Africa Grantmakers’ Affinity Group Donates Materials to IU Indianapolis’ Philanthropic Studies Archives
Legacy materials collected over decades of work promoting effective and responsive philanthropy benefiting African communities will be preserved.
New York, March 4, 2025 - The Africa Grantmakers’ Affinity Group (AGAG), a project of the Tides Center, has gifted its archives to the Philanthropic Studies Archives at the Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives at Indiana University, Indianapolis.
AGAG is the first philanthropy affinity group to gift its records and the only American philanthropy affinity group focusing exclusively on Africa. In 2023, after more than two decades of promoting responsive philanthropy benefiting African communities, AGAG announced its decision to conclude its work. To preserve its knowledge and best practices, the organization launched the AGAG Legacy Project to ensure its lasting contributions remain visible and influential within the philanthropic sector in the future.
“AGAG served as a bridge between funders in Africa and those funding from the outside. We created a diverse community and network where grantmaking practitioners could shape their strategies through exposure to African perspectives and the lived realities of the communities they support. ”
“Since AGAG’s founding, American private philanthropy targeting African communities in Africa has seen significant change,” says Niamani Mutima, AGAG Executive Director. “AGAG served as a bridge between funders in Africa and those funding from the outside. We created a diverse community and network where grantmaking practitioners could shape their strategies through exposure to African perspectives and the lived realities of the communities they support. As we conclude our work and pass the baton to the next generation, we are proud that our legacy will be available as a valuable resource for future professionals and promote scholarship on the history of philanthropy.”
Indiana University is a leader in philanthropy education, and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy is the first degree-granting program in the field. As part of its gift, AGAG provided support for a graduate assistant to help catalog its more than two decades of material.
To learn more about the AGAG Legacy Project, listen to the podcast series, The Story of AGAG, or read our blog.
Media Contact:
Emerson Soto
esoto@emersonsoto.consulting