The Kenya Philanthropy Forum (KPF) is pleased to announce its upcoming in-person convening, themed ‘‘Community Narratives: A Tool for Empowerment and Building Influence.” Slated for 21st March 2024 at Kusyombunguo Hotels, Makueni, this event aims to unite philanthropy partners to share best practices and engage in dialogue to fortify community philanthropy across East Africa.

Philanthropy plays a critical role in the narrative ecosystem. Funders need to make sustained contributions to narrative power building across generations because this is the point where narrative change takes place. In addition to making long-term, unrestricted grants—a practice that grantmakers can adopt immediately—funders provide resources in a way that centers the ecosystem rather than individual organizations.

Philanthropy approaches narrative as a technical field, rather than seeing it as a strategy that gives the best results when it is grounded in relational organizing. Gatherings such as the Confluence are key, as they bring us together and strengthen our bonds, which in turn helps us to create and share stories that empower our communities and foster leadership.

Narratives are deeply held beliefs that shape how people interpret and construct the world. They are meaning-making systems of knowledge, emotions, observations, and experiences that legitimate what people believe to be true (in the past and present) and possible (in the future). Narrative Power is the ability to determine which meaning-making systems people use to interpret and construct the world, while Narrative Infrastructure represents a decentralized network of dynamic relationships that collaborate to create the conditions for building this narrative power. It involves people, knowledge, skills, tools, systems, and practices that enable individuals, organizations, and networks to strategize, coordinate, and act in a unified way across different issues, identities, sectors, and borders.

Philanthropy works at a time when independent storytellers, innovators, and initiatives driving movements are gaining widespread acceptance, influence, and generous support. Accordingly, this forum aims to: 

• Foster enduring partnerships and collaborative networks that strengthen community ties.
• Challenge and change behaviors that promote exclusivity and competition, such as favoring    certain organizations, pitting groups against each other, and discouraging collective action.
• Embrace a holistic approach that deepens our understanding of the narrative field, builds trust with those creating change, and promotes the widespread sharing of knowledge and resources for more balanced and inclusive progress.

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