January 2025
In Nguutani, Masinga sub-County, Machakos, a community-owned juice processing plant is sourcing mangoes from local farmers, boosting incomes, and creating employment. Since 1998, hundreds of children from Machakos and Kitui counties have received scholarships from a one-shilling-per-day community endowment fund. Additionally, a local school has been renovated, and women’s groups have successfully reared dairy goats, building sustainable livelihoods through livestock sales and their retail businesses.

These are some of the Genesis Community Development Assistance (GCDA) successes, a key driver of development in Nguutani Division and Migwani Division, Mwingi, Kitui County.

GCDA began in 1992 when Bishop Robert Mutemi, the Executive Director, and co-founders recognised a critical issue: educated individuals from Nguutani were migrating to Nairobi and Mombasa, leaving community development in the hands of the elderly. In response, they launched the “Operation Back Home” campaign, urging skilled individuals to return and contribute to community development.  
By 1994, this movement became an organised entity named ‘Genesis’, with a clear vision and mission. Through community barazas and seminars, they mobilised local groups to identify their needs and pool resources for development.
Mangoes at the juice processing plant in Makueni County, sourced from communities.
Bishop Robert Mutemi at his office in Kitui County.

GCDA began in 1992 when Bishop Robert Mutemi, the Executive Director, and co-founders recognised a critical issue: educated individuals from Nguutani were migrating to Nairobi and Mombasa, leaving community development in the hands of the elderly. In response, they launched the “Operation Back Home” campaign, urging skilled individuals to return and contribute to community development. 

Partnership with KCDF

GCDA began in 1992 when Bishop Robert Mutemi, the Executive Director, and co-founders recognised a critical issue: educated individuals from Nguutani were migrating to Nairobi and Mombasa, leaving community development in the hands of the elderly. In response, they launched the “Operation Back Home” campaign, urging skilled individuals to return and contribute to community development. 

Since 1997, KCDF has been rooted in the belief that communities hold the power to drive their own development. As a Kenyan community foundation, our mission has always been to walk alongside communities, not just to help them withstand adversity, but to see them flourish, says Grace Maingi, the Executive Director at KCDF.
To ensure financial sustainability, KCDF encourages its partner organisations to invest in endowment funds that provide a reliable source of income. The endowment model allows organisations to continue their work without external donors, notes Kenneth Odera, KCDF’s Capacity Building and System Strengthening Coordinator. For this reason, KCDF introduced the Endowment Fund concept to Genesis to ensure long-term sustainability, requiring communities to begin with a minimum contribution of KES 500,000.
Although this target initially seemed ambitious, 65 groups embraced the one-shilling-per-day model and gradually raised the required amount. This investment continues to grow today and has successfully supported scholarships, school construction, and seed distribution to farmers, demonstrating the power of community-led development. “We adopted the one-shilling-per-day idea and each member was part of it,” Mr Mutemi explains.

KCDF learned that when communities believe in an organisation’s mission, they support it financially and in-kind. Some have held fundraising events, even during tough economic times, showing that local philanthropy is possible and powerful, Ms. Maingi observes.

“In 2007, a major donor exited after a decade of partnership. Although Genesis faced challenges, the Safaricom Foundation came to our aid by funding the construction of the office premises on our 6.3 acres of land we had purchased. Another partner also helped us to drill the borehole and fence the premises,” Mr Mutemi notes.
However, when external funding ceased, Genesis struggled. Despite difficulties, the board remained determined to sustain operations.
“The mindset of the people is that when a donor pulls out, that activity should die, and that hit us hard, as some people believed that we should also phase out. But our board said no,” Mr Mutemi shares.
Mr. Patrick showing how the Endowment Fund with KDCF has assisted many students in the region.
“But for the period that Genesis was dormant, the scholarship programme continued through the endowment fund with KCDF. After nearly a decade of dormancy, we sought assistance from KCDF to revive our development work in the community,” says Patrick Muli, programmes manager.

KCDF is guided by the belief that development must be community-owned, driven, and centred. Instead of prescribing solutions, it supports local groups to identify their priorities and design context-specific responses. “This approach also acknowledges that communities hold both financial and non-financial assets. KCDF helps unlock these resources while fostering partnerships across government, private sector, civil society, and the media to amplify impact,” Ms. Maingi elaborates.

She notes: “No one sector can solve development challenges alone. Cross-sector collaboration is critical.”

The Revival of GCDA
Yatta Multipurpose Farmers’ Cooperative Society enterprise center in Makueni County.
Patrick Muli, Programmes Manager at Genesis alongside YMFCS team showing their products at the processing plant.

A significant breakthrough came in 2024 when Genesis partnered with Yatta Multipurpose Farmers’ Cooperative Society (YMFCS) for a matching grant proposal. YMFCS raised Sh2 million, which KCDF matched, totalling Sh4 million. YMFCS is now processing mango juice and sources fruits from 11 cluster groups supported by Genesis.

Genesis also provided capacity-building support to YMFCS. “We supported them in developing their strategic plan and the matching fund through KCDF to deliver the mango factory sustainably,” Mr Mutemi says.

Further strengthening its impact, Genesis joined the “Strengthening the Community Foundation Movement as a Basis for Sustainable Development in Kenya,” implemented in a partnership between KCDF and the Mott Foundation project in 2023, securing KES 800,000 in Mott Phase II funding. “The funds received from KCDF and Mott Foundation facilitated office renovations and a KES 20,000 monthly salary for one staff member for a year,” says Mr Muli. This phase covered the period from May 2023 to June 2024.

The partnership between KCDF and the Mott Foundation is pivotal in empowering local communities to lead their development. In an era of declining foreign aid, this collaboration encourages communities—whether defined by geography or shared concerns—to organise, mobilise, and assert agency over their futures, says Caesar Ngule, KCDF’s Programmes Director.

He underscores the significance of flexible funding provided by the Mott Foundation. “This funding isn’t restricted to specific programmes, which allows us to support communities in attracting local funders and establishing sustainable support systems,” Mr. Ngule explains.

This flexibility has enabled KCDF to adapt lessons learned from its founding in 1997, offering mentorship to emerging community foundations across the country. With this support, KCDF helps county, ward, and urban organisations build governance, financial systems, and leadership capacity.

Impact

Bishop Robert Mutemi and Patrick Muli standing outside their newly renovated offices in Kitui County.

Genesis used part of the funding to facilitate the transformation of Genesis’ premises—renovation, repainting, and rebranding—which reignited public confidence. The once-forgotten organisation became a vibrant hub for community meetings, training, and exhibitions.

The renovation changed the community’s mindset about the existence of Genesis. “The picture before the renovations was that this was a dying organisation, and people didn’t want to identify with us. As such, Genesis assets were threatened,” Mr Mutemi recollects.

After the renovations, the once-vulnerable Genesis premises now stand secure, deterring any attempts at looting. “We were able to get our title deed immediately after the renovations,” he comments.

The transformation of its premises, including branding, reignited public confidence, attracting new partnerships. “One such partner, Shining Epilepsy, reached out after noticing the branding on our gate,” he adds. “Additionally, Genesis is in the process of signing an agreement with the Nairobi City County Government on handling disability issues. They want us to assist them in developing a strategy to sensitise communities on epilepsy,” Mr Mutemi discloses.

With this reclaimed confidence, Genesis has now enhanced its capacity to fundraise for the community foundation locally. “If we tell people now that we are fundraising because we want to do this and that, they can believe us because of the conspicuous and attractiveness that has come with branding and renovations.”

KCDF encourages its partners to work closely with their communities, enabling them to contribute to their development efforts through cash and in-kind resources.

“We track whether these community foundations can raise their resources and how accountable they are to the communities they serve,” Mr. Odera shares. This emphasis on accountability and transparency helps to ensure long-term ownership and sustainability of community-driven projects.

Genesis Community Development Assistance’s newly branded gate.
Future Plans

The revitalisation extends to community groups. Genesis anticipates enrolling 12 Community Resource Persons (CRPs) as intermediaries between the organisation and the people. These CRPs will ensure the community remains engaged and active, even without full-time staff. Operating with minimal staff, Genesis prioritises empowering community groups to drive sustainable development. This model ensures that local initiatives can continue thriving even in the absence of external donors.

A central objective of the partnership is to establish community foundations across Kenya that are not simply channels for external funds but are vehicles for self-resourcing and self-mobilisation.

“External resources should only complement what communities are already doing—not determine their priorities,” Mr. Ngule emphasises.

KCDF’s programme supports organisations in becoming self-sustaining, emphasising creating robust financial systems, solid governance structures, and leadership centred around the community’s needs.