Harambee
Let us all pull together.
Our Africa Centre. Our Heritage. Our Future.
Thank you for stepping forward to lead a Harambee Circle.
Your role is to bring people together.
Your Circle works collectively towards a shared £500 milestone.
£500 is the Circle’s collective milestone.
£500 is a milestone, not a limit.
If your Circle reaches £500 and people would still like to contribute, keep going. Every additional contribution continues to support The Africa Centre.
A Harambee Circle is not a one-off activity. Each Circle continues annually, coming together again each year while new Circles form and the wider Harambee network grows.
Start Here
Everything you need to get started is here.
Access the downloadable How to Get Started guidance, Circle Lead Journey, campaign assets, shareable materials and examples.
Your Circle Lead Statement of Work sets out your role, responsibilities, working relationship with the Harambee team and the guidance and support available to you as a Circle Lead.
It includes guidance on fundraising and finance, activities, safeguarding, reporting an incident or concern, asking for support, and pausing or stepping down.
Work through the steps below to start your Circle, create your GoFundMe share link, bring people together, and begin your Circle.
Join events and community webinars to ask questions, hear updates, connect with other Circle Leads and volunteers, and participate in the wider community work around Harambee and Africa Centre 3.0.
Know someone who could bring a Circle together?
If they already know about Harambee and are interested, recommend them here.
If you need to speak to them first or they would like more information, send them the public Harambee page.
Access materials you can use to share Harambee, explain Circles, and encourage people in your networks to get involved.
Start Your Circle
A Harambee Circle can begin wherever people already come together.
You might start one through:
Friends + Family
People you already know.
Workplace + Business
Colleagues, staff, customers, partners or wider business networks.
Organisation + Community
Community groups, charities, cultural organisations, faith groups, neighbourhood groups and other existing communities.
Professional + Creative Networks
People connected through a profession, industry, creative practice, alumni network or shared interest.
You do not have to build a community from scratch.
Begin with the relationships and networks that already exist around you.
Your role as Circle Lead is to bring people together. Your Circle works collectively towards the shared £500 milestone.
You can name your Circle if you would like.
Get Your Unique GoFundMe Share Link
Your Circle contributes directly to the official Africa Centre GoFundMe.
You do not need to create a separate fundraiser.
Each Circle Lead can create and use their own unique GoFundMe share link. GoFundMe tracks donations through your link, so you can see how much your network has contributed.
Invite Your Circle
Reach out personally to the people you would like in your Circle.
Tell them why you are starting a Harambee Circle, explain the shared £500 milestone, and invite them to take part.
Use the invitation message as a starting point and personalise it in your own voice.
If someone does not respond immediately, follow up. People are busy, and sometimes a second message is all it takes.
Follow Your Circle
As people begin contributing, track your Circle’s progress.
- £0Start
- £100Underway
- £250Halfway
- £400Nearly There
- £500Harambee
- £500+Keep Going
£500 is something to celebrate, but it is not the end.
£500 is a milestone, not a limit.
If people still want to contribute, keep your Circle going.
And reaching £500 is not the end of your Circle.
Your Circle continues annually and comes together again the following year.
Making Harambee Visible
With your permission, your Circle can become part of the wider Harambee campaign story.
As your Circle develops, we will share messages and materials you can use, adapt, and personalise.
- Your First InvitationCircle StartsYour First InvitationCircle Starts
- Introduce Your CircleMeet the Circle LeadIntroduce Your CircleMeet the Circle Lead
- As Your Circle GrowsShare ProgressAs Your Circle GrowsShare Progress
- £500 ReachedCelebrate £500£500 ReachedCelebrate £500
- Beyond £500Keep GoingBeyond £500Keep Going
- Your Circle ContinuesCome Together AgainYour Circle ContinuesCome Together Again
- Another Circle BeginsHarambee GrowsAnother Circle BeginsHarambee Grows
↺ Existing Circles continue. New Circles form. Harambee grows.
↺ The process continues as new Circles form
YOUR CIRCLE IN ACTION
Harambee Circles can organise activities throughout the year.
Activities can include fundraising, walks, talks, conversations, learning, storytelling, film, environmental activity, technology, arts and culture, professional activity or social activity.
Use the same Harambee Activity + Evaluation Form before and after an activity.
PLAN YOUR ACTIVITY
Tell us about:
- THE ACTIVITY YOU ARE PLANNING
- WHO YOU HOPE TO BRING TOGETHER
- WHEN + WHERE IT WILL TAKE PLACE
- WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE IT TO ACHIEVE
- WHETHER FUNDRAISING WILL BE PART OF IT
- WHETHER YOU NEED AFRICA CENTRE SPACE OR OTHER SUPPORT
EVALUATE YOUR ACTIVITY
Tell us:
- WHO PARTICIPATED
- HOW PEOPLE PARTICIPATED + CONTRIBUTED
- MONEY RAISED
- WIDER RESOURCES ORGANISED
- RELATIONSHIPS, PARTNERSHIPS + OPPORTUNITIES
- WHAT WENT WELL
- WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
- WHAT YOU LEARNED
- WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NEXT
Choose “Evaluate an activity that has taken place” when you open the form.
YOU PROVIDE THE INFORMATION.
THE HARAMBEE TEAM MANAGES THE ADMINISTRATION, FOLLOW-UP, AND RECORDING.
LEARNING THROUGH HARAMBEE
Through Harambee Circles and activities, we are learning about:
- PARTICIPATION
- FINANCIAL RESOURCES
- WIDER RESOURCES
- RELATIONSHIPS + PARTNERSHIPS
- REPEAT PARTICIPATION
- WHAT DEVELOPS
WE ARE EXPLORING QUESTIONS AROUND
COMMUNITY
What holds people together enough to take collective responsibility?
COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
What does it mean to take collective responsibility for something we call ours?
COLLECTIVE RESOURCING
What becomes possible when people organise resources together?
VALUE
What happens to the value our communities create?
KNOWLEDGE
What becomes possible when African knowledge fully participates?
INSTITUTIONS
How do we grow our communities’ capacity to resource the institutions we have and help create the institutions we still need?
WAYS TO PARTICIPATE
Your Circle is one way to participate in Harambee.
You and your Circle can also take part in wider Harambee activity.
LEARN
Take part in Learning Harambee, Afrokology, talks, and community conversations exploring questions about community, collective responsibility, collective resourcing, value, knowledge, and institutions.
TAKE PART
Join walks, Movie Nights, storytelling, environmental activities, cultural activities, and other Harambee events.
CHILDREN + YOUNG PEOPLE
Take part in Young Africa Centre learning and activities as it develops.
SHARE KNOWLEDGE + SKILLS
Speak, mentor, teach or contribute professional expertise.
ORGANISE + SUPPORT ACTIVITY
Organise an activity, volunteer or help deliver an existing activity.
MAKE AN INTRODUCTION
Connect Harambee with a person, organisation, business, institution or opportunity.
CONTRIBUTE RESOURCES
Contribute money, knowledge, skills, relationships, networks, time, access, space, technology or other resources.
PARTNER + FUND
Partner with an activity, fund it or match-fund it.
Your Information
We will use the information you provide to support your role as Circle Lead and keep you connected with Harambee.
If we want to share information about you or your Circle publicly, we will follow your sharing preferences.
Please use the sharing preferences form to tell us what you are comfortable with.
Events + Webinars
Harambee events and webinars are a space to meet other Circle Leads, hear what is developing, ask questions, share ideas and stay connected to the wider Harambee community.
Community Webinar
Join us to hear the latest Harambee updates, ask questions, and connect with other Circle Leads.
We will also share future Harambee events, Circle activities, and other opportunities to come together here.
Questions About the Africa Centre
We know people in your Circle may have questions about The Africa Centre, the current situation, and what happens next.
Use this section to find information that may help you answer questions that come up.
For further information and updates, you can also visit The Africa Centre website and official channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about Harambee Circles, the £500 milestone, GoFundMe share links, Circle Leads and how the wider campaign works.
Contacts
Connect with other Circle Leads and the wider Harambee community.
A Message For You
As you begin bringing your community together, we wish you every success.
May one person bring another, one connection open another, and each Circle remind us of what is possible when we pull together.
Your first £500 milestone is the beginning of a continuing Circle. Existing Circles continue, new Circles form, and Harambee grows year after year.
Thank you for your time, your energy, and for the part you are choosing to play in our Africa Centre’s future.
Harambee.
Let us all pull together.
Our Africa Centre. Our Heritage. Our Future.