I had the distinct pleasure of being among 40 international delegates that attended the UK Community Foundations Conference. The conference was held in Manchester, UK from 11th to 13th October 2022.
As a Philanthropy Support Organization, CivSource Africa is on the cusp of starting work to support community foundations in Uganda to thrive. Thus, it was with anticipation, excitement and curiosity, that I attended the UKFC. I was excited to learn from and meet other organizations in the philanthropy ecosystem.
The first interaction for international delegates was a visit to Forever Manchester, which is a community foundation. It was fascinating to hear their journey of growth and change in the over 2 decades that they have existed, and to hear all the work they have supported in their community. One statement that stayed with me was the fact that the work of community foundations is putting citizens and communities at the center of models of development. This can seem rather obvious, but for the longest time, development has been received and experienced as top-down, often disconnected sets of interventions by well meaning people, who may not always understand or listen to community voices and aspirations. The community foundation then becomes a critical space to turn normative development paradigms on their head, in a way that recognizes, honors and maximizes community agency. Read more