The TY Danjuma Foundation and key stakeholders in Nigeria’s philanthropic and civil society sectors have called for a major overhaul of the country’s philanthropy ecosystem, urging the establishment of an independent Nigerian Philanthropy Forum to mobilise domestic resources, strengthen accountability and reduce dependence on foreign development assistance.
The stakeholders warned that declining international aid, weak institutional coordination, poor financial disclosure and regulatory bottlenecks could undermine development interventions, particularly for vulnerable communities, unless Nigeria builds a stronger homegrown funding system.
The call was made at an ecosystem convening organised by the TY Danjuma Foundation in partnership with the African Philanthropy Forum (APF) and other development partners to explore strategies for strengthening domestic giving, improving the regulatory environment and restoring public confidence in charitable institutions.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the TY Danjuma Foundation, Mrs Hannatu Gentles, said the initiative was aimed at transforming Nigeria’s longstanding culture of generosity into a more structured, coordinated and sustainable force for national development.
She observed that although Nigerians were traditionally generous, much of their giving remained informal, limiting the ability to track contributions, coordinate interventions and measure their overall development impact.
Gentles disclosed that the Foundation had commissioned research into structured philanthropy in Nigeria and international best practices in regulating charitable organisations to identify institutional gaps and recommend policies capable of creating an enabling environment for domestic giving.
Presenting findings from the mapping exercise, Executive Director of the Nigeria Network of NGOs, Oluseyi Oyebisi, said Nigeria had no shortage of generosity but lacked the institutional infrastructure, reliable data and accountability mechanisms required to translate private contributions into measurable development outcomes.
He explained that the research was designed to develop a comprehensive database of non-profit organisations and philanthropic funding in Nigeria, particularly against the backdrop of declining international development assistance.
According to him, Nigeria recorded a 10 per cent decline in aid volume and outcomes, while 79 per cent of the country’s development assistance in 2024 came from donors that had subsequently announced funding cuts.
He warned that the emerging funding gap made it imperative for Nigeria to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and develop alternative financing mechanisms to sustain critical development and humanitarian interventions.
The study also tracked approximately N373 billion in Host Community Development Trust funding across more than 536 projects, highlighting the scale of resources available within the country.
However, Oyebisi identified transparency and financial disclosure as major weaknesses in the sector, revealing that only 1.3 per cent of the organisations captured in the database provided information on their corporate social responsibility expenditure.
He further identified fragmented regulations, overlapping institutional requirements and weak confidence in financial reporting as obstacles to the growth of philanthropy, calling for harmonised policies, improved data management and stronger accountability standards.
On the proposed Nigerian Philanthropy Forum, Executive Director of the African Philanthropy Forum, Mosun Layode, said the country needed an independent institution capable of bringing donors, foundations, civil society organisations and other development actors together around a common agenda.
She stressed that the responsibility for establishing and sustaining the proposed institution must rest with Nigerian stakeholders, rather than APF, although the continental organisation was prepared to provide technical support, resources and pro bono assistance.
According to Layode, the forum must be properly registered, structured and independently managed, rather than remain an informal platform without the institutional capacity to sustain its operations.
She urged Nigerian donors and foundations to identify credible leadership and mobilise the initial financial resources required to establish the institution, with the long-term objective of building a financially sustainable organisation with its own office and independent operations.
Layode explained that APF was established as a continental institution and could not permanently serve as a substitute for a national platform, particularly as its leadership and institutional priorities would evolve over time.
Citing TrustAfrica as an example of an institution that grew beyond its initial support from the Ford Foundation, she challenged Nigerian philanthropists to invest in building an enduring institution that future generations would be proud of.
Also presenting findings from a comparative study of philanthropic systems in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa, Dr Ebrima Sall highlighted lessons Nigeria could adopt to strengthen its legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks.
He emphasised the need for clear legislation, effective collaboration, institutional capacity and accessible accountability mechanisms, citing the United Kingdom’s Charity Commission as an example of how public access to information can help donors assess the credibility of charitable organisations before making contributions.
Similarly, Co-founder of IdeaPlus Consultant, Dayo Olaide, called for stronger government engagement with foundations and civil society organisations, arguing that philanthropic institutions possess significant financial resources and influence that could be better harnessed for national development.
Olaide advocated the establishment of a proposed $300 million accelerator fund over three years to support interventions addressing neglected tropical diseases.
He also raised concerns over the tax burden on non-profit organisations, particularly building taxes, warning that excessive fiscal obligations could constrain their capacity to deliver social and development programmes.
In her closing remarks, Gentles reaffirmed the TY Danjuma Foundation’s commitment to advancing philanthropy in Nigeria, insisting that stronger institutional coordination, transparency and an enabling regulatory environment were essential to making domestic giving more strategic and impactful.
Quoting the Foundation’s founder and Chairman Emeritus, she said, “No one is too poor to give,” stressing that philanthropy should not be limited to financial contributions but could also take the form of assets, time, intellectual capacity and other resources that benefit society.
The stakeholders agreed that Nigeria’s transition towards a stronger domestic philanthropy system would require more than goodwill, calling for sustainable institutions, greater financial commitment from local donors, improved transparency and collective action.
They maintained that strengthening domestic philanthropy would not only help cushion the impact of declining foreign aid but also give Nigerians greater ownership of development priorities and the resources deployed to address the country’s social and economic challenges.
