Social Solidarity and Philanthropy in African Contexts

What is it about?

This article is about the sense of mutual responsibility, shared identity, and collective care that binds people together in families, clans, neighborhoods, and faith communities, and that shapes how and why they help one another. Key points: • Philanthropy in African societies cannot be understood only as formal charity or foundations, but must be seen in relation to everyday practices of reciprocity, cooperation, and communal support. • Social solidarity in this article points to the bonds that hold groups together, such as kinship ties, ethnic and village connections, religious communities, and informal associations like savings groups or burial societies. • The authors highlight that social solidarity is central to understanding philanthropy in African contexts, showing how giving and helping are woven into social relationships, obligations, and shared understandings of what it means to be a good member of the community. • The authors emphasize that African philanthropy often happens outside registered nonprofits: through family remittances, rotating credit groups, communal labor, and local mutual aid for school fees, funerals, or emergencies.

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Photo by Nappy on Unsplash

Photo by Nappy on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This article is important because it broadens how people think about philanthropy by showing that African practices of mutual aid, reciprocity, and collective care are central forms of “giving,” not just background culture. It also centers African ways of giving by explaining that helping others often happens through informal support systems. By naming these practices as philanthropy, it challenges narrow, Western-centered definitions that focus mainly on large monetary donations to registered organizations. For practitioners and policymakers, the article underlines that effective social programs in Africa need to work with existing community networks of trust, obligation, and shared responsibility, not around or against them. Recognizing these solidarity-based systems can lead to policies and partnerships that strengthen local resilience and reduce dependence on external actors, aligning with broader calls to center African philanthropy in development agendas.