Thinking big: Community philanthropy and management of large-scale assets

Abstract

Community philanthropy institutions have become increasingly popular - especially in the Global South, where they serve to harness local assets, cultivate local capacities, and build trust among diverse stakeholders. As resource extraction continues to reach into remote areas and other large-scale industries (e.g. solar energy, agroforestry) grow, pressure on resources and the rights of communities will intensify. This article presents three case studies - from Ghana, the U.S., and Canada - to examine how community philanthropy might scale up to support community-asset management and increase the power of communities to determine their own development with much greater and more complex financial investments.