SIDCN Fest 2026: When Partnerships Replace Competition, Communities Win

What happens when organizations stop waiting for funding and instead choose to believe in the power of collaboration?

That question became the beginning of an inspiring journey for four grassroots organizations in Kenya.

I’m deeply honored to be speaking at the Small International Development Charities Network Festival UK (SIDCN Fest 2026), where I will share our story through a session titled:

“Fundraising as a Consortium: Leveraging Partnerships for Scalable Social Impact.”

In many communities, girls and young women continue to face what we call the Triple Threat — HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence (GBV), and early marriage. These challenges are deeply interconnected, and too often, organizations work in isolation while waiting for donor funding to make solutions possible.

But we decided to do something different.

Centre for Women Empowerment in Technology (CWE-TECH), CooperationArena for Sustainable Development in Africa (CASDA), Power for the People Africa Trust (PFP), and Sikhona Rescue Center came together to form a consortium rooted in trust, shared vision, and collective action. Instead of competing for limited resources, we pooled our expertise, innovation, and networks to co-create the *Dignity App* — an AI-assisted mobile platform designed to connect girls and young women to sexual and reproductive health information, emergency support, and protection services, see link here: https://dignityapp.org/index.html.

What makes this journey meaningful is that the solution was not designed for survivors alone, but with survivors at the center of the conversation.

Our ongoing pilot in Homa Bay County continues to teach us powerful lessons about partnership, grassroots innovation, collaborative fundraising, and what becomes possible when communities lead change together.

I invite you to join us on 24 June for bold conversations, practical learning, and inspiring grassroots perspectives from across the SIDCN network.

Joining link:

https://www.sidcn.org/event-details/sidcn-fest-2026

Together, we can reimagine fundraising, partnership, and social impact.

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