Why The Report, “Conversations with Africa Grantmakers” Matters: A Legacy of Insight
Africa Grantmakers’ Affinity Group (AGAG) offered something rare: a trusted space for grantmaking professionals funding in Africa to have conversations they couldn’t have anywhere else. As the only U.S.-based affinity group for funders supporting communities across Africa, AGAG fostered a unique space where grantmakers could reflect on their roles, share hard-earned insights, and navigate challenges together.
When AGAG decided to conclude its work, we launched the AGAG Legacy Project—our final effort to preserve and share two decades of learning. Through this project, we curated our archives and created digital and print resources, including our signature podcast documentary, The Story of AGAG. The series draws on interviews with twenty practitioners who helped shape the network and its evolution.
One of the centerpiece publications of the Legacy Project is Conversations with Africa Grantmakers: Reflections on Navigating Roles and Relationships. This report is a rare, honest look at the lived experiences of grantmaking practitioners. As Andrea Johnson, former Program Officer at Carnegie Corporation of New York, shared during her podcast interview:
“I'm a fan of the research projects, and I think the knowledge that has been generated about funding and the modes of funding has been important…I think the [Conversations with Africa Grantmakers] comes closest to documenting what people have learned in their experience in grantmaking in Africa. What are some hard truths that you learned or obstacles that you overcame, that’s what I think is usually lost….”
This publication centers the voices of a diverse group of experienced grantmaking professionals. Practitioners from different countries, backgrounds, and types of funding organizations talk candidly about their career paths, evolving roles, and their perspectives on the grantmaking process. They reflect on perennial challenges discussed throughout AGAG’s existence—such as power dynamics, navigating institutional hierarchies, and the tension between internal decision-making and external communities.
“[This] is one of those reports that I wish everyone in the field would read, because I think what's being said is salient to whether you're funding in Pretoria, or Paris or anywhere else," said Steven Lawrence, Independent Consultant, who co-authored the report, and remarked about its relevance to grantmaking practitioners and the field. “I think of it like meeting up with a colleague over coffee and having a candid chat about the realities of doing the work in communities as well as moving agendas within your own institution,” he said.
These conversations offer a rare glimpse behind the curtain. Grantmaking practitioners are often reluctant to speak publicly about how hiring and funding decisions are really made. But AGAG’s community — predominately program staff, or as we affectionately called them, the “worker bees” of funding organizations—brought candor and insights to the table. They are generally the main point of contact for those seeking funding and, mistakenly, are often thought to be the ones making the funding decisions. However, the amount of power they have in influencing funding decisions differs within and across funding organizations. Conversations with Africa Grantmakers shines a light on the challenges program staff encounter as frontline connectors, managing relationships, identifying alignment, and often translating context for leadership who may not have deep knowledge of the communities being served. They also describe their role as intermediaries in identifying and communicating what “aligned interests” really mean.
AGAG’s annual meetings and other convenings were spaces where “hard truths” could be named and identified “obstacles that you overcame,” said Andrea Johnson in her interview. Practitioners sought advice, gained perspectives, and created bonds between generations of grantmaking colleagues. Conversations with Africa Grantmakers capture this spirit. It reveals the complexity, creativity, and critical thinking practitioners bring to the work—and the obstacles they quietly overcome.
We included Conversations with Africa Grantmakers in the AGAG Legacy Project because there is simply nothing else like it. It speaks directly to those doing the work, will resonate with experienced grantmakers and provide useful insights for those new to the field, ensuring that what is usually lost—those personal, unfiltered insights—are finally heard. It’s a revealing read. We hope you’ll explore it.
