Understanding the relationship between community philanthropy and social justice movement building in Western Uganda
This paper explores community philanthropy, a practice rooted in locally-owned and controlled resources. It is increasingly recognized for its potential to drive transformative change and shift power dynamics. Unlike traditional top-down development aid, it mobilizes local assets, capacities and knowledge to build trust and collective action. The objective of this research was to analyze the relationship between community philanthropy and social justice movement building, specifically, to:
- Determine how community philanthropy strengthens or builds “bonding” and “bridging” social capital within social justice movements.
- Examine how community philanthropy fosters collaboration and solidarity among various social justice causes, such as economic justice initiatives.
- Investigate how community-based funding and resource mobilization strategies enable grassroots social justice initiatives.
The study was conducted in communities where the Twerwaneho Listeners’ Club (TLC) had established working relationships. These are communities where large-scale conservation and development projects – financed by external actors with significant resources and power – have led to human rights violations such as evictions, economic displacement and attacks against human rights defenders. TLC has supported these communities, helping them to organize in the face of such threats.
Author: Gerald Kankya, Twerwaneho Listeners’ Club
Published by: GFCF
Published: May 2026