The University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Graduate School of Business Administration

2 St David’s Place, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa

08 July 2021

RE: Invitation to participate in the Community Philanthropy Research Workshop –

August 2021

The Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment is a research-intensive unit within the
Wits Business School. The Centre has embarked on a research project to scope the community
philanthropy landscape in Mali, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Malawi. This research will build on some
of the academic research that the Centre and its affiliates have produced over the years especially
on community foundations, family foundations and social investment. It seeks to map community
giving in its many dimensions including community foundations in urban and rural contexts. Within
the urban areas, it seeks to understand how giving happens in low income and high income settings
as well as understand dynamics in different cultural contexts as they present themselves in French
speaking Africa, to some extent in Lusophone countries (here some desk top work will be done on
Mozambique given the recent crises that the country has faced, how is giving in crisis situations?),
and in Anglophone settings. The findings will be presented in accessible format in ways that make
it easy to disseminate widely but also encourage others to give back to society.

The value that this research will give the communities includes:
 Profiling successful community philanthropy in communities-giving them a platform for their
voices to be heard and for different approaches of community philanthropy to be shared
with the continent and beyond. By exposing the various types of community philanthropy
that exists in Mali, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Malawi, an opportunity exists to draw the
interests of local philanthropists and outside funders that can further support their form of
community philanthropy.
 By highlighting the success stories of community philanthropy in these communities
collectively, a new paradigm to development would be profiled to the continent and beyond.
 Additional opportunities for further development can then occur by capitalizing on trends
that are already evident in this new paradigm.
 The University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Graduate School of Business Administration
2 St David’s Place, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa

The research is being finalised for review. The next step is to workshop the research and discuss
research findings. It is therefore my honour to invite you and your colleagues to the Workshop for
the ‘Community Philanthropy’ research project across the four countries.

Practitioners, scholars, and other relevant expert will also be invited.

Please join us for a stimulating discussion.

Date: Wednesday, 11 August 2021

Time: 14h30 – 17h30 SAST

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://wits-za.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEucuCuqTgtH9bgdmmrCMm7jfpCyQFNISUR

Sincerely,

Bhekinkosi Moyo
Director, Africa Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment
Wits Business School