The Festive Season is a significant opportunity to be impactful through individual and corporate giving.
December holidays are not necessarily a stress-free time for communities or the not-for-profit (NPO) organisations that serve them. NPO resources do not always correspond with the intensification of the operational and programme needs over the holidays.
On 27 November, the global and national Giving Tuesday movement encourages people and organisations to get behind a day of giving, fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. It is celebrated on the Tuesday following the shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It is a great platform to encourage generosity and to consider being strategic and impactful with your giving going into the Festive Season.
Nation Builder hosted 12 regional NPO Collabs in Gauteng, the Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal during 2018.
The discussions with NPO leaders from around the country have highlighted insights to keep in mind for impactful giving:
Consider a longer-term partnership
Once-off cash and gifts/goods donations, especially over the Festive Season, are always welcome. NPOs can, however, plan better when they know that there is a longer-term, predictable financial commitment from a donor or funding partner.
NPOs need to meet their operational needs (like paying electricity bills and employee salaries) as much as they need donated goods or Christmas gifts. According to Meleney Berry-Kriel, social activist and the co-founder of the Viva Foundation: “Funders may be willing to pay for an equipped classroom, but not for the salary of the teacher, while it’s really not the classroom that impacts the child, but the teacher, and teachers need to be paid.”
Consider signing a debit order for the coming year, in addition to making a Festive Season once-off donation of cash and goods.
Liaise with the NPO on the most strategic way to partner
Nation Builder asked their NPO Collab participants about what would be a helpful and strategic way to partner with them over the coming holiday season.
Here are a few ways to be impactful in partnership and giving:
Mould Empower Serve (MES) has put together a national “Packaged Love” campaign. This campaign indicates the donation needs of each of their programmes nationally. Download the campaign documentation here.
Vastfontein has 20 families (approx. 100 people) who receive food parcels from them every week, as these families mostly live off social grants and don’t always have food to eat. Partner with Vastifontein to deliver at least three to four food parcels during the December holidays, and a gifts parcel for each family member just before Christmas. Email Mathilda(at)vastfontein.co.za for detailed information regarding the goods needed for the food parcels, as well as the age and gender of the respective family members for the special Christmas gifts.
Helplift partners with Tembisa Child and Family Welfare, who are hosting a gala dinner on 9 November to raise funds to buy 2019 school uniforms for the 110 children living at Tembisa Child and Family Welfare’s two care homes. Contact temwelfare(at)gmail.com for more information.
Learn to Earn is a skills development and job creation organisation based in Khayelitsha, Claremont and Hermanus. Their mission is to develop unemployed people socially, economically, emotionally and spiritually. One of the ways they do this is by manufacturing corporate gifts, conference bags and promotional items through their Zakhele division. Zakhele Manufacturing & Design is a division of Learn to Earn Development Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, a Level 1 BBBEE company. All products are made by previously unemployed people who have completed Learn to Earn’s sewing course and are now employed as full-time machinists. They are currently running a Summer Sale ending 10 December 2018, selling beautiful picnic blankets, beach bags and eco-shoppers. Please contact them to place an order or enquire about their products: 021 361 5972 / brc(at)learntoearn.org.za / learntoearn.org.za
Viva Foundation SA would appreciate cash donations and gift hampers for 30 people (25 women and 5 men). They would also like to gift the Viva children with age-appropriate, gender-neutral* gift hampers as follows: Babies (20 children), Toddlers and Pre-School (60 children), Primary School (120 children), Teenagers (40 learners). *In the light of facilitating an easily-manageable hand-out, they have decided to opt for gender-neutral gifts comprising particularly of stationery, books, snacks and toiletries. Cash donations can be made by logging onto the Viva website at www.viva-sa.co.za and delivery of goods-in-kind can be made at our offices at the Viva Connect, Cullinan and at our Centre, the Viva Village, Moshumi Street 371, Alaska Informal Settlement, Mamelodi East.
“Life Change” is U-turn Homeless Ministries’ final phase and lasts on average two years. Homeless participants gain work opportunity, on-the-job skills development and formal training in IT, English, Life Orientation, Bible Study and daily devotions, as well as ongoing relapse prevention. Six months after graduating, 75% maintain a stable income and 75% remain sober. Sponsor a homeless “Life Change” champion with R5,000 a month, or a portion thereof. Invest in a long-term, meaningful solution to homelessness by becoming a monthly supporter go to Homeless.org.za/get-involved/#donations or for more information email Info(at)Homeless.org.za.
Visit Nation Builder for more resources on how to be impactful with your personal and corporate giving: RESOURCES
