How AGAG’s Community Challenged Narratives and Practices in Philanthropy
The Africa Grantmakers’ Affinity Group (AGAG) is a network of practitioners, and it's always been about people. We've always operated on the belief that people shape policies and practices. If you can influence the people in charge of them, you can change them. But it's difficult to change how the philanthropy industry operates, and that's why the issues we discussed over the years are perennial ones.“
-Niamani Mutima, Executive Director of AGAG in episode two of the Story of AGAG podcast documentary, Challenging Narratives and Practices.
In a world where 900% more of the financing to benefit African communities goes to international organizations rather than to groups headquartered on the African continent, AGAG sought to expose funding inequities, working to challenge the traditional narratives and approaches of grantmaking practitioners, and improve practices to be responsive to the needs articulated by the communities their philanthropy supported. Mamo Mohapi, who was with the Mott Foundation based in Johannesburg, said “AGAG [created] a space for growth… [the] varied groups of people from different contexts, different world views … enrich the discussion … and force you to interrogate your own practices.”
Throughout Challenging Narratives and Practices, grantmaking practitioners reflect on the impact AGAG made in bringing together practitioners working in different organizations and on different issues. “We got to know each other as people, which enabled us to have conversations we never otherwise would have had. It reminded me that we're all part of an ecosystem,” said Jennifer Astone, who was with the Firelight Foundation at the time.
Noting the impact of AGAG’s research agenda, Steven Lawrence, noted Philanthropy Research Consultant, stated “One of the strengths of AGAG has been to not only conduct the research, but to make sure that it doesn't sit on a shelf, and to find ways to consistently share that information so that it is constantly being reinforced. Funders learn from their peers and get into the thinking of funders, who then share that knowledge with other funders. That's really how change is going to happen in the philanthropic sector.”
AGAG’s formation and evolution brought together leaders from a cross-section of the global philanthropy sector to discuss practices and perceptions and to collaborate on ways to deepen their understanding of the issues affecting the communities where they funded. Jennifer Astone reflects on her interaction with donors, “[I] dealt with a lot of donors who were very naive do-gooders, and it was very, very difficult and frustrating, and we had a lot of… racist donors who were uninformed about the Continent. AGAG was a place where I could talk to other peers, and that was not the starting place of the conversation.”
The grantmaking practitioners who were part of the AGAG network over the years carried the insights from their conversations back to their home institutions, where they influenced their work. As Nicolette Naylor, who was with the Ford Foundation noted, “AGAG was talking about communities at the center before it became hip and woke to talk about communities at the center, and [challenged the] white savior mentality in philanthropy and [helped us] engage with Africa in a way that's not patronizing. Those are conversations that are live right now, and everyone's talking about it.”