Civil society

CIVIL SOCIETY: How can donors and grantees get better together?
Getting better together, requires learning. This is as true for philanthropists and grantees as it is for athletes, business executives, actors, and doctors. When people and organizations become set in their ways, as a result of arrogance or inertia, they stifle useful learning. It requires a certain degree of humility – an ability to acknowledge what you may not know or may have gotten wrong – plus the personal resolve to invest time, and relentless effort to improve. Learning requires thoughtful discipline about what elements matter most.
It is easier to be good than great, and easier still to be mediocre. It is easy to shake hands, write a cheque, and accept a contribution. However, imperative is to go beyond the hand shake and work effectively together in pursuit of shared goals, to accept our mutual interdependence and collaborate for the common good. At the time, when resources are chronically scarce (and society’s needs are escalating), effective collaboration will enable donors and grantees to achieve more results with the same (or fewer) resources.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda