Much to be done to advance philanthropic practices in Africa

Dedicated fundraising offices, investment in staff training, prioritising engagement with alumni, showcasing the contributions of everyday donors and the integration of philanthropy in university curriculums are measures that higher education institutions in Africa could introduce to advance their interaction with individual and institutional donors.

According to a study, ‘Engagement of African Donors in Advancing Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa’, recently published by Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, a lack of capacity and resources contributes to limited information about the nature of the relationship between universities and donors.

The study provided a systematic review of publicly available information on fundraising among African higher education institutions and highlighted examples of some large cash and in-kind donations from African donors.

According to experts, who welcomed the study, higher education leaders have to invest more in developing expertise in fundraising and have to shift the global philanthropic focus on Africa-projects, and emphasised the role of cultural and regional differences that should be considered in the African philanthropic context.

Why the study?

Beverley Thaver, professor emeritus in higher education studies at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, told University World News: “The significance of the report is that it recognises and integrates multiple ideas about giving and gifting (that is, philanthropy) to higher education in Africa as opposed to for Africa.”

Fabrice Jaumont, an international education expert and a research fellow at the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris, told University World News that the study helps to address the growing need for sustainable financial models for universities across the African continent.

“The insights from this [research] work can shed light on how African higher education institutions can diversify their funding sources and reduce dependency on government budgets and international aid.

“In my view, the significance of the study lies in its potential to catalyse strategic philanthropy initiatives, helping African universities build long-term financial resilience,” Jaumont added.

Echoing Jaumont’s views, Andrew Wigley, the director of international development and partnerships at the University of Cape Town in South Africa concurred with the study’s finding that there is a dearth of information and data about philanthropy in Africa, especially as it relates to the higher education sector.

The power of public information

The study indicated that this is lack of public information and limited online presence of HE institutions’ philanthropic activities, which are partly attributed to the lack of capacity and resources.

According to the study, many institutions do not provide information on online platforms about their philanthropic activities and they lack dedicated fundraising offices and trained advancement staff.

The public information shared online by the top 57 higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa showed that those universities with more established fundraising practices are more likely to have dedicated webpages to share fundraising priorities, donations received, advancement staff, and stories about donors or alumni contributors, according to the study.

“Posting information online is about more than transparency. Sharing updates on how donations are used is a powerful way to highlight the value of the institutions and demonstrate the impact of the donations.

“The stories of donors and alumni can be another effective approach to help institutions make emotional connections with their donors and alumni by conveying personal experiences.

“These could inspire current and prospective donors to build a lasting relationship with institutions,” said the study.

The importance of alumni relations

Alumni, the study emphasises, remain an “underutilised resource” that could be developed.

Alumni programmes could include learning about their interests, needs and philanthropic passions along with providing meaningful ways for them to get involved in leveraging their talents and expertise, according to the study.

“Alumni from different cohorts or generations may also have differing interests and needs,” noted the study.

The study also said: “pre-alumni engagement matters”, as research showed that student experience and satisfaction are key determinants of alumni giving.

Alumni who feel a sense of connection with their alma maters are 23 times more likely to give than those who feel disconnected, according to a 2024 survey, which also found that alumni who feel satisfied with their student experience are four times more likely to give than those who feel dissatisfied or neutral.

The study also said that media coverage and communications from higher education institutions tend to focus primarily on the large donations made by high-net worth individuals with financial assets valued at over US$1 million, and stories of everyday donors are far less visible, despite their power of connection and inspiration.

“Showcasing stories of everyday donors and integrating philanthropy in curricula both have the potential to cultivate the culture of giving and to change the traditional perception of giving in Africa from being seen as a show of opulence to being promoted as a civic expression,” according to the study.

Building internal capacity

Jaumont said African universities required “a robust strategy, involving capacity-building, transparency, and fostering strong relationships with both local and international donors in order to face challenges to the implementation of the study’s measures for enhancing philanthropy for higher education institutions, such as limited institutional capacity, competition for limited philanthropic resources, and governance issues”.

“African universities should also look to diversify funding by engaging local donors and the private sector while promoting success stories to showcase the tangible impact of philanthropy on education and society,” Jaumont suggested.

“This will attract more local and international support, ensuring the long-term sustainability of their initiatives,” he pointed out.

Jaumont said conclusions from his book, Unequal Partners: American Foundations and Higher Education Development in Africa suggested that African universities should focus on building internal capacity, particularly in governance and management.

“This is critical for establishing credibility with donors,” he noted.

“Moreover, higher education institutions should highlight their unique socio-economic contributions to appeal to local and international philanthropists,” Jaumont suggested.

“One significant challenge is that most funding goes to anglophone countries, meaning francophone and lusophone higher education institutions must work harder to increase visibility and partnerships,” Jaumont noted.

Africanised system

Thaver also warned against treating Africa as a homogeneous region, as regional and cultural differences impact on giving.

“In this sense, it might be useful to segment regions of the continent, although I hesitate to use the colonial constructs of anglophone, francophone, lusophone.

“In other words, one has to get ‘inside’ African universities rather than impose a Western-based instrument to identify the nature of giving.”

Call for collective action

A consequence of the nature of philanthropic giving in Africa is that institutions are not benefiting greatly from philanthropic giving.

“Relatively little of the philanthropic bonanza is reaching Africa’s higher education sector. In part, this reflects the smaller African pool of large-scale philanthropic funders,” Wigley pointed out.

“In trying to research and, therefore, prepare Africa to handle the big global challenges of the 21st century – climate change, poverty and inequality, urbanisation and governance – Africa’s universities warrant a greater slice of the philanthropic cake,” he said.

He believes that greater collaboration may be needed.

“The collective voice of university rectors and vice-chancellors about the challenges higher education institutions face, including [the] decline in public funding and ageing infrastructures, needs to be better heard across Africa and internationally.

“There’s a powerful moral argument they can deploy. Collective action is likely to be taken seriously. This is something that could begin with ARUA – the African Research Universities Alliance,” Wigley suggested.

“Higher education leaders also need to be prepared to invest more resources into development and fundraising expertise. It’s a very difficult decision to have to make when financial resources are scarce.

“Global philanthropy needs to shift away from funding African-related projects sitting in the Global North. This continues to disadvantage African-based researchers,” Wigley pointed out.