Call for consultant: Community philanthropy and #ShiftThePower in Francophone Africa

The GFCF is looking for a consultant to support its efforts  (conversations, learning opportunities and pilots) aimed at exploring the potential for community philanthropy in Francophone Africa as a strategy that can both strengthen the legitimacy – and the financial base – of civil society in the region, and increase community participation and ownership of development processes.

Background

The past decade has seen the global community philanthropy movement become more visible, more connected and more organized. This has included a proliferation of institutions around the world – most with strong roots in civil society and social movements – that relate to the concept, as well as a deepening of different aspects of practice. It has also been accompanied by a growing body of evidence and arguments that speak to community philanthropy’s relevance to conversations around participation, ownership, civil society legitimacy and, most importantly, power. More recently, the global community philanthropy movement has been at the forefront of efforts to #ShiftThePower in philanthropy and development.

However, there are geographic regions where growth has been slower or even non-existent. Reasons for this include lack of external donor interest, absence of civil society support organizations promoting the idea, cultural and historical contexts and, the predominance of English. Although the GFCF has done much to ensure its publications and resources are available in languages other than English, big gaps still exist in terms of access to networks, ideas and information when it comes to community philanthropy development. Francophone Africa is one such part of the world where the conversation is still quite new, but initial efforts to stimulate the idea and to provide opportunities for learning and exposure have been met with strong interest on the part of local partners with which the GFCF has engaged.

Role of consultant

At this stage, we would like to contract a consultant for an initial period of 4 months (working approximately 2 days a week). A more detailed task specification will be agreed with the selected candidate but the tasks would likely include the following:

1. Using national, regional and global networks, identify individuals and organizations interested in engaging in discussions, mapping and experiments in the area of community philanthropy / local resource mobilization and the #ShiftThePower agenda in Francophone Africa with a view to establishing longer-term grants and network-based partnerships.
2. Advise the GFCF on, and support efforts to, connect conversations, practices and organizations as a way to deepen and widen larger, field-wide processes aimed at building alternatives and at influencing the policies and practices of donors.
3. Collect stories, write blogs etc. as a way to contribute to the larger emerging community philanthropy discourse in Francophone Africa.

Experience and skills

1. Knowledge of and a heart for community philanthropy – and the #ShiftThePower agenda.
2. Track record in accompanying organizations and individuals to achieve their objectives, challenge their assumptions and feel empowered to test something new.
3. Fluency in French and English – other languages an asset.
4. Ability to work with our team remotely.

About the GFCF

The GFCF is a global grassroots grantmaking fund which is registered as a charity in the U.K. and as a non-profit company in South Africa. The GFCF has a small, virtual staff team who are based in South Africa, Belgium, Nigeria and Uganda. We regularly work with consultants based in additional countries, as well as with a global network of partners and allies.

How to apply

Please send a CV and brief cover note to GFCF Executive Director Jenny Hodgson (jenny@globalfundcf.org).