This book project explores how philanthropy is understood and practised within the diverse expressions of African Christianity. It examines how Christian beliefs, values, and traditions shape voluntary giving, service, and community support across Africa, drawing on theological, historical, and contemporary perspectives. The volume focuses on the role of churches, faith-based organisations, Christian foundations, and other Christian-inspired institutions in advancing education, health, social welfare, and local development. It also explores emerging forms of Christian philanthropy, including digital giving, diaspora engagement, and Pentecostal and Charismatic initiatives, while considering issues of governance, accountability, and trust in an increasingly interconnected global context. Through contributions from scholars and practitioners across Africa, the book provides conceptual insights and country-specific perspectives on the evolving relationship between African Christianity and philanthropy.

This project explores key areas of African philanthropy and social investment that align with CAPSI’s research priorities, with a particular focus on philanthropy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), marketing and communications in philanthropy, gender and feminist philanthropy, philanthropy and public policy, community philanthropy and community foundations, higher education fundraising and advancement, and climate philanthropy. Through these thematic case studies, the project seeks to generate evidence and practical insights that contribute to advancing philanthropy research, policy, and practice across Africa.

This project examines how venture capitalists and family foundations contribute to mission-oriented avenues. It seeks to understand the role of philanthropy in driving large-scale social change during times of crisis by uncovering innovative models of capital deployment that create public (shared) value and bring about lasting, positive change in underserved communities.

The project assesses new forms of wealth creation and philanthropy by moving beyond the binary of financial return versus social impact. It aims to understand how venture capitalists and philanthropic institutions, together with their family offices and private foundations, collectively redefine economic systems by fostering inclusive growth, social resilience, and sustainable development.

Against the backdrop of declining investment flows and reductions in development assistance, the study considers new sources of funding for Africa’s development. It contends that philanthropy has a powerful supplementary and catalytic role in promoting enterprise development and social innovation and examines how governments can create enabling conditions for venture capital and venture philanthropy to address social challenges related to climate change, water, education, and other development priorities across the African continent.

This project aims to analyse the unique potential of philanthropic institutions and strategic partnerships to foster alternative, ethical pathways for synthetic data development, particularly within the African context.

Specifically, the project addresses the following research questions:

1. What are the primary ethical challenges posed by the private sector’s dominance in the global synthetic data industry?
2. How can philanthropic institutions and partnerships effectively influence the development of synthetic data technologies to prioritise ethical considerations, transparency, and public good, particularly in Africa?
3. What innovative funding models and collaborative strategies can philanthropy employ to support open-source, privacy-preserving, and contextually relevant synthetic data generation in Africa?
4. How can philanthropic efforts contribute to building robust data infrastructure, nurturing local talent, and strengthening ethical AI governance frameworks in Africa to ensure synthetic data serves the continent’s developmental needs and promotes AI sovereignty?
5. What are the potential impacts and challenges of philanthropic involvement in shaping Africa’s synthetic data industry, and what recommendations can be made for sustainable and equitable engagement?

The Muslim Philanthropy in Africa book is a collaborative research and publication project that provides a comprehensive examination of Muslim philanthropy across the African continent. Adopting a continental perspective, the book covers Southern, Northern, Eastern, Western, and Central Africa, exploring themes such as social development, public policy, giving practices, governance, education, gender, humanitarian action, religious teachings, and the unique characteristics of Muslim philanthropy in different African contexts. The publication is being developed in collaboration with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and aims to advance scholarship and understanding of Muslim philanthropy across Africa.

This book project explores the barriers that limit the ability of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Africa to scale and strengthen their capacity, while highlighting the role of philanthropy in addressing political, economic, and structural challenges. It also focuses on climate philanthropy and its potential to enhance the effectiveness of CSOs’ climate interventions, analyses philanthropic responses to humanitarian crises across Africa, and considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international volunteer cooperation organisations (IVCOs) and the communities they serve. The project comprises 16 chapters covering Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, combining conceptual perspectives with practical country case studies.

This project conducts research on comparative analysis of CSI in Africa with a particular focus on:

1. The scope, size and trends of CSR; what is funded predominantly, etc.
2. The impact of CSI investments on poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods.
3. The effectiveness of CSI investments on environmental sustainability.
4. The role of CSR initiatives in advancing sustainable development.
5. The impact of CSI investments on access to education and reducing educational inequalities in marginalised communities.
6. The effectiveness of CSI investments on financial inclusion and entrepreneurship among youth.
7. The role of CSI investments in promoting social justice and addressing systemic inequalities.

This project examines the lived experiences, working conditions, and socio-economic trajectories of young women across Africa’s non-profit and care sectors. Drawing on case studies from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, the project explores how philanthropy, nonprofit organisations, and emerging platform-economy structures shape young women’s work, opportunities, and vulnerabilities.

Four studies have been commissioned exploring the following topics:

1. Are the Girls Happy? Mapping the Fulfilment, Barriers and Trajectories of Young Women in Philanthropy in Zimbabwe & South Africa
2. Exploring the experiences of young women working in nonprofit organisations, focusing on their scope of work, wages, compensations, benefits and opportunities for career growth in Nigeria.
3. From Inclusion to Precarity: The Role of Philanthropy in Shaping Young African Women’s Work in the Age of the Platform Economy.
4. Profiling Black Women’s Work in Building Care Infrastructures in Marginalised Communities.

The project examines the contributions of the non-profit sector to the creation of dignified and fulfilling work for young people (aged 15 to 35 years ) in Africa, with particular attention to youth on the margins.

Specifically, the project addresses the following research questions:

1. What is the economic contribution of the non-profit sector to youth employment in Africa?
2. What is the economic contribution of the non-profit sector to dignified and fulfilling work for African youth?
3. What are the sub-sectoral contributions to dignified and fulfilling work for African youth within the non-profit sector?
4. What are the possibilities and opportunities for further employment in the nonprofit sector for African youth?

This five-year project is being implemented in collaboration with autonomous African-led research networks and institutions across 17 countries, including Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

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