Creativity Fund: Rwanda
(aka The Ingazi Fund)
The Creativity Fund: Rwanda (aka the Ingazi Fund) is a bold experiment in reimagining charitable giving on an international scale. The Fund is a philanthropic organization that puts grant decisions into the hands of community members, inverting traditional decision making structures and making funding opportunities truly inclusive. It was established in Rwanda in 2020 with support from The Creativity Foundation.
Operating in the Nyamagabe, Gisagara and Huye districts of southwestern Rwanda, where it is known as the Ingazi Fund, it has relied on community members and local entrepreneurs to help shape its key processes, policies, and values; identify pressing social needs; and make funding decisions. Grantees address food production, nutrition, agricultural practices, income generation, and vocational training for vulnerable youth and unemployed adults.
The Ingazi Fund has engaged with Districts government officials and other local groups to ensure their collaboration. It provides coaching, mentoring, and skill building for would-be applicants and grantees, which has enabled it to garner 550 applications and award 11 grants so far. The Fund ultimately aspires to influence the international philanthropy establishment and inspire others to embark on similar experiments in bottom-up, non-colonial philanthropy.
The 2025 Creativity Foundation grant of $45,000 will support salaries and internships, board capacity building, technical assistance to grantees and applicants, and five grants targeted in Huye Province.
The Creativity Fund: Rwanda was the brainchild of Creativity Foundation Legacy winner Gayatri Datar.
