Philanthropy and Policy in Africa
Philanthropy in many African nations is different than that in Canada. Philanthropy and giving in general in Africa is often based on community giving, interconnectedness and community relationships. In 2024, PANL Perspectives launched its African Philanthropy Series to feature analyses and insights from public policy and philanthropy leaders in Ghana, Senegal and elsewhere. As Shaninomi Eribo, who introduces the series, put it, “Practically every continental African has been the beneficiary and supporter of actions that would be deemed as philanthropic in contemporary terms. But in undertaking such acts, Africans are simply giving life to the expression ‘a person is a person, because of other persons’, or ‘I am, because you are’.”
Public Policy in Canada
Read about the top policy issues in our sector in Canada.
Public policy affects the purposes and activities of organizations in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector. In turn, those organizations – including charities, through their public policy dialogue and development activities – can affect public policy by informing and influencing government officials and the community at large. This section explores the interplay between the sector and public policy in Canada.
Photo of boats is courtesy of Coumba Touré.
Three Series about Policies in Asia-Australia, the US and Europe.
Read about policies in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Australia.
In 2021, Calum Carmichael consulted scholars of nonprofit sectors in Asia-Australia, the US and Europe, and discovered that many academics have similar priorities and concerns as those in Canada. In Susan Phillips‘ informal survey of 68 sector leaders in Canada, she found that 40% of the respondents wanted Canada to modernize the regulatory framework for charities, including an overhaul of the Income Tax Act. Carmichael heard similar perspectives, with a few dramatic contrasts — silencing of concerns about Islamophobia in one country and serious concerns about government-nonprofit relations in other countries. Below are summary comments from 18 of our colleagues around the world.
Read about tax policies in the US.
Read about policy in Europe.
