African CSOs are on the frontlines of development in Africa, yet their contributions remain largely invisible. EPIC-Africa compiled this report to bring attention to African civil society organizations - what they do, how they do it, and the organizational challenges that prevent them from achieving greater impact. This information is vital for individuals and organizations seeking to meaningfully engage with African CSOs.
Click on the image below to read the full report.
- Forty-five (45) organizations have been selected out of close to 400 applicants from 46 African countries
- The Awards highlight the importance of organizational capacity for civil society
organizations to achieve program impact
- Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are awarded for excellence across eight (8) major
categories of organizational capacity
DAKAR, Sénégal, 26 February, 2019/--EPIC-Africa, the pan-African organization using innovations in technology to bring greater visibility and transparency to the African philanthropy sector, has today announced the 45 organizations long-listed for the African CSO Excellence Awards. The 45 CSOs were selected from close to 400 applicants hailing from 46 African countries.
“These 45 organizations represent the width and breadth of the African civil society sector with applicants from 13 countries and working on all major issues impacting the continent such as Conflict resolution, education, water, sanitation and health . These CSOs stand out because of their commitment to organizational excellence as evidenced by their performance across the eight main indicators”, explained Adwoa Agyeman, co-founder of EPIC-Africa.
The Awards, launched in 2018 with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, highlight the importance of organizational capacity to achieve program impact. They showcase civil society organizations who demonstrate excellence across eight key elements of organizational capacity: Strategic Ability and Adaptability, Leadership and Governance, Financial Health and Management, Human Resources and Staff Development, Operations, Communications, Partnerships and Alliances and Monitoring and Evaluation.
Rose Maruru, co-founder of EPIC-Africa added, “We are excited to see that African CSOs from 46 countries ranging in size and focus chose to participate in this inaugural edition of the African CSO Excellence Awards. The 45 CSOs on our long-list represent the best in organizational excellence and are a great example of best practices in key areas such as strategic ability, leadership and financial management. We are delighted to bring more visibility to their work.”
The rigorous selection process for the African CSO Excellence Awards will see a further shortlisting to 27 CSOs by mid-March. The final winners across each category and the overall winner will be given the opportunity to fundraise on the international GlobalGiving Platform, benefit from a series of capacity building workshops, increase their media visibility and participate in networking opportunities through the African CSO Excellence Awards community.
Media contact
Chakera McIntosh
Communications Specialist
EPIC-Africa
About EPIC-Africa
EPIC-Africa seeks to enhance philanthropic impact by filling critical data and capacity gaps in the philanthropic market infrastructure in Africa. We envisage a vibrant philanthropic ecosystem with diverse, influential, sustainable African civil society groups at the center. EPIC-Africa contributes to this transformative vision by enabling: Greater visibility, increased resources, widespread communication, more diversified and steady funding, transparency, accountability and a resilient ecosystem. For more information, visit www.epic-africa.org
African Civil Society Organization (CSO) Excellence Awards Announces Panel of Evaluators
DAKAR, Sénégal, December 7, 2018-- EPIC-Africa (www.epic-africa.org), the pan-African organization using innovations in technology to bring greater visibility and transparency to the African philanthropy sector, has today announced the evaluators for the inaugural edition of the African Civil Society Organization(CSO) Excellence Awards.The African CSO Excellence Awards is a joint initiative between EPIC-Africa (www.epic-africa.org) and the Rockefeller Foundation (www.rockfound.org). The Awards highlight the importance of organizational capacity to achieve program impact and showcase African civil society organizations who demonstrate organizational excellence despite daunting challenges.
The evaluation panel will be chaired by Mamadou Biteye, the Rockefeller Foundation’s Managing Director for Africa, and includes: COO for the Ecobank Foundation, Carl Manlan; Founder and Managing Director of Busara Africa, Taaka Awori; Vice-President for Programs at Co-Impact, Rakesh Rajani; Grants & Partnership Officer for the TY Danjuma Foundation, Gima H. Forje; Organizational Effectiveness Expert, CR Hibbs; Program Officer for the Southern Africa office of the Ford Foundation,Vuyiswa Sidzumo and Product Designer Kennedy Kirui from iHUB Kenya.
Full bios and images of the evaluators can be found here.
Adwoa Agyeman, co-founder of EPIC-Africa, says:
“The evaluation panel for this year’s award is a stellar group of practitioners and thinkers in African philanthropy today. They are committed to strengthening African civil society organizations and using technology to bring innovation and dynamism to a sector that is so essential to Africa’s advancement. They are all recognized experts among donors, program officers, technology specialists and organizational effectiveness researchers.”
The evaluators will award Excellence prizes in each of the eight main indicators of organizational capacity:Strategic Ability and Adaptability, Leadership and Governance, Financial Health and Management, Human Resources and Staff Development, Operations, Communications, Partnerships and Alliances, and Monitoring and Evaluation. An overall prize is also awarded to the Civil Society Organization who shows exemplary success across all indicators.
Mamadou Biteye, chair of the evaluation panel, says:
“Organizational effectiveness is one of the major factors contributing to program impact and the sustainability of CSOs in Africa. I am honored to be a part of this panel with its unique mix of skills and expertise. I look forward to looking at the key indicators of organizational excellence with my fellow evaluators and helping to set the standards for transparency and impact that are so essential to ensuring stable organizations can carry out their missions for transformative change in Africa.”
Key dates:The African CSO Excellence Awards are open until December 31, 2018. Candidates will be shortlisted between January and March 2019 with the final winners announced in April 2019.
To get the most up-to-date news on the awards, follow EPIC-Africa on Twitter and Facebook or visit the website:African CSO Excellence Awards.
Media contacts
Chakera McIntosh
Communications Lead
EPIC-Africa
Achieng’ Otieno
Communications Officer
The Rockefeller Foundation, Africa Regional Office
About EPIC-Africa
EPIC-Africa seeks to enhance philanthropic impact by filling critical data and capacity gaps in the philanthropic market infrastructure in Africa. We envisage a vibrant philanthropic ecosystem with diverse, influential, sustainable African civil society groups at the center. EPIC-Africa contributes to this transformative vision by enabling: Greater visibility, increased resources, widespread communication, more diversified and steady funding, transparency, accountability and a resilient ecosystem. For more information, visit www.epic-africa.org
About The Rockefeller Foundation
For more than 100 years, The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission has been to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Today the Foundation is focused on securing the fundamentals of human well-being—health, food, power, and jobs—to ensure every family experiences dignity and opportunity in our rapidly urbanizing world. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot—or will not. For more information, visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.
- The Awards highlight the importance of organizational capacity for civil society organizations to achieve program impact.
- Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are awarded for excellence across eight (8) major elements of organizational capacity
- Applications for the African CSO Excellence Awards are now open
DAKAR, Sénégal, 16 October, 2018/--EPIC-Africa, with the support of The Rockefeller Foundation has today launched the call for applications for the first African CSO Excellence Awards. The Awards highlight the importance of organizational capacity to achieve program impact, and showcase civil society organizations who demonstrate excellence across eight key elements of organizational capacity: Strategic Ability and Adaptability, Leadership and Governance, Financial Health and Management, Human Resources and Staff Development, Operations, Communications, Partnerships and Alliances and Monitoring and Evaluation.
The awards are now open to civil society groups across Africa to apply for the opportunity to fundraise on the international GlobalGiving Platform, benefit from a series of capacity building workshops, increase their media visibility and participate in networking opportunities through the African CSO Excellence Awards community.
EPIC-Africa is at the forefront of the charge to strengthen the infrastructure that supports civil society organizations and to deepen philanthropic impact in Africa. Mamadou Biteye, Managing Director of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Africa Office said, “As a major development partner in Africa, it is imperative that we invest in initiatives that highlight the importance of organizational capacity for program impact. We are delighted to support EPIC-Africa in this innovative approach to map the pan-African CSO sector and showcase the highest standards of organizational excellence among CSOs in Africa. These awards will also expand the opportunity for increased partnerships among key organizations on the continent, for greater impact.”
Rose Maruru, co-founder of EPIC-Africa added, “We are pleased to launch these awards to showcase the EPIC work that CSOs are doing all across Africa and make the case for ever more support for organizational capacity. This will allow CSOs to continue to be catalysts for the transformational change that our continent needs.” Africa has the youngest population in the world. According to the UNDP, by 2055, the continent’s youth population (aged 15-24), is expected to be more than double the 2015 total of 226 million.
Adwoa Agyeman, co-founder of EPIC-Africa commented that “Africa will be relying heavily on the CSO sector over the next few decades to truly maximize its demographic dividend.” She added that “it will take concerted effort around key areas such as education, healthcare, employability, governance and human rights to reshape the continent. We know that CSOs cannot fully deliver on Africa’s promise to its young people when they have, among others, financing, human resources, and communications challenges to deal with on a daily basis. We are committed therefore to highlighting those who are thriving despite difficult circumstances and to share their approaches so that others can also learn.”
The African CSO Excellence Awards are open until December 31, 2018. Candidates will be shortlisted between January and March 2019 with the final winners announced in April 2019.
Media contacts
Chakera McIntosh
Communications Specialist, EPIC-Africa cmcintosh@epic-africa.org
Achieng’ Otieno
Communications Officer, The Rockefeller Foundation Africa Regional Office aotieno@rockfound.org
About EPIC-Africa
EPIC-Africa seeks to enhance philanthropic impact by filling critical data and capacity gaps in the philanthropic market infrastructure in Africa. We envisage a vibrant philanthropic ecosystem with diverse, influential, sustainable African civil society groups at the center. EPICAfrica contributes to this transformative vision by enabling: Greater visibility, increased resources, widespread communication, more diversified and steady funding, transparency, accountability and a resilient ecosystem. For more information, visit www.epic-africa.org
About The Rockefeller Foundation
For more than 100 years, The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission has been to promote the wellbeing of humanity throughout the world. Today the Foundation is focused on securing the fundamentals of human well-being—health, food, power, and jobs—to ensure every family experiences dignity and opportunity in our rapidly urbanizing world. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot—or will not. For more information, visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.
