In the aftermath of the murders of Amaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, we have heard a renewed and urgent call for racial justice. This is a long-overdue reckoning with the racist systems that underlie our culture – in the US, and around the world. At Spirit in Action, we feel deeply that Black Lives Matter. We are reflecting, learning, and acting to embody a world where Black people experience abundant life, and where Black communities are strong and free. In our

Spirit in Action is part of a collection of organizations that are looking at new ways to give grants that support a bottom-up approach. The message below is from Solomé Lemma, Executive Director of Thousand Currents, a leader in this collective. Her words so perfectly capture what we are seeing with SIA partners during this time. (Scroll to the end to read about the action Spirit in Action is taking right now in Kenya!) From Thousand Currents: “As we continue to grapple with

“We all can make a difference. We’ll start by looking within, from dependence to ascendance. Come on all, let’s shift the power. “You got the power in your hand to make a positive change in the land. Alone I can go real fast but when we put our hands together we can go way past. How do you know? There is power in unity. Everything we want is right there in the community.” These powerful words are from the song Shift the Power Zambia (watch the music video below!). It’s a catc

Spirit in Action is a learning organization. We continually reflect on ways we can be more responsive to the needs and expertise of our grant partners. We value the input that our long-time partners bring to the formation of Spirit in Action’s vision and operations. In a shift towards co-creation and transparency, we are formalizing the input of our grant partners through the formation of an African Advisory Board. The new African Advisory Board (AAB) includes a team of six m

Sometimes I’m so far down in the weeds of SIA emails and conversations with grant partners that I lose track of the larger vision of exactly how we are working for change in the world. Yes, we are giving grants and helping communities move toward self-sufficiency. But this can be done in so many different ways. I wrote a few weeks ago about the “human connection-centered movement of Spirit in Action.” This week, a new article by Dana R.H. Doan on community philanthropy gave m

This post is an update from Barbara Deal, SIA Board Member, on her experience at the SIA Small Business Fund Coordinator Conference last week in Eldoret, Kenya. Dear Companions in Spirit, Greetings from Eldoret, Kenya! The conference for the Spirit in Action Coordinators ended last night. Attending were six Coordinators for the Small Business Fund in Uganda, Kenya, and Malawi. Each work with and mentor between a dozen and almost 200 small business project partners. SIA local

The 2019 Spring & Summer newsletter is here! You can view a PDF version here and hard copies are in the mail this week! In this newsletter we feature: Why we support operating expenses for grassroots organizations How long-term partnership increases credibility for the Visionary Women’s Centre in Kenya Some of the ways that Small Business Fund groups pay-it-forward “No matter where you are, you deserve the best” Inspiration from Turinawe Samson, Universal Love Alliance, Ugand

Guest post by Carol Schifferling, SIA Supporter Anyone interested in understanding core principles that small-grant organizations like SIA use to lift individuals and entire villages from poverty to self-sufficiency will find Smart Risks: How small grants are helping to solve some of the world’s biggest problems enlightening. While reading, Smart Risks, I learned that grant risks are smart when they are based on what is learned through caring, freely communicative relationshi

“Have you distributed the funds that we sent in January for the new small businesses?” I reached out on WhatsApp to Small Business Fund Coordinator, Naomi Ayot, to check in on SIA entrepreneurs in Uganda. There were some boxes on my spreadsheet of grants that were blank. She texted back a minute later. “The funds are still with me. I don’t want to send through the funds at the time that school fees are due. This way I can have the groups use the money in the way it is intende

When the Spirit in Action Board members meeting last weekend, we had two very important additions to our team. Every other year, we gather for a two-day retreat to give us time and space to explore our direction and vision. And this time – through the wonders of technology – Naomi Ayot, our Small Business Fund coordinator in Uganda, joined us via a WhatsApp video call. With almost no delay in connection, we shared what inspires us about SIA, as a way of envisioning a new miss

This past weekend, on April 15th, the book I’ve been co-editing with Jennifer Lentfer for the past 5 years, was printed! It is now officially available for pre-order! The book is a collaborative effort with 22 authors from 20 different organizations from seven countries, representing a variety of viewpoints on the international development and philanthropy sectors. Is it worth the risk? On her blog this week, Jennifer explained how this group of authors, all who saw the impor