Private trusts and foundations with no staff or with small staff structures seldom get to share their expertise, experience and challenges with each other.

Over a working lunch, common issues were tabled at a gathering of 19 representatives from local foundations at Inyathelo on the 25th March 2009. Initiated by Bill Frankel of the Claude Leon Foundation, philanthropists and foundation staffers discussed the issues on which they would like to see more co-operation and sharing of information between local foundations. All face similar challenges around selection of credible grantees, quality of reporting, and evaluation of grant impact, participants were in agreement about the value of a Foundation Forum. Inyathelo will be conducting a follow-up with participants to identify key issues for future discussions, taking their cue that the Forum needs to avoid being simply a talk-shop.

By Gaby Ritchie, Inyathelo Programme Director
gaby@inyathelo.co.za