Janet Mawiyoo joins the GFCF board

The GFCF is delighted to announce the appointment of Janet Mawiyoo to its board. Janet brings over 30 years experience of being a leader in the global majority, having worked with both local and international organizations. Before her current role as Team Leader at Galvanizing Africa Consult, Janet was the Executive Director of the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF). She was in the position for 17 years, leading and growing the first community foundation in East and Central Africa.

During her time at KCDF, Janet played a leading role in exploring what community philanthropy means in the African setting, and building the discourse around African philanthropy – emphasizing that philanthropy is deeply rooted in many African traditions, and challenging traditional top-down development discourses. Janet’s work in this regard was recognized when she was nominated as an Invisible Giant by Africans Rising in 2021, and later in 2022 received the African Philanthropy Lifetime Award from the African Philanthropy Network. (Read Janet’s full bio here.)

Speaking about her appointment to the GFCF board, Janet commented: “I have always seen a close alignment with my work supporting community-driven and led development and the work of the GFCF. I attended the GFCF’s 2016 Global Summit on Community Philanthropy in Johannesburg, and the call to #ShiftThePower that emerged from this deeply resonates with me. I consider it an honour to be able to add my passion, experiences and global majority perspectives to the work of the GFCF in this new role as board member.”