African Gifting: Pluralising the Concept of Philanthropy

Beyond the professionalized nongovernmental organization: Life‐history narratives of grassroots philanthropic leaders in Africa

“…Indeed, even with a vision of modernity, Fechter and Schwittay (2019) suggest that potentially these types of aid “initiatives disrupt the traditional North–South divisions” (p. 1772). African philanthropy has gained more attention in the literature in recent years (e.g., Aina & Moyo, 2013; Fowler & Mati, 2019; Moyo, 2011; Moyo & Ramsamy, 2014) and it is proposed that philanthropy will play a greater means to support development in Africa (Kumi, 2019). Scholars observe that philanthropy in Africa can at times overshadow African philanthropy.…”

“…Arguably, African philanthropy's neglect in the field of nonprofit and philanthropic studies is a result of its mismatch “to external vocabularies and meanings” (Fowler & Mati, 2019, p. 724). Indeed, like the work of small voluntary organizations and other fourth pillar aid actors in development, everyday giving in Africa falls at the peripheries of the field's research agenda and often is incompatible with the “overly narrow western conceptions and normative interpretations” (Fowler & Mati, 2019, p. 725; see also Moyo & Ramsamy, 2014). Many highlight terms such as giving or helping, or even better “solidarity and reciprocity” as descriptors for African philanthropy (e.g., Moyo, 2011; Moyo & Ramsamy, 2014).…”

Gifting and philanthropy environment in contemporary Kenya : agency and structural determinants

“…Consequently, in the highly communally interconnected Kenyan communities, giving is also part of an individual's duty to self and the community. Because reciprocity and obligation are inherently embedded in a gift, it also serves to maintain individuals' standing within the community, risk sharing, and self-reproduction (Aina, 2013;Mati, 2017;Fowler and Mati, 2019). The result is an ontological difficulty in delineating motives for giving into clear and separate constitutive elements of the gifting habitus.…”

“…Existing philanthropy practices in Kenya are also conditioned by politics and policy. Among others, Fowler and Mati (2019) and Aina (2013) have illustrated the objective customary adaptations in gifting from the colonial to contemporary era political situations in Africa. Such adaptations are in accord with Bourdieu's argument that "habitus tends to adjust to new fields automatically, but gets augmented through infused forms of capital, or vital goods and resources needed for positions of power" or resistance (Chandler, 2013, p. 472).…”

“…This suggests moral individualism (Sanghera, 2011) in politicians' instrumental rational orientation in their gifting practices as they appropriate economic capital to ascend to, or maintain, their positions of power and privilege. Consequently, this form of giving is agonistic (Mauss, 1990;Fowler and Mati, 2019) as politicians jostle to use gifts to edge out competitors (Wanyama, 2002), suggesting a distinction in the social position of politicians and the gifts they give. The ethics, morality, and accountability of gifting and philanthropy practices have therefore been transformed, as gifts of politicians became vital resources for securing power.…”