AGAG Announces Final Chapter

Africa Grantmakers' Affinity Group (AGAG) is committed to meeting the evolving needs of the Africa grantmaking community and this means that significant changes are ahead. We used our 20th-anniversary milestone in 2020 to reflect on changes in the Africa funding landscape and our work over the past two decades.

For over a year we engaged in a process that helped to inform our plans for AGAG’s next and final chapter. AGAG’s Final Chapter includes the AGAG Legacy Project (ALP), an exciting initiative to capture our contributions to the sector, and our decision to hold our final convenings in 2023.

Thanks to the involvement and support from the philanthropy community, we have achieved an impressive track record. Together, we have convened funders, curated knowledge, and connected people and ideas to build an informed and engaged global network of grantmakers. Over the years, AGAG has become regarded as an intellectual and political home where funders are influenced by the professional and personal relationships made possible through their participation within the AGAG community.

AGAG Legacy Project - A Resource for Future Efforts

In 2021 we began work on the AGAG Legacy Project (ALP), organizing our archives and curating materials to document AGAG's rich history. The AGAG Legacy Project will be available to the public and include oral histories, stakeholder interviews, and keystone publications from AGAG’s work over two decades. The ALP will include selected archival materials and will serve as an important resource for future private philanthropic efforts, help improve the sector’s practices and impact, and promote scholarship about the history of philanthropy.

Why conclude AGAG’s work now?

The significant changes in the philanthropy landscape and funding context since AGAG’s founding were major factors in our decision to conclude our work. When AGAG was formed in 2000, there was no continent-wide institutional advocate for American private philanthropy support for African communities. There was little information about funding trends and few formal professional development opportunities for new and experienced Africa program staff. AGAG emerged to fill these critical needs and roles.

The current philanthropy landscape both within and outside of Africa has seen dynamic growth and diversification of individual and institutional philanthropy. New leaders have emerged, and this new environment calls for fresh approaches led by new voices. We are stepping aside to create space and encourage the next generation of grantmakers active in Africa to lead. This decision is not without precedence. AGAG emerged when the Southern Africa Grantmakers' Affinity Group, founded to catalyze American foundation support to communities in southern Africa and their efforts to end apartheid, concluded its work in response to the post-Mandela era's changing context. Now, over two decades later, AGAG will do the same.

Through the AGAG Legacy Project, we will share insights and lessons from our experiences with the next generation of grantmakers. We are confident in the emergence of a new entity that will not only carry on our legacy but also steward a fresh approach to leveraging philanthropic resources working in partnership with communities across Africa.

2023 - Final Convenings and the AGAG Legacy Project

In 2023 continued to share knowledge, connect as a community, and celebrate our rich legacy. On May 8-9, 2023 we hosted a two-day convening, Celebrating Our Legacy, in New York. Read highlights from that convening HERE.

On October 9-11, 2023 we held our final convening, Footprints of our Legacy, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Read highlights from that convening HERE.

In May 2023, we launched the AGAG Legacy Project with the documentary podcast, Creating Community, about AGAG’s formation and contributions to the field. We appreciate the integral role that the participation, support, and solidarity from the Africa grantmaking community has played in AGAG's work and collective legacy in leveraging philanthropy resources in support of African communities.  

For questions, please contact Niamani Mutima, Executive Director at nmutima@agag.org .

ADDING VALUE TO PHILANTHROPY TO AFRICA

Why the Africa Grantmakers’ Affinity Group?

We believe that a strong network of informed and connected funders is a necessary ingredient for robust, effective and responsive philanthropy to benefit African communities.

 

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