On behalf of my colleagues of the Board of Directors and Staff of the Anguilla Community Foundation we are very proud to share our case study with you today. It provides an opportunity to present the experiences on the lessons learned in the foundation work in Anguilla from the perspective of one of the Founders/ former Executive Director of the Anguilla Community Foundation, Carrolle Perry Devonish. It is therefore with profound honor that we share with you excerpts of a Lecture she presented in the United States.
When Ms. Devonish was asked to help Anguilla start a community foundation, she jumped at the chance to move forward on this great concept. A small study was done engaging discussions with a number of key leaders about the community foundation concept. Community foundations have the capability in working to build the community by engaging people to become involved in the support of community issues through the community foundation prism. Community foundations can be a powerful force in working to improve community life. She therefore felt it would work well in Anguilla. The lessons which she brought to Anguilla came from her work at The Philadelphia Foundation included an openness to learning the history of the island and the giving traditions, learning and understanding local issues and the willingness to start with where the community is — These values helped provide a basis for a useful and an important beginning in Anguilla. According to Ms. Devonish, “Although I was not terribly wrong, I don’t think I thought deeply enough about island practices. By this I mean that the American model does not always fit like a perfect glove. It had to be massaged to fit within the context of the island. For example, there is no tax structure to encourage giving. There has been little talk of endowments and giving through the creation of individual and family funds.” Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating in Anguilla are mainly volunteer efforts. There are very few staffed NGOs on the island. There is no requirement that you be registered as a 5013c status as in the States.
In addition, as a standard of practice, the history of giving must always be understood and built upon. This is a real lesson from The Philadelphia Foundation where African Americans were seen as recipients of giving and not necessarily as the givers. That is a myth that is and continues to be. First let me say that Anguillians have a history and tradition of giving. In many ways it is similar to traditions of giving in the African American community in the States. You are reminded when reading Jim Joseph’s “Remaking America” where he talks of growing up in bayou country in Louisiana. “We were poor, but when we were hungry we shared with each other. When we were sick we cared for each other. We did not think of what we gave to others as philanthropy, because sharing was the act in which both the giver and the receiver benefited. We did not think of what we did for others as volunteering, because care was as much a moral imperative as an act of free will.”
In Anguilla, this same tradition of giving is called JOLLIFICATION. Board members tell of a time when the island was much smaller and when Anguillians lived a very simple life. In order to support each other, as money was in short supply, neighbours often came together to help one another. One example of this kind of giving is that if your neighbour needed to pour the foundation for a house or help to install a roof, the community came together to assist. The women came and brought their big pots for cooking, the children ran in and out running errands and playing. The men did the heavy lifting. This example of giving and sharing, JOLLIFICATION, remains a revered part of Anguillian history.
We now say that the Anguilla Community Foundation is an embodiment of JOLLIFICATION — JOLLIFICATION IN THE 21st Century. When we started the community foundation this concept was part of our Declaration or Mission Statement which reads in part:
the history of Anguilla and its people embraces both a fierce spirit of pride, independence and self-reliance and a deep concern for each other’s welfare and well-being. Free people giving freely of themselves to help their fellow citizens and doing so in a spirit of joy. Nothing better captures this remarkable dynamic than JOLLIFICATION, the unique term by which Anguillians describes the celebratory action of coming together to help neighbours. The formation of the Anguilla Community Foundation signals and confirms that the spirit of jollification has found yet another way to express itself...
Anguilla is a small island of 12,000 (and the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean). It is an overseas territory of England and is governed by English law. It has a governor from England and in just the past several years, a Deputy Governor who is an Anguillian. There is a seven member local elected House of Assembly which includes the Chief Minister, the highest elected local political official. The history of Anguilla includes “the Revolution,” which separated Anguilla from the governing body which included St. Kitts and Nevis. This is an illustrious part of Anguilla history because of the perceived indifference of St Kitts, the capital of the Federation; Anguilla wanted nothing to do with St. Kitts. It broke away from the Federation and has since that time preferred its overseas territory status with the United Kingdom. There is some talk about independence and recent discussions about variations of independent status. One of Anguilla’s major strengths and the source of island pride is that the land is owned by Anguillians.
Organized philanthropy is fairly new to Anguilla. There is the Social Security Board which has a grants programme and there is corporate giving on the island. Business support comes from the island’s four banks and is joined by hotels, communications companies, hotels, supermarkets and small businesses, Individuals make contributions to community efforts, including a lot of support going to churches. There is a very strong church community in Anguilla. There is not a lot of collaboration between those making grants (the community foundation is the only entity that uses this term) and giving local support. The business community funds a range of local programmes from the senior citizens home to services for children to tourist events like the annual jazz festival. The giving and leadership of the service clubs and the church are important factors in giving on the island and on many other Caribbean islands. Service organizations include the Optimists, a group of young professionals with youth as a focus, the local chapter of the Soroptimists who have developed day care services and the Rotary and Lions Clubs who collectively support community projects with money and time. Some business and government entities also have employee groups that raise money to support community needs. As an example, the National Bank of Anguilla’s staff group regularly raises money to support community programmes. Although most communities have similar organizations supporting community causes, in Anguilla they provide a backdrop for strong philanthropic activity in the absence of a collection of philanthropic organizations such as foundations.
The Social Security Board does have a grants programme. A small percent of each employee’s social security contribution goes into a Social Development Fund. These funds provide support to a myriad of community programmes including, thank goodness, the Anguilla Community Foundation (ACF). Periodic support from the Social Security Board has given the Foundation funds for administration and the Board gave the Foundation its first Endowment grant — $75,000 USD to seed the Endowment Fund. ACF in turn has consulted with the Board on ways to make their grants programme more effective. One suggestion is that all grantees should receive a letter outlining the purpose of the grant and the responsibility of the grantee to report back on the use of grant funds. This is not required from the organizations giving contributions to local groups. In the past we have received grants or contributions to the Foundation which have included just the check in an envelope or we have gone to pick up a check. So we have encouraged Social Security to increase its effort to communicate with the organizations getting their support to ensure accountability. So on tiny Anguilla we have two major organizations, in addition to business support, making grants. Are we both needed on such a small island? The director of Social Security has said that we do. I agree. Social Security has a pool of money dependent on social security contributions but the community foundation has the ability to grow over time and therefore, provide increasing support to the island and its NGOs.
As a tourist island, another source of funds has been tourist visitors and expats who are residents coming to make the island their home in the winter. Most come from the United States and many know the community foundations serving their home communities. Several have developed funds at the Foundation and have given generously in other ways to the community foundation. We have made a place for the Foundation in the life of the island. We can now look to play a more active role as a community convener around local issues. ACF can continue to provide a strong collaborative role in the months and years to come. There are opportunities for partnerships with the Social Security Board and the local service organizations. Community collaboration is the next developmental stage for the Foundation. Preliminary findings from the study on Caribbean Giving being conducted by Etha Henry and funded by the Ford Foundation indicate that service clubs and corporate leaders would welcome a strong convening and partnership role with the community foundation,
There are six community foundations in the Caribbean. Those in the US Virgin Islands are the oldest and most developed. Foundations in St. Lucia, Anguilla and Tortilla are emerging. Efforts have been made to create as Association of Caribbean Community Foundations with support from the Ford Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation and WINGS (Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaking Support) yet maintaining the association and generating international support has been a continuing challenge. There are ongoing efforts to generate a regional body on behalf of organized philanthropy. Etha’s efforts which place the community foundations in a broader context of Caribbean giving should provide the data and platform for increased regional and global collaboration and partnerships. There are real challenges ahead and philanthropy can be a part of the dialogue and action as we move forward.
Most see the Caribbean through the lens of a region known for its compelling scenery, beautiful beaches, great music and lots of rum punch, all of which is true. But the Caribbean is facing real challenges as development and outside forces come to bear on cultural and economic issues. In Anguilla our resident historian puts it clearly. He says that in the past decisions on Anguilla were made when folks from the villages came together and made decisions affecting the island. The Revolution is a good example. Now he says, increasingly decisions will be made related to development and by business interests and not necessarily through the collective voice of the people.
There is great movement among the islands. Many of the smaller islands are restricting some of this movement in part to hold on to island specific mores and traditions. Anguilla now requires visas from residents of Trinidad, Jamaica, Dominica, Guyana and the Dominican Republic. Crime and the fear of changing cultural norms are part of the underlying reason for these restrictions, which does not always fit Bob Marley’s One Love theme. A recent article in The Economist explored the sharply rising crime rates in the islands, especially on the larger islands. Anguilla is also experiencing this change, 10 years ago folks rarely locked their doors or cars, things are changing. The main force driving higher rates of crime and violence has been the impact of regional drug trafficking. It has impacted criminal behavior, increased property-related crimes and underpinned a steady increase in the availability of firearms, a phenomenon unheard of Anguilla just a few years ago. All of the islands feel the impact of increasing crime which has a direct impact on foreign investment, now such an important economic link in the islands. For many of the islands tied so closely to tourism as their most important economic resource, this has long range implications. Through the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, many of the island governments are seeking to unify the Caribbean economically to strengthen its potential in the global market place. The question is whether philanthropy can play a role in this effort.
Philanthropy should also be given recognition in the value that Caribbean communities put into giving back to their island communities. Through Diaspora giving in the US, UK and other communities with Caribbean nationals, the movement it is alive and well. Most Caribbean communities in the States, England and Canada have organizations which support causes back home. Dr. Jackie Copeland Carson has done extensive research on the diverse practices of philanthropy being introduced by today’s African immigrants. Her scholarship and her hands on work in the Minnesota area provide important research on the growing role of philanthropy for new African citizens in the US. She promotes a notion that has implications for Caribbean communities in the US as well, as a more expansive view of Black philanthropy. “We promote a notion of an African Diaspora in the United States composed of diverse ethnic groups. These diverse groups have different histories but may have mutual interests derived in part from their shared African ancestry and experience of racial discrimination or oppression in the Americas. This more expansive notion of identify can provide the conceptual foundation for a more inclusive black philanthropy that appreciates diasporan cultural diversity,” writes Copeland-Carson.
This part of cultural philanthropy — a focus and interest on issues at home and in US settlements is a continuing West Indian theme. Money from the States, Canada and England flow from organized groups into home countries for needed services on all of the islands of the Caribbean. But Caribbean citizens are also supporting issues and programmes in the places they have settled. They are strong Caribbean communities in New York, New Jersey and Atlanta to name a few which are having impacts on local areas in which they have settled. Caribbean Diaspora giving is also a component of the proposed strategy for the work being developed by Etha Henry. Because of the growing numbers of immigrants from Caribbean shores, this cultural philanthropy is one in which organizations can assist to encourage and grow. To quote Dr. Carson: “Recapturing the roots of these giving traditions through inclusion of the contemporary diversity of all people of African descent in America can help revitalize and strengthen black philanthropy for all.”
It is our goal to encourage openness at the Foundation and to make the Foundation more accessible in the communities we served. It is important that our staff manage our grant making and our fund development and our community leadership closer to the community. This enables us to understand issues at the neighborhood level. It also helps to identify community leaders who could help us make more informed grants and leadership decisions and to offer our donor services to a wider group of potential donors.
Our challenges for the future lie in the ability to listen closely to the communities. We must commit towards enhancing the future of our youth and insure they are vested in the community development process. They must be taught and exposed to the traditional practice of JOLLIFICATION. It is important to our community that the youth recognize and understand the value of our fore bearers working in JOLLIFICATION, building the community for which they will ultimately be responsible for tomorrow.
© Arlene Bailey Franklin, Carrolle Perry Devonish, Perin Bradley 2012
HTML last revised 1st May, 2012.
Return to Conference papers.