How One NGO Flipped Philanthropy On Its Head To Create Better Results

Every year, philanthropists send $50 billion-plus in aid to Africa, but very little goes directly to local communities in need. Organizations and funders use a top-down approach, imposing a pre-defined program on communities, instead of asking local communities what they need and investing in community-driven solutions. Kennedy Odede wanted to change that when he founded Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO).

Odede’s success is nothing short of transformational, with SHOFCO impacting 2.4 million people each year and winning dozens of awards for its work impact. Odede himself was honored as one of TIME100’s Most Influential People of 2024.

I recently had the chance to interview Odede and learn how he has flipped philanthropy on its head to create better results. A key theme? SHOFCO’s work is grounded in collaborating with local leaders and community-based organizations to create sustainable change.

A Community-Based Approach To Philanthropy

Kennedy Odede grew up as a street child in Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, where he witnessed extreme poverty firsthand. Odede observed that “Most international organizations have the right intentions when it comes to development, but their approach often doesn’t have the intended impact. One reason is that outside funders and organizations often use a single-entry point, like education or nutrition. The reality is all of these challenges intersect and require a holistic approach to truly succeed.”

Odede’s idea?

Create a collaborative, community-based organization working on the ground at the grassroots level that truly understands the interconnectedness of the issues.

He shares why SHOFCO has been so successful, stating, “Sustainable change comes from giving people agency and investing in collaborative, community-driven solutions. When change is driven from the local level, it is truly in tune with the needs of a community, leading to lasting change.”

Shifting Power To Drive Impact

One reason SHOFCO has been so successful is because Odede has insisted on rethinking how success is measured in philanthropy. “Success metrics are often defined by scale and model replication. The problem is this doesn’t factor in where the greatest need is and the type of programs each community needs,” explains Odede.

Odede believes funders must work with local leaders and organizations to define success together in a way that aligns with what will be most impactful for the community. When funders trust local leaders, they are more likely to treat them as equal partners — this is where the power begins to shift.

Local organizations are significantly more cost-efficient and can have a greater impact by nature of their deep and trusted networks in the communities they serve.

By putting international dollars toward community-based organizations, funders would acknowledge the impact of community-based organizations and shift funds toward amplifying their work. Community-based organizations are able to design and execute the initiatives they know will work when they’re given more power and agency.

Amplifying Critical Work Through Partnerships

Odede believes a second success factor is SHOFCO’s approach to building collaborative partnerships with community-based organizations. “Our collaboration is key to allowing us to reach the most vulnerable populations and amplify critical work already being done by trusted and capable local organizations,” shares Odede.

One example is their partnership with Gifted Hands, an informal school operating in Kibera that serves children whose families cannot afford school fees. The majority of children in Kenya’s slums go to these informal schools, and SHOFCO is working with them to adapt their school curriculum to better meet the needs of the tens of thousands of ultra-poor students they are serving.

SHOFCO’s holistic approach targets the whole student, providing clean water, WASH Clubs that deliver a Ministry of Health-approved curriculum on hygiene and menstrual hygiene curriculum.

Breaking Survival Mode To Build A Better Future

SHOFCO’s collaborative and holistic approach has received international recognition. Kennedy was appointed by administrator Samantha Power to the USAID Advisory Committee and is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum and a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. While personal recognition is nice, Odede says the real success is SHOFCO’s positive impact of reaching 2.4 million people each year.

Odede points to Joan Adhiambo as an example of what can happen when you approach philanthropy with a bottom-up, collaborative approach. When Adhiambo enrolled her daughter at SHOFCO’s School for Girls, she was doing odd jobs like laundry. Most days, she made enough money to provide her family with one meal.

Adhiambo joined SHOFCO’s Women Empowerment Program (SWEP), which provides business training, financial support and job opportunities to women living in the country’s slums. Through the SWEP program, Adhiambo learned tailoring, detergent-making and bead-making. The training and support helped her and a friend from the program launch a small business.

Adhiambo went from extreme poverty to providing her family with three meals a day and money to pay school fees for her children. She also bought land to build a home from her savings and acquired a loan from SHOFCO’s economic empowerment program.

The program’s benefits include paying it forward. Adhiambo’s daughter graduated from SHOFCO’s School for Girls, a meaningful achievement in a country where less than 20% of teenage girls complete high school, and is now in college in the United States.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line should be that philanthropists around the world should seek to learn from Kennedy Odede. While good things happen, the result is a more sustainable impact and the gradual, positive transformation of the world’s most vulnerable communities.