Community Funds

COMMUNITY FUNDS ARE an alternative to traditional formal aid systems, which so often end up squandering resources on projects that fail miserably. As this newsletter puts it, traditional aid tries to impose straight lines on a world that is full of squiggles and zigzags. Traditional aid works with short-term projects that have to realize their outcomes over a few years, whereas real development takes time and learning. The aid world insists on dealing in large sums of money, whereas the poor often need small amounts over longer periods. Community funds make it possible for resources to be pulled through a system by people ‘s actual needs, rather than being pushed through by the bureaucratic requirements of large agencies. Most important of all, community funds require real involvement on the part of communities and, as Arif Hasan is quoted as saying in this newsletter: “Participation is all about controlling money; if a community can raise funds and manage funds, it has become empowered. And if it can ‘t do that, there is no real participation.”

This issue explains the concept of community funds, but it also serves as a practical guide for those who wish to set them up, offering pointers, describing risks, explaining the differences between models and sharing lessons learned from experience. Eleven community funds in Africa and Asia are described in some detail and contact addresses are provided for more information.