The Centre on Philanthropy Communities within SIVIO Institute is focused on nurturing philanthropy across Zimbabwe. Existing frameworks often portray philanthropy as only associated with the acts of giving by the rich to the poor and is mostly measured in monetary terms. Whilst rich to poor giving is necessary and must be encouraged there are also forms of giving that need to be recognized and sustained such as the combined giving by the growing middle class (within Zimbabwe and in the Diaspora) to common causes. There is also another form of giving; the poor giving to the poor- what others refer to as peer to peer giving or just as community giving/philanthropy.

This centre is based on a recognition of these various forms of giving and we are in the process of developing interventions to strengthen the entire philanthropy value chain. We note that for philanthropy to thrive there is need for an enabling environment made up of laws and policies that encourage the ease of giving, a tax regime that creates incentives for giving; a network of collaborating organizations that help to grow the field and above all prosperity which grows the middle class and creates surpluses for giving. At SIVIO Institute our main focus is on growing philanthropy. We recognize the need for (i) engaging government to create an enabling environment for giving, (ii) developing the philanthropy support infrastructure in the country, (iii) enhancing the practices of giving and (iv) improving targeting of the giving . Our initial focus will be on two distinct but related sub-sectors in philanthropy; the Diaspora based formal and informal initiatives that focus on giving to Zimbabwe and the Community based forms of giving.