Originally posted on MailChimp: Platform for Giving at SIVIO Institute (mailchi.mp)
Welcome to our inaugural issue of the SIVIO Institute Newsletter. The Newsletter is part of our ongoing steps to communicate more regularly and wisely with our stakeholders, informing you about what is taking place within SIVIO Institute. In the process we will be providing a more detailed explanation of how we are contributing towards Africa’s transformation. In this issue we have decided to cast a spotlight on giving. The giving narrative is changing as explained by Dr Tendai Murisa (Executive Director of SIVIO Institute) in this video.
At SIVIO Institute we work alongside others in pursuit of what we have called ‘A Quest for an Inclusive Society’. An inclusive society can only be achieved when we create partnerships of co-creation and co-production. Our work seeks to promote citizen agency and citizen participation in public processes, giving citizens the information they need to make decisions about and engage with government on processes and policies that affect their lives and livelihoods.
Our Perspectives on Giving
Over the past few months, our team has developed a framework that aims to share awareness around Giving ecosystems, while profiling some of the strides that your giving has facilitated over the last two years.
The History of Giving in Africa
The act of giving is deeply rooted in African culture, with many of us being able to share examples of community care and inter–generational support upon quick recollection. Africans can tell stories of how families and social groups came together in times of need with whatever resources they had available, that resulted in deep and long-lasting outcomes. This nature of giving has always been done as a core value and has proved very sustainable in its application, passed on from generation to generation. However, even with this rich history, the sector of philanthropy is commonly misunderstood to be a western practice, particularly with the rise of donor foundations. Reshaping philanthropy and ushering in a new era of giving, means understanding the current global and social construct of the givers. There is a growing trend of individual and community philanthropy. We now recognise that philanthropy is a practice that anyone can engage in daily through random acts of kindness for neighbours and friends. We are working to promote a broader understanding of philanthropy by highlighting the power of citizens in shaping their own development through giving of financial assets, their time and skills.
What your Giving Means to SIVIO
SIVIO Institute was established in 2018 with three centres of work in an effort to enhance possibilities of achieving an inclusive society by addressing challenges of democracy and development. In the beginning our work was limited to Zimbabwe, but we have since expanded into Africa. Partnering with us will allow you to join this work through our three centres of operation, outlined below:
Centre for Civic Engagement
-Is focused on sharpening the citizens’ engagement in public spaces/processes; and the formulation, design, implementation and outcomes of policies focusing on (a) the performance of political systems, (b) equitable, responsive and acceptable public development processes and (c) citizen participation in public processes and engagement with state and non-state stakeholders. Our work focuses on promoting equitable, responsive and acceptable public development processes that foster inclusion in all sectors of African economies. One of its many objectives is to support civic engagement by building the capacity of policy advocates who work to strengthen citizen participation in democratic development processes. Our hope is that when citizen engagement improves, government accountability and their performance in delivering public goods and services will also improve. Some of the key activities of the centre include:
- Tracking and analysis of government performance
- Development of policy knowledge
- Leveraging of technology for advocacy
- Hosting in-person and hybrid dialogues to tackle the most important development questions.
Some of the Centre’s beneficiaries include the media platforms that have used our trackers to inform citizens of government progress and performance. Click on their logos to read the feature articles which apply data from our trackers.
Centre for Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion
-offers Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) the guidance needed to run profitable and sustainable enterprises. It has a particular interest in skills development, collaborative networks and addressing policy concerns within the small enterprise ecosystem, in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region.
Many factors have an impact on businesses in SSA, which can create an environment that prohibits the growth of small enterprises. The centre aims to address the increasing poverty and inequality on the continent of Africa; the limited local content in lucrative economic value chains with youth and women being marginalized; weak and inadequate interventions and financial support mechanisms to support entry and mid-level MSMEs; and inconsistent and incoherent policies made in a top-down fashion. These, therefore, do not address the needs of small enterprises, neither do they try to identify new and innovative systems to harness the capabilities of this group. Some of the Centre’s beneficiaries include social enterprises. These enterprises are working in different communities to address some of Africa’s most pressing problems.
Centre for Philanthropy and Communities
-is focused on nurturing and growing the practice of philanthropy and seeks to provide more knowledge and information around how citizens engage with and work together, collectively. Our work in Philanthropy seeks to improve the understanding and appreciation of citizen agency and solidarity, while improving their currently limited perception of the role they play in African democracy and African development. This will not only help grow the practice of philanthropy, but also provide more locally relevant knowledge on citizen agency, and citizen formations in African countries while spotlighting the traditional methods of African giving.Some of the Centre’s beneficiaries include:
- Our Children Our Hope Foundation which was established in response to increased vulnerability during the COVID-19-induced lockdowns in Zimbabwe. The organisation was established as a Trust in 2020. It focuses on supplementary feeding of young children and the elderly within the high-density neighbourhood of Epworth in Harare.
- Twenty-Four (24) community foundations in Zimbabwe whose work has been showcased and profiled, through the development of a Directory of Community Foundations in Zimbabwe of their initiatives and a book on Community Foundations in Zimbabwe, which has 15 deep dive case studies of local community foundations and the work they are doing. These knowledge products have helped highlight the importance of local giving and how ordinary citizens are leveraging local resources and combining them with external resources to advance inclusive development.
Towards an Inclusive Society
Our core mandate is to contribute towards Africa’s inclusive socio-economic development through citizen action and policy change. Our initiatives seek to address a deep-seated disconnect between citizens, existing regional and global compacts, and the state. We try to find ways of working around political polarisation demonstrated by the limited trust between citizens, public duty bearers, and political parties. We produce reports on various themes ranging from analysis of government performance, assessing levels of citizen participation in public processes, conduct trainings on civic engagement, entrepreneurship and philanthropy. We host dialogues to present new approaches that can be used by stakeholders to find common ground. We want to help create entrepreneurial ventures with the capacity for innovation and sustainable growth. We promote the establishment of enterprises that use locally available resources and address local problems with innovative solutions. As we advocate for responsive policies and equitable resource distribution, our work targets bottom-of-the-pyramid communities that are neglected by national institutions such as women, youth, the disabled, and the poor. In this way, we can reach the most vulnerable through our trainings and we can promote the adoption of policies that provide better conditions for these groups. Last but not least, our work will help enhance understanding of existing forms of philanthropy and grow the practice of giving, while encouraging policymakers to put in place laws and regulations that acknowledge the important role philanthropy plays in the development of the continent.
How You can Support Us
We are always exploring ways in which to partner with community members who want to help build a future that works for everyone. One of the ways that your donation can support us, allows us to offer online training courses that are aligned with our mission and Centres. We are proud to offer the following courses:
Introduction to Principles of Entrepreneurship: For all those who want to start a business or have already started a business and need help to grow or scale it, using locally available resources while addressing local problems. The Entrepreneurship Lab profiles some of the resources that will be shared in the course.
Introduction to Civic Engagement: This outlines how citizens, office holders and community associations can work together to co-create and implement development solutions that are locally relevant, inclusive and sustainable.
School of Sustainable Civil Society Organisations: is a course targeted at individuals who would like to start a community-based foundation or those who need information on how their foundation can be run more efficiently. The SIVIO Philanthropy Labprofiles some of the resources that will be shared in the course.Participants in all the above courses will be provided with skills to enable them to identify opportunities, create value, mobilise resources and run financially sustainable entities. Your giving contributes towards onboarding delegates to these courses through training. At SIVIO, we also aim to answer pertinent research questions through our knowledge products (see our knowledge products here), conduct dialogues on important development questions (see our dialogues here) and create tech products to bridge the information gap for citizens to foster inclusive development (see our Integrated Technology Products here). We do all this in our quest for an inclusive society. Giving will fund these and other efforts to promote active citizenship, socially conscious entrepreneurship and a culture of giving. Your generous gift will also enhance our annual fund to promote SIVIO Institute’s sustainability. It will help us get the best team on the ground that will enable us to ask the right questions for Africa’s inclusive society.
Introducing the SIVIO Institute Giving Platform
We have refurbished our giving platform for your convenience. By making a gift to SIVIO Institute via this platform, you’ll join us in our commitment in contributing towards a more inclusive Africa. This platform will also ensure you receive our monthly email newsletter and occasional updates on how you can promote an inclusive future for Africa. See more or donate here: https://www.sivioinstitute.org/support
Over and above giving financially, you can give or support in other ways. We are always looking for people who want to partner with us in our dialogues, research, training and to strengthen our network of influence. If you want to join the ‘Friends of SIVIO Community’ send us an email and let us know how we can work together in our quest for an inclusive Africa. We are always looking for like-minded organisations, academics, entrepreneurs and volunteers. Send an email to info@sivioinstitute.org to take part. We look forward to connecting with you as we expand into Africa. Click below and visit the SIVIO Giving Platform to make a donation. CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE SIVIO GIVING PLATFORM
Leave a Reply