IS BRANDING PHILANTHROPY IN AFRICA POSSIBLE?
IS BRANDING PHILANTHROPY IN AFRICA POSSIBLE?
Tuesday, 28 July 2009 10:11
NGOs and Charitable organizations do a lot of important work on scarce resources. As the world goes through even tougher times, there is need for NGO’s and charitable organizations to attract funds from a wider array of funders – including corporates and individuals, therefore tapping into philanthropy. But is philanthropy positioned as a way of life in Africa? Is it positioned in people’s minds as something that everyone can be part of? In many cases, philanthropy is mentioned with a negative tone. How can Philanthropy be rebranded to be something that people – especially in Africa – believe in and make their way of life? This was the discussion at a forum convened by branding think tank Brandscape Africa Foundation, which was attended by a variety of professionals.
Commencing with a look at the current situation, participants opined that International NGO’s paint a very sad and negative image of Africa so as to get funding. In the west these organizations are referred to as aid and relief agencies. They report back terms of how much they are giving yet a big chunk of the funds does not get to the right people and make small successes look big yet the amount of money spent on the actual project is many times less than 50% of the funds, as the rest goes into administration and other costs. According to Reba Asila, Training and Development Officer at World Vision Somalia, the culture is a culture that constrains the effectiveness of small NGO’s looking for funding. “They cannot be sure when the funds will come and when it finally does, they have to put aside a large amount to cater for a year of running costs. They also have to set up and hire people and six months are gone before the actual work begins. The largest NGO’s that have a secure financial base are able to run much more easily and efficiently.”
Why don’t we give?
In the third world, philanthropy is seen as something that only the very rich can afford to do and people are struggling to meet their own basics before they can think of helping others. But during crises such as the IDP situation, people came out to give in large numbers. Interestingly, most NGO’s that do their fundraising in the west do so through individuals who give just a dollar a day. There is a need for organizations that focus on raising funds locally to enable Africa to do the same, but the challenge would be changing the entire mentality of giving.
Michael Mithika, director of J.M. Mantle & Co. Ltd. felt that it’s an issue of culture. “We don’t have the systems that take care of people to the extent that we can think of taking care of those we don’t know. In Europe, for example, the government takes care of education, health etc. so people there can afford to give easily. Our wealth here is not monetized (easily transferred). We are wealthy and rich but it is tied up in inefficient markets and we have a young government. A country like South Africa may have good structures in place yet their level of philanthropy is similar to ours due to the fact that the white population controls 80% of their wealth. Philanthropy is also more pronounced in countries with secure governments and economies because there is less risk of needing savings.”
Dancan Muhindi, communications officer at FSD Kenya cited evangelists as an example of people who raise funds locally and have a very loyal following. “NGO’s like evangelists need to clearly define their cause in order to attract people to give.”
Communication gap?
Al Kags, head of marketing and partnerships at KCDF wondered if there was a gap in the marketing and communication efforts by NGO’s which caused the middle class who have the ability to give regularly, to give only during crisis situations. Participants agreed that NGO’s need to come up with an appropriate vehicle; a package that is indigenous and consistent; a package compelling enough to make people give. Esther Mburu of Brandscape felt that NGO’s are probably not doing enough to communicate who they are and what cause they are working toward. “Trust is a big issue and NGO’s need to speak more openly about their operations and even publish their financial statements. They can manage to raise funds right here; they are just not doing it.”
Jebet Chemng’orem-Ahluwalia, managing director of Grey Owl, a brand design agency, was of the opinion that it is hard to give, especially when there is an obvious shortfall on the government’s part. “NGO’s need to get rid of the image of sad and helpless people and make it something more proactive in terms of providing lasting solutions for communities.” Maureen Odera of Brandscape gave the jigger campaign as a good example of an NGO speaking openly about the difference they are making as a way of attracting philanthropy.
Lacking resources?
The participants however noted that with a middle class amounting to only about 1% of the Kenyan population, the critical numbers for people to give as individuals is lacking. The rural areas which used to be considered the bread basket are now increasingly relying on urbanites to support them, with more people receiving than sending money through M-pesa. It is therefore probably not realistic to brand NGO’s. However, it was interesting to note that young Kenyans spend up to 190 billion shillings annually on entertainment, demonstrating that it is not a lack of resources that hinders philanthropy locally.
Even as things get economically worse in Africa, they are getting worse in the West and so external resources are drying up. The non profit sector therefore has a heavier burden in sourcing for funds. The group felt that NGO’s could do better by adopting marketing models of companies by reaching out to specific target audiences and communicating clearly to build up trust. They would also need to work on their research and operations to reduce overheads, as well as come up with innovation in marketing and delivery to ultimately enable them to do things better and cheaper.
This article was written by a member of the Brandscape team.
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