The Power and Potential of Faith-Based Collaboration: Lessons for African Philanthropy

In many parts of Africa, faith-based organizations are the backbone of community support systems.

They run schools, hospitals, food programmes, and emergency responses, often in places where state institutions are thin or absent.

Yet despite their deep community roots and wide reach, many of these organizations operate in silos.

They compete for limited resources, duplicate efforts, and often lack the structures needed to work together for larger collective impact.

But what if there was a better way? What if collaboration, not competition, were the default mode?

A recent webinar hosted by the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at Indiana University brought together leaders from U.S.-based Muslim-led nonprofits to discuss how collaboration can drive long-term success in the nonprofit sector.

The conversation, titled Maximise Impact: Harnessing the Power of Nonprofit Collaborations, explored key strategies for sustainable partnerships—insights that could resonate with nonprofit leaders across different philanthropic spaces.

The experience, although rooted in a U.S. context, speaks powerfully to the realities of African philanthropy and the role of religiously rooted civil society in building social resilience.

Collaboration Isn’t Natural. It Must Be Built.

One of the central takeaways from the webinar was that collaboration is not automatic—even among like-minded, mission-driven groups. It requires effort, intention, and a safe space where organizations can learn to trust one another.

The insights were from participating in the Community Collaboration Initiative (CCI), a three-year project that united 25 Muslim-led organizations in the U.S. to explore structured ways of working together.

The initiative, which ran from 2020 to 2022, was funded by the WF Fund and coordinated by a leadership team that prioritized structure over assumption.

Instead of leaving collaboration to chance, participating organizations were placed into focused clusters—or cohorts—based on thematic areas. Each group was supported by a trained facilitator.

This design made space for consistent dialogue, joint reflection, and trust-building activities.

The process encouraged them to first understand one another—how they worked, what challenges they faced, and what values they brought to the table.

 In the beginning, organizations were cautious. Many had only interacted with each other at a surface level—through public events, statements, or seasonal campaigns.

But deep collaboration demands something different. It requires sharing internal struggles, financial constraints, and even institutional vulnerabilities.

For that to happen, there must be a foundation of trust.

This insight is especially critical for Africa, where faith-based nonprofits, whether church-run health centers in rural Kenya or Islamic relief groups in northern Nigeria, are often close to the communities they serve, but far from each other.

They may share common concerns—poverty, youth unemployment, gender inequality—but address them in parallel rather than in partnership.

 The webinar emphasized that creating structured and facilitated cohorts allows organizations to open up, align, and co-create in ways that would otherwise not occur.

Beyond Meetings: The Value of Informal Bonds

The collaboration model also emphasized the value of informal, relationship-building spaces.

Some of the strongest partnerships did not emerge in formal Zoom meetings or grant reports.

They began in WhatsApp groups, virtual happy hours, or “non-agenda” sessions where people could simply connect.

In a philanthropic culture that often prioritizes metrics and deliverables, this may seem trivial.

But in contexts marked by mistrust, competition, and institutional fragility, informal spaces can be the glue that holds partnerships together.

These are the places where leaders let their guard down, discover shared values, and explore collaboration not as a requirement, but as a possibility.

In Africa, where the culture of oral tradition and communal engagement runs deep, the lesson is especially relevant.

Faith-based organizations might find that true partnership starts not in formal memoranda of understanding, but in tea breaks, joint prayer sessions, or shared local experiences.

Donors, funders, and umbrella networks should recognize and invest in these relational processes, not just the outputs they lead to.

The Cost of Misalignment

Another critical insight from the discussion was the importance of proper alignment.

When organizations are placed into collaborative groups that do not match their mission or expertise, collaboration stalls.

 One participant shared how their nonprofit, initially placed in a group focused on service delivery, struggled to connect.

Their work was in civic advocacy and policy change—a different rhythm and strategy. It was only after being moved to a more aligned cohort that meaningful collaboration began.

This story mirrors challenges faced by many African nonprofits, especially smaller or newer ones, who get slotted into networks or partnerships based more on geography or faith identity than strategic focus.

Faith-based organizations are not homogeneous. A Christian youth empowerment initiative in Uganda will have different capacities and priorities than a Catholic-run HIV programme in Lesotho.

Assuming they can collaborate because they share a faith identity misses the complexity of their missions.

Funders and conveners in Africa must therefore pay close attention to the dynamics of alignment. Effective collaboration requires more than goodwill.

It requires matching organizations in ways that reflect both their current capabilities and their future ambitions. This is not just a matter of effectiveness—it is also a matter of dignity and respect.

Resource Scarcity and the Need for Stewardship

Another theme that resonated strongly with the African context was the scarcity of resources.

The webinar participants also shared how their communities are often underfunded, with less than four cents of every philanthropic dollar reaching Asian-American organizations.

This sense of marginalization in the funding ecosystem pushes organizations to fight for limited support rather than collaborate.

The parallels in Africa are obvious. While the continent is rich in community energy and local initiative, it is often poor in institutional funding.

Faith-based groups operate under tremendous financial pressure, relying on small donations, diaspora remittances, or short-term donor grants.

In such environments, collaboration may seem like a luxury—or even a threat to survival.

Yet the webinar discussion flipped this logic. It showed that collaboration can be a pathway to sustainability.

When groups pool resources, share infrastructure, and reduce duplication, they can do more with less. When they approach funders together, they can access larger grants that none could reach alone.

This is an important message for African philanthropic actors.

Stewardship is not just about stretching a budget, it is about strategic partnerships that increase the impact of every shilling, every dollar, every rand.

Rethinking Funders’ Role

The session also explored how funders themselves need to change. One innovation was a “year of learning” approach—an intentional pause in grant-making to better understand how systemic inequities shape funding patterns.

This reflective model encouraged funders to look beyond short-term results and examine how their systems may unintentionally perpetuate exclusion.

For African funders—whether large family foundations, faith-based trusts, or regional intermediaries—this offers a powerful example.

Too often, funding decisions are made without a deep understanding of power dynamics, language barriers, or the historical exclusion of certain groups.

Reflective practice and humility on the part of donors are essential for inclusive philanthropy. Moreover, funders must do more than write cheques.

They must act as enablers of collaboration—creating safe spaces for dialogue, incentivizing joint work, and supporting the soft infrastructure (like convening, mediation, and technical assistance) that makes collaboration work.

A Framework for African Action

So, what would it look like to apply these lessons in an African context?

• Create thematic, facilitated cohorts of faith-based organizations working on similar issues—education, health, climate, advocacy—to foster trust and coordination.
• Invest in relationship-building processes, not just project implementation. Fund convenings, peer-learning trips, and informal engagements.
• Align partners carefully, based on mission and capacity, not just faith or region.
• Support pooled funding models, where multiple faith-based groups can access joint grants for collaborative action.
• Encourage funders to engage in reflective practice—examining how their priorities, timelines, and reporting systems may hinder effective collaboration.
• Celebrate and share stories of successful collaboration across the continent to inspire others.

Faith-based organizations have long been at the heart of African resilience. But their power can grow exponentially when they work together.

The experiences, as explored in the webinar, shows that collaboration is not only possible—it is essential. And with the right structures, support, and mindset, African philanthropy can harness that same spirit to build a more connected, equitable, and impactful sector.