The Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) was established in 1997 by a group of Kenyan development leaders who believed that traditional aid models were failing to create sustainable change. Research had shown that despite significant investment in community development, many communities were becoming poorer. KCDF’s founders argued that development should focus on empowering communities, building local capacity, and enabling people to drive their own progress rather than relying on externally imposed solutions. Their philosophy was that true development is not simply the outcome achieved, but the process through which communities gain the skills, confidence, and ownership needed to sustain that outcome.

Over time, KCDF expanded its activities and established the KCDF Trust in the mid-2000s to manage and grow the Foundation’s assets. This structure was intended to create a sustainable financial base that would support the Foundation’s long-term development work. However, as both entities evolved, the operational and governance relationship between the Foundation and the Trust became increasingly intertwined. The Foundation’s leadership found itself heavily involved in the Trust’s investment activities, creating complexity and placing additional demands on management resources.

By June 2019, CEO Janet Mawiyoo and her executive team concluded that the existing arrangement was no longer effective. The Foundation’s development work required dedicated leadership and attention, while the Trust needed the ability to make timely investment decisions and manage assets independently. The central challenge facing KCDF was therefore a governance one: how to restructure the relationship between the Foundation and the Trust so that each could fulfil its mandate more effectively, ensuring both the sustainability of KCDF’s assets and the continued impact of its community development mission.