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African Gifting: Pluralising the Concept of Philanthropy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Alan Fowler  and
Jacob Mwathi Mati
Alan Fowler*
Affiliation:
The University of Witswatersrand Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa
Jacob Mwathi Mati*
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji Islands Society, Work and Development Institute, The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
*
alan@alanfowler.org
jacobmati@gmail.com
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Abstract

This article adds to conceptualisations of philanthropy. Applying an ontological approach within an evolutionary perspective, it advances an analogous African narrative of pro-social transactions of gift-giving, or gifting, associated with Marcel Mauss. Originating on the continent, this relational behaviour is subject to indeterminate complex processes which co-determine any society’s institutional design. Analysing gifting’s sociopolitical influence on the continent pays attention to the (non-)agonistic as well as the ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ features of gifting across pre- to post-colonial eras, examining their role in establishing patrimonial systems of governance. When gifting is set against (institutionalised) philanthropy’s dominant discourse, issues for its critique are identified. Suggestions for further inquiry and implications for improving development on the continent are provided.

Keywords

GiftingPhilanthropy(Non-)agnostic transactionsOntological analysis

Information

Type
Original Paper
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 724 - 737
Copyright
Copyright © International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University 2019

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