esther Marthaler works as the Partnership & Capacity Development Coordinator at Helvetas and is also the Regional Coordinator for the Helvetas Sri Lanka Program. Previously, she was the Program Advisor to the Helvetas country program and the migration project in Sri Lanka and co-led the Governance and Peace working area of Helvetas. As an anthropologist, she has worked on civil society promotion, peace building, conflict sensitivity, migration, culture and gender in Asia, Africa and Latin America since 1998. Her work experience includes thematic advice, knowledge management, strategy development, and development of tools and trainings. Prior to her engagement with Helvetas, Esther was a Senior Program Officer for KOFF/swisspeace and coordinated the Civil Society and Gender program for the German Cooperation in Vietnam.

Reham Basheer, Programme Manager at Wilde Ganzen

Reham Basheer, originally from Yemen, and works as a Program Manager in the programs department for Wilde Ganzen. Reham is currently responsible for PMEL for one of Wilde Ganzens major programs (Giving for change), last year she led the design and implementation of Wilde Ganzen Participatory grant-making approach that was implemented in 4 countries ( Turkey, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Egypt). Previously she was working in Save the children for 7 years mainly in programs management, 2 years with CPS (creative people solutions) as a program quality advisor, 2 years in IRC (international rescue committee) as Grants and Compliance manager.

Key Takeaways

  • Wilde Ganzen presented their Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) approach, rooted in the belief that people affected by social injustices should not just be heard but lead change themselves.
  • The PGM model aims to transform relationships, shift mindsets, build trust, and create long-term impact.
  • Wilde Ganzen intentionally takes a “passenger seat,” empowering communities to lead while acting only as a financier.
  • The model began with broad brainstorming ("huge mind map") and was refined over eight months, with communities engaged at every stage (needs identification, design, implementation, and MEL).
  • Internally, the shift required confronting bureaucratic barriers, adjusting financial and audit processes, and encouraging staff to let go of control and trust local partners.
  • Community feedback was overwhelmingly positive: people felt truly heard for the first time.
  • The pilot ran for one year in Turkey, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Egypt.
  • Based on its success, the approach is now being scaled up to more countries and projects, integrated into both the projects and programs departments, with plans to include local fundraising training.
  • Helvetas has been working on locally led development for around 10 years and has shifted from "capacity development" to "capacity sharing", a more mutual and less hierarchical framing.
  • Capacity sharing is used as a lens to analyze partnerships, focusing on:
    Individual capacities
    Organizational capacities
    Sector and network capacities
    System-level capacities (the larger ecosystem where projects operate)
  • This approach helps reveal real issues and needs, and supports deeper, more transformative conversations with partners.
  • Helvetas acknowledges that truly locally led development requires them to move into a back-seat role:
    They are acting as facilitators, conveners, and knowledge brokers.
    Offering technical expertise only where locally needed and requested.
    Challenges with implementation  
  • Misaligned values: Local and international values sometimes clash, requiring difficult but necessary dialogue.
  • Resource concentration: Donor pressures: Large (especially bilateral and multilateral) donors often expect Helvetas to take on controlling roles, conflicting with their commitment to equitable partnership and civil society support.

Innovative Funding

Mechanisms and Models in International Cooperation

"We need to start thinking about patient capital and how to create local pots of money that are controlled locally, evergreen, and not affected by the politics and emotions of global North partners."

George Gachara - HEVA Fund

In the third deep dive FIND members explored the potential of emerging and innovative financial instruments to enhance our work.

The session began with an intervention by George Gachara, a fund advisor, investor in Africa’s creative industries, and founding partner of HEVA Fund LLP. Over the past decade, George has gained extensive experience in initiating, and managing various innovative catalytic funds and financial facilities that go beyond traditional grant-making models. These include loans, equity, and blended finance mechanisms. He shared his insights into this emerging field in Africa.

Following his intervention, the FIND members shared their knowledge and experiences on innovative financial models in international cooperation.

George Gachara, Board Chair, HEVA Fund

George Gachara is a creative industry strategist, fund advisor, and investor in Africa’s creative industries. He is the founding partner of HEVA Fund LLP and an honorary entrepreneurship fellow at Goldsmiths University. George leads initiatives to accelerate the growth of Africa’s creative industries through public sector partnerships, fund management, business support, and research.
Over the past decade, he has helped establish and manage catalytic funds such as HEVA Fund LLP, Ignite Fund, the Netflix Creative Equity Scholarship Program (East Africa), and DOCA Film Africa Fund. He advises institutions like Afreximbank, Mastercard Foundation, and the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture to expand growth capital for creative enterprises.
George also contributes to research and policy as a senior fellow at Goldsmiths and through the International Advisory Council of the UK’s Policy and Evidence Center. He is committed to creating dignified jobs, vibrant cultural life, and economic opportunities for Africa’s youth.

Key Takeaways

  • Africa is experiencing a cultural renaissance, driven by rising household incomes, rapid adoption of digital technology, increased diaspora remittances, and growing self-confidence among young creators.
  • Traditional financial systems do not understand or accommodate young African creatives.
  • George and HEVA Fund have designed pseudo-commercial financial models, using grant money to mobilize capital in ways that sit between grants and commercial investment.
  • HEVA Fund, which has now moved over $20 million into more than 100 projects across 14 countries, and through collaborations with partners like Mastercard Foundation, Netflix, the EU, has experimented with different financial innovations.
  • HEVA Fund has used grant money to support capital transfer, increase patient capital, and promote inclusion through market-facing strategies.
  • They have explored peer-to-peer models, digital lending models, and hybrid structures blending private equity and grants
  • George has introduced special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to repurpose grant money for supporting emerging businesses through pseudo-commercial approaches and also to support technical assistance.
  • According to George, financial mechanisms are most effective when shaped by context (legal, financial, social). Therefore the HEVA fund designs onboarding, evaluation, and contracting processes that create tailored instruments aligned to partners’ reality.
  • Funding models must accommodate underserved people who may lack paperwork or traditional documentation, e.g., refugees, queer entrepreneurs, young women.
  • Some innovative funding models include a five-year line of credit, which provides bridge-loans allowing creative festivals in East Africa to book venues and artists six months in advance and repay using ticket sales. Another model is the lease-to-own models, allowing gradual ownership transfer as social organizations generate revenue.
  • George emphasized the importance of focusing on patient capital, locally held and controlled pots of money, and evergreen funds that aren't dependent on the politics or emotions of global North funders.
  • During COVID, HEVA offered stipends to vulnerable artists while maintaining dignity and discretion, using community nomination processes.
  • Deliverables focused on community contributions rather than strict outputs, emphasizing relational accountability.
  • George sees future financial ecosystems being shaped not by traditional INGOs or global-north based funders, but by community-driven financial facilities in Africa.

Advancing Youth-Led Local Development

"By improving STEM education and supporting health science research, we are empowering a generation of young leaders who will drive the future of their countries."

Sandra Ferreira - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Amidst a turbulent time — particularly with the USAID funding freeze severely affecting local organizations across Africa — the conversation around locally-led development has become more critical than ever. In this deep dive, we zoomed in on how youth can be a center of locally-led development in Africa. 

Young people are often celebrated as the leaders of tomorrow and as the innovators and changemakers of today. However, locally-led development means not only acknowledging the innovative capabilities of youth but also actively engaging them in the funding strategies that affect their lives and futures.

This session explored different strategies that place youth at the core of locally-led development efforts in Africa. We discussed practical ways for FIND members to collaborate on this topic. During the session, the FIND members created a shared value chain(s) between the different foundations advancing youth-led change in the room. We discussed how member initiatives complement and build on each other, ranging from skills development and STEM education for workforce readiness to fostering open innovation, ideation, and scaling up youth entrepreneurship through incubation and acceleration programs. The aim of this session was to discuss how to maximize our strengths and synergies during this turbulent time. 

Sandra Ferreira,  Coordination and project management at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

With over 25 years of international experience in development cooperation, particularly in the health sector and health research, Sandra Ferreira has led and managed programs and projects across Africa, Asia, and Europe. She has worked with leading organizations such as AECID, ACTED, Médecins du Monde (Portugal, Spain, and France), and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. As an international consultant, Sandra Ferriera has contributed to initiatives for ESTHER, Lux-Development, the Ministry of Health of Mozambique, the European Commission, and others.

Ariadna Bardolet Urgielles, Director of ”la Caixa” Foundation's International Programme Department, La Caixa Foundation

Ariadna Bardolet Urgielles has been working in the field of global health, education, job creation and other development issues for more than 20 years all over the world.

Maeve Anne Halpin, Communications Manager Anglo American Foundation.

Maeve Anne Halpin is a passionate and enthusiastic professional with experience working in the international development sector in communications, strategy and outreach roles for NGOs, UN, donor agencies and social enterprises.

Key Takeaways

  • The mission of The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is to build a more equitable world through education and science, focusing on Portuguese-speaking African countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe).
  • These nations are home to nearly 70 million people, and this number is expected to double by 2050. In these populations, more than 40% are under 15 years old.
  • Objectives: Strengthen critical thinking and promote autonomous economic development. Priorities: 1) STEM education 2) Health science research 3) Arts.
  • Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation work targeting youth is divided in three groups:
  • Children & adolescents: Expand access to education and nurture interest in math through clubs and camps engaging students and teachers
  • Young adults (18–25): Provide mentorship and master’s scholarships in STEM fields .
  • Older youth: Support expertise and leadership through grants for master’s and doctoral programs in local universities, often with international partners.
  • Long-term, trust-based relationships with local partners
  • Flexibility to adapt to local needs and reduce management burdens
  • Supporting both individuals and institutions to build sustainability and reduce brain drain
  • Emphasis on equitable partnerships and context-specific solutions for stronger local impact
  • Since 2007, La Caixa Foundation has had a specific program focused on job creation for youth and women in rural areas, particularly in countries such as Mozambique, Peru, Colombia, and India.
  • An important insight for La Caixa was the added value in working with collaborative platforms that bring together different actors instead of implementing isolated projects.
  • Long-term relationships: Minimum of three years to build trust and true partnerships.
  • Adaptive Monitoring: Shifted from heavy reliance on impact evaluations to adaptive, continuous monitoring to ensure flexibility and effectiveness in changing contexts.
  • Implementing Listening tools: Use ethnographic methods and participatory workshops to deeply understand community narratives and needs.
  • Knowledge sharing: La Caixa acts as a living lab, sharing data, co-creating solutions, and facilitating exchanges among partners and communities.
  • Multi-actor collaboration, and a place-based, adaptive approach to maximize impact.
  • Challenges: Many supported businesses by La Caixa face early-stage challenges (e.g., lack of credit history). La Caixa developed intermediate financing and, in 2023, launched an impact investment strategy using recoverable grants to support transitions to financial sustainability.
  • Key elements for supporting youth entrepreneurship: Advanced digital tools, prototyping, hybrid financing, and continuous learning.
  • The Anglo American Foundation initially launched a series of learning grants to better understand where they could add the most value.
  • What came out of these grants was quite clear: we needed to put young people at the heart of everything the Anglo-American Foundation does.
  • As a result, the Anglo American Foundation changed its mission and shifted its strategy to champion youth for a green and fair future.
  • There are two main focus areas:
    Youth empowerment: this includes supporting civic engagement, strengthening mental well-being, and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.
    Economic opportunities: this includes access to economic opportunities, creating jobs in the townships where we work, exploring green value chains, and investing in innovative financing models to unlock capital.
  • The strategy is still quite young, and they are very much in the process of figuring it out and refining it.
  • Some initial grantees have now become long-term strategic partners.
  • The FIND members engaged in a value chain exercise to look where their youth-strategies could be overlapping or complementary 
  • Most FIND members focus on youth between 18 and 35 years old, and less on teenagers and children. 
  • There are opportunities for collaboration identified between FIND members by strategically linking their programs in Entrepreneurship & Job/Career Support with those in Education and (STEM) Skills Development, and Health and Wellbeing. 
  • The group further discussed immediate potential collaborations between FIND members: What forms could these take? Where could activities be aligned or coordinated to strengthen the network’s value chain?

The African Philanthropy Ecosystem

Weaving Partnerships and Collaborations

"Remittances alone outpace what Africa receives in development aid — that tells us about the power of community giving."

Masego Madzwamuse - Oak Foundation

The African philanthropy ecosystem has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, including the growth of private foundations and funds, family- and community-based initiatives, individual giving, and collective solidarity mechanisms. Driven in part by the increasing wealth of Africa’s affluent class, this rise in philanthropic activity is giving way to an increased African voice and say over the type of programmes they want to create and be funded, particularly on the African continent.

Looking into the African Philanthropy Network, we can understand African philanthropy as resources – nature, human, financial, social, and intellectual that can be engaged to address Africa’s most pressing challenges. How does the African philanthropy landscape look like today and what are the opportunities and challenges for philanthropic partnerships with the FIND members?

This session featured different voices from the African continent to present current developments, trends, and insights on the African philanthropic landscape, as well as new ways of working together and collaborating. 

Masego Madzwamuse, Director Environment Programme, Oak Foundation 

Ms Madzwamuse has extensive experience in community-based natural resource management, climate change adaptation, land tenure security, sustainable land management, and the intersection of environment and gender. She has led programmes with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and UNDP, and has worked widely in rural development and participatory conservation across Southern Africa. Active in networks such as the Botswana National and Regional CBNRM Forums and the Southern African Sustainable Use Group, she recently supported CSOs in Sub-Saharan Africa to establish a coordination mechanism for sustainable land management through the TerrAfrica partnership. Her expertise in working with governments, civil society, and diverse stakeholders has equipped her with strong skills in networking, partnership-building, negotiation, and facilitation.

Chilande Kuloba-Warria, Founder and Managing Director at Warande Advisory Centre

Chilande Kuloba-Warria has over eighteen years of experience providing strategic leadership, management, and technical assistance to development organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and North America. She has worked across diverse socio-economic sectors, gaining extensive expertise in strengthening CSO accountability, supporting effective philanthropy, building institutional resilience, and fostering partnerships for sustainable development in Africa. Chilande serves on various nonprofit and social enterprise boards and is dedicated to supporting African change makers to create lasting community impact. She has a special interest in promoting women in development leadership.

Briggs Bomba, Programs Director for TrustAfrica

Briggs Bomba is Programs Director at TrustAfrica, a pan-African foundation promoting democratic governance and equitable development across Africa. As part of the senior management team, he provides strategic leadership and oversees programs on issues including natural resource governance, economic transformation, taxation, climate justice, civic engagement, gender, youth, and African philanthropy.
He leads TrustAfrica’s strategies in grantmaking, convenings, knowledge management, capacity building, and policy advocacy at national and regional levels. Previously, Briggs directed TrustAfrica’s Initiative to Curb Illicit Financial Flows, led the Zimbabwe Alliance, and served as Director of Campaigns for a Washington, D.C.–based Africa policy advocacy organization

Key Takeaways

  • Some takeaways were shared from the study by the Oak Foundation “Philanthropy Ecosystem in Africa” 
  • African philanthropy is rooted in collective care and solidarity (e.g., Ubuntu, Harambee, Ujamaa). Giving is part of daily life; every African can be considered a "philanthropist."
  • In 2023, Africa received $100B in remittances: more than ODA ($42 billion) and FDI ($48 billion)—showing the strength of community-driven giving and diaspora support.
  • Africa’s 177,000 high-net-worth individuals hold $1.7 trillion and increasingly fund health, education, and humanitarian efforts.
  • COVID-19 temporarily increased direct funding to African-led organizations, but this progress risks reversal (e.g., USAID freeze, EU cuts). There’s a call to sustain flexible, direct support.
  • African intermediaries often feel reduced to "pass-through" roles, fearing loss of identity if forced to mimic large INGOs.
  • Coalition models help small community groups partner with national NGOs to access bigger funds while keeping local ownership.
  • Emphasis on an "ecosystem approach," with success defined by communities, not donor KPIs. Storytelling (e.g., "most significant change" stories) is key to showing impact.
  • Rigid operational processes undermine trust, dignity, and flexibility; misalignment with finance/legal departments can block power shifts.
  • New trends include tech-driven resource mobilization (e.g., M-Changa, M-Pesa, TikTok), faster than traditional grantmaking, especially among youth-led movements (e.g., Kenya’s Gen Z protests).
  • Networks like the African Youth Philanthropy Network (AYPN) support the next generation.
  • African philanthropy must move beyond "charity" to be seen as a political, community-driven force, while addressing contradictions in funding sources ("philanthropy-washing").
  • Calls for systemic changes in fund flows, risk definitions, and community-centered strategies.

What’s Next for Advocacy?

How Feminist, Community, & Indigenous Funds Are Shaping Bottom-Up Philanthropy

"We believe that advocacy is not just about moving money, but about transforming the funding ecosystem itself to be more trust-based and equitable."

Saranel Benjamin - Mama Cash

In May 2024, FIND endorsed the Donor Statement on Supporting Locally-Led Development. This pledge involved a collective commitment to shift and share power, allocate funding of the highest quality as directly as possible, and advocate for locally-sustained change. Now, in 2025, with the funding landscape evolving fast, the urgency to publicly advocate for locally-led development has only grown. 

This deep dive explored what we can learn from two powerful bottom-up movements reshaping the philanthropic field in climate finance and feminist grantmaking.

Despite playing an outsized role in conservation, less than 1% of global climate funding reaches Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). To counter this trend, groups like the Indigenous Peoples of Asia Solidarity Fund (IPAS) are reshaping climate funding from the ground up. Launched in 2023 and operating across 13 Asian countries, IPAS provides direct access to funding for Indigenous Peoples’ organizations based on their self-determined needs and priorities concerning land rights and biodiversity conservation, among others.

Joining the conversation is Mama Cash, a pioneer in feminist grantmaking. For decades, Mama Cash has mobilized resources to ensure that feminist collective action led by women, girls, trans, and intersex people is resourced globally. Mama Cash not only funds these movements but also advocates for systemic change within philanthropy, pushing funders to center the priorities, expertise, and leadership of feminist groups themselves: offering powerful lessons on how to sustain advocacy, as well as shift and share power.

Saranel Benjamin, co-Executive Director, Mama Cash

Saranel began her career in South Africa working in the trade union movement, where she launched the first School for Trade Union Women. She was an anti-apartheid activist and worked with new social movements in the post-apartheid South Africa. Saranel has worked in the United Kingdom in the international NGO (INGO) sector, including with War on Want, Action Aid UK, and, most recently, Oxfam Great Britain as Head of Partnerships. With nearly 30 years of experience in the advancement of gender and racial justice, Saranel brings to Mama Cash exceptional leadership skills and a deep commitment to further embedding decolonial and anti-racist strategies in the organisation’s work. She has also played a pivotal role in framing and implementing strategic initiatives that have had a significant impact on communities around the world.  

Jenifer Lasimbang - Executive Director of the Indigenous Peoples of Asia Solidarity Fund (IPAS)

Jenifer Lasimbang is a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights, ICT empowerment, and community development, with over 20 years of experience promoting education, healthcare, and socio-economic development in Malaysia’s rural and Indigenous communities. Holding a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction, she has championed mother tongue-based education, cultural preservation, and disability inclusion through initiatives like MIPCE II and UNICEF’s #thisability campaign. A former assistant minister and assemblywoman, Jenifer has worked to empower women and Indigenous Peoples in governance and continues her volunteer work with MERCY Malaysia. From 2008 to 2009, she served as a UNDP consultant, coordinating Indigenous development programs and grants across Asia-Pacific and advancing human rights-based approaches.

Key Takeaways

  • Mama Cash has operated for 40 years, moving $140 million to feminist movements worldwide, guided by core founding principles.
  • Their funding is long-term, core, and flexible, using a trust-based approach that lets communities set their own agendas.
  • Funding is borderless and global, not restricted to specific regions.
  • They use participatory grantmaking, involving supported movements in deciding what, who, and how to fund.
  • Mama Cash strongly advocates for more and better money: core, flexible, and long-term — not just short-term, project-based funding.
  • In donor engagement, they focus on shifting more and better resources to feminist organizations. How?
  • They engage directly with bilateral donors and private philanthropies to influence their funding approaches.
  • When faced with strict compliance requirements, they emphasize: “You came to Mama Cash because we can move money in ways you can’t — long-term, core, flexible grants reaching hard-to-reach frontline communities. Can we negotiate conditions to continue this work?”
  • They don’t ask to eliminate compliance but to embed trust-based giving within donor requirements.
  • Collaboration is key, working with allies, governments, and philanthropy to build a global feminist funding ecosystem.
  • Their goal: leverage €50 million for the feminist ecosystem.
  • These achievements are under threat from cuts to aid and philanthropy; for example, the new Dutch framework no longer supports lobbying and advocacy work.
  • There is a projected loss of $2.8–$3 billion per year for women’s rights, while civic space shrinks and democratic values erode.
  • In response, Mama Cash is adjusting language and strategies, sometimes avoiding explicit terms like “feminist movements” to navigate restrictive contexts globally.
  • Being careful about messaging. Using “feminist” can sometimes shut doors, so Mama Cash explores how to communicate their work in new ways and rebuild the case for support. The moral imperative alone isn’t enough anymore.
  • Advocacy is also about making visible what is not visible.
  • Last year was their first full year of operation for IPAS. They are guided by principles held closely by indigenous peoples: sovereignty, self-determined development priorities, mutual respect, inclusivity, and cultural integrity.
  • They have a decentralized governance model, using steering committees in each country they work in. 
  • To enable direct access to funding, IPAS invests in capacity strengthening of local indigenous communities. Country steering committees prioritize what kind of support these communities need; whether it’s proposal writing, financial management, or other skills.
  • IPAS aims to simplify the application processes and reporting. For example, they have introduced video proposals.
  • Principles like free, prior, and informed consent is central to all their operations 
  • In Asia, there is very little funding for indigenous-led climate justice movements. But there are passionate, committed advocates on the ground: elders and movement builders who’ve been doing this difficult work for years.
  • IPAS focuses on visibility, so people understand the realities on the ground and on capacity strengthening for our country steering committees so they can do advocacy.

Locally-Led Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

"MEL should not only be locally led but exist in a dialogue between the local, the global, and the regional, bringing all these scales together. MEL is essentially a situated knowledge building practice."

Laura Alexander - Independent Evaluator & Researcher

Monitoring, evaluation, learning (MEL) and impact communication can take many forms. From logframes to quantitative data collection, to theory of change to outcome harvesting and impact storytelling. Yet with many commonly used tools stemming from Western frameworks or even originating from military planning, how do we broaden definitions, methodologies and technologies to acknowledge varying understanding of impact across organisations, communities, languages, and cultures?

During this final deep dive, the FIND members engaged with MEL practitioners to discuss how to shift the power in their work and explore how we can move from externally-imposed metrics to local practices that balance power, promote mutual accountability, and value local knowledge, technologies and priorities. Through these case studies and interactive dialogue, participants explored practical ways to enhance locally-led MEL. At the end, participants discussed the future of FIND beyond the peer learning journey. Through questions such as ‘How does FIND look like at its best? What does it do, how does it work, and who would be involved?’

Marcus Jenal, Strategic Learning & Evaluation (SLE) Lead at Fondation Botnar.

Marcus Jenal is the Strategic Learning & Evaluation (SLE) Lead at Fondation Botnar. In this function, he coordinates the development of a SLE approach and practice for the Foundation. The aim is for the foundation to be able to gather very diverse types of data and use it for for its learning and to assess the Foundation’s contribution to change. He has a background in Environmental Sciences from ETH Zurich. Before joining Fondation Botnar, Marcus was a partner at Mesopartner; he supported organisations, programmes and projects during the design, inception and implementation of systemic change initiatives. In addition, he has been building knowledge in complex systems theory and other relevant scientific fields through various training and research engagements. He has actively engaged in conceptual work on systemic approaches, improving projects’ design, delivery, monitoring, and evaluation.

Laura Alexander, Freelance Evaluator, researcher and consultant

Laura Alexander is a freelance evaluator, researcher and consultant working at the intersection of arts, culture and society. She is focussed on qualitative and collaborative ME&L practices, building insight into the needs of practitioners at the front line of social change, and on critical reflection on the position and power of funding bodies in society. She is also an experienced trainer, and has led workshops in application writing for artists on behalf of organisations including World Press Photo and the Dutch Art Institute. Until 2024 Laura worked as coordinator of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning at the Prince Claus Fund in Amsterdam, where she was responsible for the design of organisational MEL frameworks and for the research and writing of regular impact reports. She holds a Masters in Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, and is currently based in Berlin.

Key Takeaways

  • MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) exists in dialogue between local, global, and regional levels, bringing these scales together.
  • MEL is fundamentally a situated knowledge-building activity. Any complex organization requires a shared body of knowledge to function effectively.
  • Building this body of knowledge involves two key processes:
    Sensing: gathering data, collecting information, and determining who has access.
    Sense-making: analyzing, synthesizing, abstracting, and contextualizing information.
  • Every interaction, even informal ones between funding practitioners and the people, places, and organizations they support, creates knowledge, which often becomes part of organizational culture through conversations and hearsay.
  • When discussing learning within foundations, it is crucial to include these informal learnings, as they shape implicit norms and beliefs within teams, organizations, and the broader sector.
  • Most institutions today have formal MEL teams, which is positive because intentional, thoughtful learning helps avoid incorporating unsubstantiated insights.
  • A major challenge is aligning formal and informal knowledge streams. Ideally, they should reinforce each other in an iterative, circular process, but too often, they diverge and speak different languages.
  • There is a serious risk of flawed knowledge building, especially among Global North based foundations. Power dynamics often prevent these flawed models from being corrected, as European institutional perspectives are frequently perceived as “neutral” or “unmediated.”
  • The concept of situatedness, from feminist epistemologist Donna Haraway (in her paper Situated Knowledges), highlights that all knowledge is both objective and partial, shaped by the perspective from which it is produced.
  • Haraway suggests moving beyond the dichotomy of so-called “objective” knowledge versus extreme relativism by seeing knowledge as emerging from translation between multiple perspectives.
  • Three main elements characterize funders’ perspectives:
    Distance: relying on indirect observation and occasional visits.
    Power: communication is often shaped by funders' influence over partners.
    Pressure to compare: viewing recipients as representatives of a category rather than unique individuals.
  • These dynamics shape typical MEL approaches, such as logframes and generalized outcomes frameworks.
  • All perspectives are situated and partial. The challenge is to stay constantly aware of this and remain curious about what lies beyond our viewpoint.
  • A Nicaraguan artist from an Indigenous background highlighted tensions between Western LGBTQ+ narratives and Indigenous understandings of gender and sexuality, and the pressure to translate experiences into Western terms.
  • An activist in Uganda described how focusing on “the most vulnerable” created perverse incentives to take greater risks just to be visible to funders.
  • These examples show how failure to understand partners' situated experiences leads to poor knowledge building and ineffective MEL.
  • What can we do better?
    Bring partial perspectives into dialogue, exploring where they contradict, converge, or illuminate each other.
    Embrace interdisciplinarity: understanding partners’ fields and methods is essential to evaluate and support their work meaningfully.
  • More insights in the article: “Forces of Art: Monitoring and Evaluation as a Situated Knowledge-Making Practice”
  • When Marcus joined Fondation Botnar three years ago, like most funders, Botnar relied heavily on the logframe. While a few contracts from that period still include it, the foundation is actively moving away from this approach. 
  • Today, Botnar focuses on offering a flexible framework that allows for different kinds of evidence and ways of knowing.
  • Botnar tells its partners: “We work together, we have shared goals, and we co-develop projects, but whether it works or not, you need to determine this locally.”
  • Partners are encouraged to choose quantitative, qualitative, narrative, or other methods, depending on what fits their context.
  • The foundation is intentionally moving away from results-based management tools focused on proving targets, shifting instead toward learning-oriented management.
  • Some partners use outcome harvesting, some conduct realist evaluations, and others experiment with participatory action research.
  • Essentially, Botnar’s approach centers on the question: What knowledge do partners need in their context to actively adapt and manage their work toward the changes agreed on together.
  • Begin with a genuine willingness to change. It requires a culture shift in your organization, not just new words or labels.
  • Adopt a realist evaluation mindset, always asking: What works for whom, when, under what circumstances, and why?
  • Build communities of practice where partners come together to define:
  • What does useful reporting look like for them?
  • What are they learning together?
  • What patterns do they see?
  • How can results be synthesized and reported collectively as a community?

FIND Members

Africa-Europe Foundation

The Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) envisions locally-led development as a cornerstone of fostering trust and mutual respect between Africa and Europe, essential for a genuine partnership of equals. By prioritizing inclusivity and action-oriented dialogue, AEF aims to reset relationships and create a shared future through initiatives such as the micro awards scheme. This programme supports youth and local organisations with funding for innovative, impactful projects, exemplifying the commitment to grassroots-led change. Through partnerships like “Unlocking Climate Financing for Local Health Adaptation,” AEF underscores the importance of research-driven solutions that empower local communities and strengthen the Africa-Europe connection.

Anglo-American Foundation

The mission of the Anglo-American foundation is championing youth for a green and fair future. At the Anglo American Foundation, we put young people at the heart of everything we do. By investing in their wellbeing, developing their skills, and supporting their innovations, we want to give them a sense of ownership, empowering them to play a leading role in shaping their communities and the world for the better. We collaborate with a wide range of partners. from grassroot organisations and governing bodies to philanthropic peers and, most importantly, young people themselves. Together, we’re building a strong network to build connection, foster learning, and champion young people as valuable contributors to a green and fair future.

AVSI Foundation

The mission of AVSI is to implement cooperation projects in various sectors with a preferential focus on education, meaning that the person is accompanied towards self-discovery and recognition that the other person is a resource. Each project is conceived as an instrument to promote this awareness in everyone involved, has in itself a need for communicating and sharing, and creates an impact capable of generating a positive change.

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is an international and perpetual institution, established in Portugal in 1956, with the aim of contributing to the development of institutions and people across the four areas defined in the testament of its founder, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian: art, science, education and charity. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is committed to full independence and preservation of its heritage, prioritizing a more equitable and sustainable society.

Chiesi Foundation

Chiesi Foundation acts to improve the quality of life of patients and their families affected by neonatal and chronic respiratory diseases in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) through cost-effective interventions by

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

We are guided by the intent of our donors, Conrad and Barron Hilton, who gave virtually all of their personal wealth to the foundation and gave its directors a noble, global philanthropic mission. “As the funds you will expend have come from many places in the world,” Conrad Hilton counseled, “so let there be no territorial, religious, or color restrictions on your benefactions.” In our workplace and in our collaborative efforts to alleviate human suffering, we apply their values of integrity, thinking big, humility, stewardship, and compassion.

Fondation de France

The mission of Fondation de France is to contribute together to a more peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable world and encourage everyone to commit to the common good. Support the urgency to act and transform it into effective projects, in all non-profit sectors. To provide maximum impact, Fondation de France has created:

Fondazione Cariplo

The mission of Fondazione Cariplo is creating value and opportunities for people and communities in the area, by supporting projects in the fields of art and culture, the environment, social issues and scientific research.

Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo

Mission: To support works of public interest and social well-being, particularly in the fields of scientific, economic and legal research, education, art and culture, and health; and to provide assistance to, and protection of, less-privileged social groups.

Fundación Avina

Fundación Avina is a global organization that drives processes designed to change systems. Rooted in the global South, we impact the world through collaborative efforts that foster human dignity and care for the planet. We have program areas designed to impact the three critical issues that are the pillars of our work (Climate Action, Democratic Innovation, Just and Regenerative Economy). In our role of orchestrator, we are part of different collaboratives in partnership with philanthropic organisations from both the US and Europe.

Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation

Helvetas envisions a just world where all individuals can determine their lives with dignity and security while sustainably managing environmental resources. With over 300 projects and collaborations with 900 local partner organisations, Helvetas operates as both a donor and implementer, emphasising the importance of legitimate, value-aligned local actors leading development initiatives that reflect local priorities. Their journey toward locally-led development progresses from donor-driven models to power-aware co-creation, shared responsibilities, and ultimately placing local actors at the forefront of development with their agendas at the centre. Helvetas’ future roles include acting as a facilitator and enabler of interventions, a convener and connector, a broker of development expertise, and a trusted custodian ensuring quality and accountability, always prioritizing local leadership and sustainable change.

King Baudouin Foundation

The King Baudouin Foundation is an actor for change and innovation, serving the public interest and increasing social cohesion. We endeavour to maximise our impact through capacity building among organisations and people who contribute to building a better society. We accompany philanthropists and donors (individuals, companies, or organisations) wishing to act for the common good on any continent and in any area of the general interest, notably through our founding membership of the Myriad alliance for borderless giving. Grantmaking: In the Global South, the King Baudouin Foundation-KBF financially supports mainly local projects and actors for change who contribute to the development of their country.

“la Caixa” Foundation

Mission: To build a better, more just society that offers greater opportunities to the people who most need them. In 1997 “la Caixa” Foundation started working in international cooperation programmes with the mission of creating opportunities and fighting inequalities suffered by the most vulnerable communities in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America through programmes that contribute to achieving the SDGs.

Robert Bosch Foundation

The Robert Bosch Stiftung is active in the areas of health, education, and global issues. Through its funding, the Foundation works for a just and sustainable future. It is non-profit, independent and non-partisan and is rooted in the legacy of Robert Bosch. In his legacy, the entrepreneur and founder formulated the dual mission of securing the company's future and continuing his social commitment.

Trust Africa

Mission of the Organization: TrustAfrica is a Pan-African foundation headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. TrustAfrica seeks to strengthen African-led initiatives that address the continent’s most pressing challenges by promoting responsible citizenship and accountable leadership. We operate from a conviction that Africans must work together to set their own development priorities, informed by the aspirations of African citizens.

Wilde Ganzen

Wilde Ganzen emphasises that local ownership and active community involvement are essential for achieving sustainable, long-term change. For them, locally-led development means centring the voices, power, agency, and decision-making of local communities, treating them as co-investors and drivers of their development journey. Through participatory grantmaking (PGM), Wilde Ganzen shifts from donor-driven to community-led approaches, allowing communities to identify projects, allocate grants, and prioritise their needs. This approach replaces upward accountability with downward accountability and fosters bottom-up, equitable partnerships. Looking ahead, Wilde Ganzen plans to adopt PGM in 17 countries, expand community philanthropy, and scale the Change the Game Academy across Africa in partnership with Giving Tuesday. Additionally, they aim to promote citizens' roles in global development through initiatives like the Connect for Global Change programme, advancing locally-led development on a larger scale.