   We often hear the saying or see the story about giving back to our African community. To each its own on that notion. It is easier to say than to do! The reality is that some give and some take. Giving has its advantages and disadvantages. Taking is straight up corrupt or justifiable. The following words are dedicated to those who go out of their way to give positive impact unapologetically, unconditionally and without much hesitation.
   Once upon a time not too long ago, there was a young man (anonymous) who had built relationships between his Motherland of Ghana and Birthplace of America. Thanks to technology and social media, he was able to connect to some organizational leaders in Ghana. Before he realized it, philanthropy was calling his name. Hello, Mr. Philanthropist!
   It all started off as a problem about nonprofits in Ghana needing financial support to help women, kids, elderly, entrepreneurs, and others. A safe and secure solution of online donations was born. The idea went through development before it became a finished product for the masses to get a glimpse of platform. Â
   From the outside looking, it appeared to be a simple and easy way for donors in the USA to donate funds to organizations in Ghana. However, from the inside looking, the general public seemed to like the idea and concept of it. But, for one reason or another, most weren’t interested in supporting various nonprofits on this platform.
   Founder of donation platform was able to acknowledge that there were a few things working against this seamless way of making donations. One of them was that, as a for-profit, potential donors probably did not feel comfortable to donate without tax exemption options. Secondly, the platform was new and would need to build a lot of trust and credibility over time with the public.  Â
   Fast forward the last year (August 2018-August 2019) was the year of trial and error. A different informal solution was brought to light within the first 3 months (October 2018) of launching online donation platform. It entailed all 10 organizational leaders in Ghana engaging in group economics with each other as an alternative means of fundraising. Whereby, every month 9 out of the 10 would make an agreed upon financial contribution to 1 designated organization. This cycle would continue until each of them received the same financial support for their respective organization. Â
   Guess what? It worked and was a true success. Reason being, all 10 organizational leaders made a commitment to support each other for 9 months straight, which helped to provide services to those in need. Although the online donation platform cannot claim full credit for this great success story (as it was a separate form of sponsorship altogether), sometimes one idea is born to give birth to another and so on and so forth. It also goes to show that nonprofit organizations do not need to rely 100% on outsider donations and can create their own inner circle method of fundraising. Who would of thought? Today, a group of organizations in Ghana could come together to support each other by way of an indigenous tradition, such as Susu. Â
   That is, a communal lending and saving of money done through partners or clubs who come together to contribute cash towards personal expenses or organizational projects. Each person involved collects their fixed portion of money for an agreed upon time period, such as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Overall, the end receiver is aware of his/her funders and can connect with them on a group-to-group level.  Â
   At the end of the day, African philanthropy doesn’t have to come from outside sources and then go inside the organizations in Africa. From within the organization, support is very possible, especially when many Africans come together under one united cause. It’s quite evident that African philanthropy for Africa and by Africa can and already has led to progressive development, progressive solutions, and progressive innovations, whether foreign or domestic. May many more blessing come to each & every African Philanthropist!
References:
https://africanbusinessmagazine.com/features/countryfiles/ghana-how-susu-evolved-into-microfinance
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tony K Ansah, Jr., M.P.A. is a self-published author and a social entrepreneur based in Rhode Island, U.S.A. He has written and published several books and content via poems, quotes, fiction, non-fiction, blogs and articles. Tony is also the founder and owner of Ansah Africa, a consulting and marketing startup that connects donors in the U.S.A. with nonprofits in Africa to solve global problems, which was established in 2017.
This article was originally posted on tonyansah.com July 22, 2019. The original article can be viewed here.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the blog and report are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the SDG Philanthropy Platform. The SDG Philanthropy Platform is a global initiative that connects philanthropy with knowledge and networks that can deepen collaboration, leverage resources and sustain impact, driving SDG delivery within national development planning. It is led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), and supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Ford Foundation, Oak Foundation, Brach Family Charitable Foundation, and many others.