ABOUT US

About APN

APN is the only continent-wide network of organizations and individuals in Africa and its diaspora who promotes the culture of philanthropic giving. APN brings an ecosystem of philanthropy support institutions and civil society member organizations serving different forms of philanthropy currently in 48 African countries. Established in 2009, APN was conceived as a space for African institutions to interrogate and intervene in the power dynamics that shape how resource mobilization, distribution and spending impact the possibilities of transformative change in Africa.

OUR APPROACH

APN focuses more explicitly towards the multi-stakeholder end of the philanthropy spectrum -emphasis on philanthropic models, philanthropy as act of participation, empathy, a chain of solidarity– African philanthropy as a development tool. Our approach is founded on intersectionality and puts gender, race and class at the heart of analysis.

#GivingAndPower

African philanthropy, the act of giving, is an act of power. We launched the hashtag #GivingAndPower at the 2018 APN Assembly. When considering African philanthropy, it is important to look at who is giving, to whom and how it is given. Power dynamics are still at play within the field of African philanthropy. We believe that being transparent, accountable and forming strong partnerships are ways to manage these power issues.

MISSION

APN seeks to reclaim the power and elevate the practices of African philanthropy. Reclaiming African philanthropy entails reclaiming our resources, our voice, our agency, our ability to act!

VISION

We envision a strong and effective philanthropic community, striving to build equitable and just societies in Africa.

OUR VALUES

Ubuntu: I am because You are!

Solidarity We recognize each other as fellow human beings and begin to share a concern in the common welfare and well-being of each other. Only by ensuring the security, safety, and wellbeing of other people can we hope to secure our own.

Inclusivity We value and encompass “the breadth and depth of human difference.” Including but not limited to differences of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation and identification, age, class, economic circumstance, religion, ability, geography, and philosophy among other forms of human expression.

Partnership We understand the importance of relationship-building rather than a time-limited transactional approach and believe that parties to the partnership have a shared interest in learning and developing in a collaborative manner.

Respect We are committed to hearing the views, hopes, and fears of communities in an active and informed manner, while supporting and celebrating emerging and successful models to progressive social change.

Learning We believe that it is important to create time and space for learning, within which the African grounded experience is recognized and valued

WHAT IS AFRICAN PHILANTHROPY

African philanthropy means resources- nature, human, financial, social, intellectual that can be tapped into addressing Africas challenges. APN equates African philanthropy with citizen agency -the capacity of individuals to act independently and make their own choices. African philanthropy includes foundations and funds; family and community based; individual giving and collective solidarity mechanisms – in cash, in kind, or in time; and social investments.

African philanthropy is generally characterized by all forms of vertical and horizontal dimensions of giving of private resources for the common good; it cannot be defined by a single culture or model of giving.

APN seeks to establish a strong voice for African philanthropy in order to address the growing challenges of conflict, poverty, and bad governance in Africa. APN believes that Africa can effectively mobilize and harness domestic resources for its own development. Domestic resources mobilization creates opportunities for building innovative partnerships for development; achieving universal social protection for the poor; enhancing domestic capital information through asset building; recognizing creative means of citizen participation; reducing dependence on external aid and progressive private sector contribution to development.