Vuyiswa Sidzumo is the acting regional director and a senior program officer based in the foundation's office for Southern Africa. She currently focuses on supporting the growth of local philanthropy and supporting the institutional strengthening efforts of grantee partners.
Prior to joining the foundation in October 2017, she spent 12 years at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation serving as an associate program officer and program officer before becoming the country director for South Africa in 2009. Vuyiswa oversaw evaluations of the country program and strategy development within the office and positioned the office for a Pan African focus. She also designed programs to strengthen the organizational capacity and sustainability of organizations supported by Mott and played a key role in building relationships between government, philanthropy, and civil society as well as civil society and social movements.
Vuyiswa worked within government as director of donor relations in the then Department of Provincial and Local Government in South Africa where she focused on donor monitoring and evaluation. Prior to that, she was a program officer within the United Nations Development Program and for the Sedibeng Centre for Organizational Effectiveness. She has also worked as a consultant on organizational effectiveness and impact assessments. Vuyiswa has pioneered work in the local philanthropy space in South Africa and in the US and currently serves as chair of the steering committee of the Africa Grantmakers’ Affinity Group (AGAG). She also serves on the board of the Listen Charity South Africa.
Vuyiswa is a scientist by training, with an MSc in biochemistry from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
