Noted
Simon Kakalala of AmaTrac Uluntu notes his suggestions at a recent workshop for Eastern Cape NGOs recently convened by the HCI Foundation. AmaTrac Uluntu helps donkey owners in and around Makhanda to develop their transport businesses.
Just say no!
Jonas Schumacher of Port Elizabeth based NGO, Masifunde Learner Development, says NGOs should learn to say “No!” when they can see the funding offered does not correspond with their core vision and mission.
We need funding!
Delegates to the HCI Foundation-sponsored NGO workshop held at the National English Literary Museum shout “funding” instead of “cheese” for the group photo. A survey of 126 NGOs conducted by HCI showed that more than half were struggling with funding and sustainability.
String silhouette
The workshop was not all talk. The programme included a musical interlude where a beautiful tribute to the Soweto String Quartet was played.
Lessons from Gadra
Gadra Education manager, Dr Ashley Westaway, speaks on the value to NGOs of monitoring and evaluating their own work. Gadra's Matric School and Whistle Stop School have become centres of excellence by being responsive to careful monitoring and evaluation processes over time.
Deep listening
MOT SA director, Julia Duminy, listens attentively during a group discussion at a recent NGO workshop held in Grahamstown/Makhanda. MOT SA's mission is to develop emotionally intelligent and courageous youth.
Tabletop collaboration
Thanduxolo Royi and Kjetil Torp (from left) of Awarenet discuss collaboration with other participants at the recent NGO workshop in Grahamstown/Makhanda. Awarenet offers open access internet and ICT training to youth in Grahamstown/Makhanda through their Open Lab, based at the Joza Youth Hub.
Ubunye's 'safe parks'
Mziwamadoda Badi of the Ubunye Foundation speaks on 'safe parks', part of the their 'non-formal' Early Childhood Development programme. These parks are located in homes of the members, who with the assistance of Ubunye, are subsidised by the Department of Social Development.
Reskilling youth
Caroline Ferreira from the Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre, inspires delegates with news of her oganisation's training work in hairdressing, woodwork, upholstery, hospitality, early childhood development, and other fields, to vulnerable youth in Port Elizabeth. Seventy-six percent their students have secured permanent employment.
Donkey power
Michelle Griffith of AmaTrac Uluntu, an NGO that helps donkey owners in and around Makhanda to develop their transport businesses.
By Rod Amner and Sphume Ndlovu
Civil society organisations are feeling the funding pinch.
This was revealed in a recent survey conducted by a concerned funder, the HCI Foundation.
Of the 126 non-governmental organisations that responded to the survey, the majority reported that “fundraising” and “insufficient funds” were, by some distance, their biggest challenges.
The survey results were presented at an HCI stakeholder workshop with 26 Eastern Cape non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the New English Literary Museum in Makhanda last week.
The Foundation, which funds dozens of Eastern Cape NGOs, is the corporate social investment arm of HCI, a black empowerment investment company that has its origins in the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union.
NGOs play a crucial oversight role over democratic institutions, monitor human rights and give citizens, especially the poor and excluded, the tools to know and assert their rights. They also provide valuable public services especially in the face of public service delivery collapses across the country.
Fifty-seven percent of organizations surveyed reported insufficient funds as a problematic area in their organizations, followed by fundraising (50.4%) and sustainability strategy (23.2%).
All told, 95 of the 126 respondents said they needed help with fundraising and sustainability.
Related challenges reported by the NGOs were, “dependency on donors”, “lack of collaboration between NGOs and Government”, “lack of capacity building (NGO staff)”, a dependence on “year to year grants”, “declining economic growth”, and “high demand from funders for new funding measurement methods without training for NGOs”.
The HCI stakeholder workshop aimed to help NGOs face funding and other challenges, including monitoring and evaluation and inter-organisation collaboration.
