Highlights
African philanthropy is strongest when its bridges are rooted in local realities and connected to global networks, and that is exactly what the newly launched WINGS Africa Working Group is designed to do. In November 2025, 29 members from nine countries met in Nairobi to co-create a shared roadmap for African philanthropy, exploring how to strengthen community philanthropy, local giving ecosystems, enabling environments, knowledge sharing, and strategic capital flows. Through its thematic Circles of Collaboration, the working group is building “living networks” where members can think, build, and experiment together, ensuring that African models of generosity, resilience, and innovation shape global conversations on giving.
The path to legitimate and credible community foundations goes beyond passion – it demands a strong grasp of legal and regulatory requirements. In November 2025, community foundation leaders gathered for a legal compliance masterclass that transformed anxiety into clarity, revealing compliance not as a bureaucratic hurdle but as the structure that protects impact, trust, and long-term sustainability. Guided by Counsel Peter Magelah, participants unpacked evolving laws governing non-profits in Uganda, explored why due diligence and transparent reporting matter, and recognised legal literacy as a strategic advantage for bold, accountable leadership. This session reframed compliance as a core pillar of governance, empowering community foundations to operate with confidence, protect their reputation, and plan for lasting impact.
Shrinking donor funding, tougher operating environments, and overreliance on external support are pushing many civil society organizations to the edge. Recent sector reflections showed a sobering reality: a significant number of CSOs would not survive for long if foreign funding stopped. This isn’t just an institutional crisis, it risks silencing the very voices that hold power to account, mobilize communities, and advance social justice. Conversations within the African Philanthropy Network have therefore called for a radical shift toward alternative financing, local resource mobilization, and community-led philanthropy so that African CSOs can adapt, not disappear.
Read more about the call to diversify funding and rebuild civil society resilience.
In Mbale City, CivLegacy Foundation, in partnership with the Bugisu NGO Forum, convened CSOs and private sector actors from across the region to explore how the two sectors can work together for inclusive, locally driven development. The meeting surfaced a shared concern: despite Uganda’s policy direction under NDP IV and the Local Economic Development (LED) framework, engagement between CSOs and businesses remains limited, leading to missed opportunities for joint action. Participants called for trust-building, recognition of each sector’s unique strengths, and a shift from ad hoc, transactional collaboration to long-term, values-based partnerships. Local government officials welcomed the initiative and encouraged non-state actors to use existing government platforms to institutionalize these dialogues.
Read more about the outcomes and next steps for CSO–private sector collaboration in the region.
Community foundations are powerful engines for local giving and social change, but in today’s fast-changing environment, goodwill alone is not enough. That’s why CivLegacy Foundation convened a strategy development masterclass, led by Dr. Joyce Tamale, to help community foundation leaders clarify their purpose, focus their limited resources, and build resilience. The session underscored that a clear strategy brings direction, strengthens credibility with donors and boards, unites stakeholders around shared goals, and enables foundations to stay agile in volatile contexts. As CivLegacy’s Programs Manager, Catherine Mutesi Mugabo, noted, strategy becomes truly impactful when stakeholders own the process.
As part of the GROW Program for Community Foundations, participants recently had the rare opportunity to learn from Hon. Dr. Miria Matembe, affectionately called “Mama Miria.” What was planned as a leadership session became a living masterclass on legacy. She reminded us that leadership is not about titles, but about the footprints we leave in people’s lives through consistency, service, and courage. For some in the room, her words evoked memories of meeting her as schoolgirls; for others, it was a first encounter with a woman whose voice has shaped Uganda’s women’s movement for decades. The session affirmed a powerful truth: movements don’t die, they evolve, and our task is to keep pouring into the next generation.
Read more about how the GROW Program is centering legacy in leadership development.
Over six weeks, CivLegacy Foundation guided ten community foundations in Uganda through the GROW¡ Phase of the Community Foundations Incubation Program, a leadership, mentorship, and coaching journey designed to strengthen community-rooted institutions. The cohort engaged six interconnected modules on self-awareness, institutional identity, community-centered programming, financial stewardship, and legacy planning, all aimed at helping leaders align personal purpose with organizational vision.
Read more about how GROW¡ is nurturing sustainable, locally led development.