As part of Micaia’s continuing work to support the development and expansion of community philanthropy in Mozambique, we are trying to seed a movement to bring together people from across all sectors who recognize the power and potential of community philanthropy. On Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th June, 120 such people came together to share, celebrate and discuss. While many were from grassroots community associations and solidarity groups, we also welcomed senior figures from the corporate world, from the UN and donor agencies, and from government. The conference was officially ‘opened’ by Maarten Rusch, Deputy Head of Mission at the Dutch Embassy, Maputo. And we were honoured to have with us Dr Graça Machel.

This was no ordinary conference. It’s opening ‘keynote’ was a conversation in a salon between Milagre Nuvunga (Micaia’s Executive Director) and Ese Emerhi, visiting from Nigeria and working for the Global Fund for Community Foundations. As the beauticians worked, Milagre and Ese had a chat, sharing some of the exciting developments in philanthropy across Africa.

This informal conversation set the tone for a rich two days of interactions. We were excited to have a good number of young activists, including artists, and the first day ended with a vibrant mix of theatre, impromptu painting, poetry and song.

The two days mixed story-telling of community philanthropy in action, with learning about institutional forms such as community foundations (with examples from the region shared by Shaun Samuels, Director of SGS Consulting, South Africa), and discussing how to build an enabling environment for philanthropy. After such a rewarding ‘conversation’, it is hard to pinpoint highlights. What we were left with, however, was a conviction that the community philanthropy movement is growing, and moving beyond the confines of organized civil society.

The stories we heard confirmed that communities have assets that, if unlocked and harnessed, can be deployed to meet local challenges and seize opportunities. If citizens contribute their own resources (time, money, skills, materials) they build community power and voice. By contributing their own resources, people start to feel like co-investors with a stake in their own development. When people feel they have something at stake, they care more about the outcomes, and become more invested in acting in ways that advance and protect their collective interests. This is community-led development.