1. What is GreaterGood South Africa?
GreaterGood South Africa is a professional non-profit social investment services organisation that provides independent research to individuals, corporate donors, trusts, foundations and the general public who want to support social development in South Africa.
We operate with an investment rather than a "charity" mindset and are committed to a dynamic development sector where capital and resources flow to the most effective programmes. We support an efficient social capital market that has a clarity of focus, intentionality, objectivity, transparency and accountability.
We have a vision of a vibrant culture of philanthropy infusing all sectors of South African society, ensuring that we are nation of strong, interconnected communities caring well for ourselves, for each other and for the places where we live.
Through our website, currently featuring over 650 causes, and our various public call-to-action campaigns, we make it possible for both individuals and businesses to support bona fide non profit organisations using various currency mechanisms including time, skills, loyalty points, surplus and previously loved goods and money.
In advocating for the principles of results-driven giving, we focus on performance-based social investment philanthropy and promote evaluated investment opportunities with a verifiable, life-changing impact in order to establish sustainable giving relationships.
2. How does GreaterGood South Africa encourage more South Africans to make giving a part of our everyday lives?
South Africa just tips the scales as a nation of givers, according to the results of a recent survey undertaken by The Centre for Civil Society (CCS), the Southern African Grantmakers’ Association (SAGA) and the National Development Agency (NDA).
This nationwide survey focused on individual giving across age, race, gender and religious groupings. 54% of the respondents said that they give money to charities or causes; less than one-third said that they give food or goods and just 17% of South Africans volunteer their time.
When we do give, we want to know that our contribution actually did made a real positive difference. At Greater Good SA we offer South Africans the opportunity to experience the gift that comes with giving. We use the rich feedback loops that Internet technology makes possible to report back to donors on every donation that is made through the website.
So whether you gave money, eBucks or Amex membership reward points; whether you donated your time or your surplus goods, you can access a reportback from your beneficiary and know exactly how you made a difference in the lives of others. You experience the gift.
3. How does GreaterGood South Africa help individuals and businesses to give more effectively?
For the giving public, the problem is often one of choice - whether to give, whom to give to, how to give and how to make sure that the giving is purposeful and effective.
Like many other countries, South Africa’s social capital market is not particularly dynamic, with funding not necessarily flowing to the most effective organisations but often to the ones that are better known, even though there are so many other not-for-gain Social Profit Organisations (SPOs) doing great work in providing innovative solutions to social problems and extremely worthy of support.
This may be the result of a lack of visibility or market access, or a lack of confidence, on the part of the donor, in organisations with an "unknown" status. Through our various initiatives, GreaterGood SA aims to make these organisations more visible, facilitating their access to resources, particularly where they can demonstrate their social profit in terms of lives changed.
Through our website and our campaigns, we take a potential giver on a journey that assists them in becoming a highly effective individual or corporate social investor. In particular, the South African Social Investment Exchange (SASIX) makes available to you carefully selected social development projects as investment opportunities with a social return.
SASIX emulates the environment of the stock exchange to connect not-for-gain social profit organisations needing funds for specific development and poverty alleviation projects with corporate donors, trusts, foundations and the general public who want to support social upliftment and development in South Africa. Investors have peace of mind knowing the money will be used for a sound project by a reputable organisation, and receive regular updates on how the money is being spent and what social impact it is having.
4. What are some of the different ways that people can support the causes registered with GreaterGood South Africa?
At the heart of GreaterGood South Africa is our website, Greater Good SA. There are currently more than 630 registered social profit organisations represented on the site from all provinces and all development sectors. The website showcases the inspiring work of bona fide community-based social profit organisations (SPOs) who are working to promote social development and deliver a social profit in the form of real and measurable life changes.
On the website, you will find up-to-date information on what work these organisations do, in which communities, and choose the one that best suits your personal interests or your business’s objectives. We strongly believe that effective giving is about much more than just money. So we have a variety of giving currencies that you can use to support the social profit organisation of your choice.
Beyond traditional currencies, credit card donations, bank transfers and the like, you can donate your loyalty points (currently including eBucks, American Express Membership Reward points or Nedbank Greenbacks), offer your time or professional skills by volunteering for a cause or participating in our annual Do It Day campaign, contribute your surplus or previously loved goods, or do your socially conscious shopping in our Good Shop – supporting an organisation directly by purchasing their goods or indirectly by purchasing the goods of our online retailers who will then make a donation to your chosen SPO.
We also feature project proposals – defined bodies of work that organisations wish to undertake, as well as cause wishlists – bite-sized requests for some of the most critical, current needs of our SPOs. You may be able to assist them through providing funding, volunteering or donating the goods they require as gifts-in-kind. All organisations will provide you with an online reportback featured on the site so that you know exactly how your donation made a real difference to your beneficiary.
The GreaterGood Community Noticeboard is a forum where you can post anything that you would like to give. We will do our best to find a cause that has a need that matches what you would like to give. While you provide us with your contact details, these are not featured on the notice board. You will remain anonymous while GreaterGood brokers the exchange between you and a cause. When we have a suitable match, we will contact you privately to make sure that you are still able to give your time or skills or goods and then put you in touch with your selected organisation.
5. What are the GreaterGood South Africa campaigns all about?
Campaigns run by the GreaterGood South Africa Trust offer you a variety of innovative and exciting ways to connect with and support social profit organisations (SPOs). It's not just about donating money. You can easily make a fantastic contribution to the greater good by contributing your ideas, your skills and your unique person power. You can make a difference by supporting a campaign, and perhaps also by getting your friends, family and colleagues involved in the greater good.
Donate-A-Book
It's so easy to give a South African child the opportunity to have a joyful experience of reading whilst promoting literacy in South Africa. You choose if you would like to donate a storybook for a pre-schooler, a book for a blind or deaf child, reference books or a starter library for a poor school. The small gift of a book makes a big difference in the life of a child. Donate-A-Book runs each year from World Book Day in April to World Literacy Day in September.
The Giving Exchange
The Giving Exchange open days transform GreaterGood South Africa from a virtual information exchange into a real-life experience to provide a place where SPOs, individuals and businesses can engage with each other in person-to-person contact to explore new, relevant and effective giving solutions that advance development work in the country. We are currently re-evaluating the format of the Giving Exchange for 2007 to maximise the involvement of both the public and SPOs.
Do It Day
Do It Day is the red letter third Friday of October when you can support the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty by giving your time and skills on just one day to make a real difference in South Africa. Do It Day aims to connect groups of volunteers with social profit organisations in order for them to benefit from skills and person power that they don't normally have access to. Your professional skills, time and ‘sweat equity’ can go a long way to making a real and measurable difference.
Make Christmas Matter
Each festive season from November to January, Make Christmas Matter enables South Africans to revive the true joy of giving and receiving by making their contribution to a brighter and better future an integral part of celebrating Christmas. Make Christmas Matter provides an alternative gifting catalogue for Christmas gifts and makes it easy for people to choose the way that they would like to make a difference. GreaterGood South Africa ensures that funds reach selected projects working towards the eradication of poverty in South Africa and provides a comprehensive report on achievements and impact.
Teachers Dream
Teachers Dream is dedicated to improving the quality of education in South Africa by facilitating resource provision to schools through the fulfilment of curriculum-aligned ‘teachers’ dreams’. Many teachers have brilliant ideas about how to make Maths and Science come alive or how best to demonstrate life skills, show children the geography of the land or explore the metaphors of the Arts. These ‘teachers' dreams’ can easily come to fruition with the support of small grants. In real terms, it actually doesn't cost that much to take Grade 4 learners to the planetarium or Grade 10s to an inspiring exhibition. Activities such as these can significantly build children's capacity through experiential learning, and enhance the learning outcomes of the National Curriculum Statement (Grades R-12) The majority of Teachers Dream proposals require grants of less than R5,000 – the average being just R1,400.
6. How does GreaterGood South Africa view the role of business in the culture of giving?
GreaterGood South Africa provides professional, not-for-profit social investment services to the South African corporate sector. We recognise that there are ever increasing demands on business to demonstrate good citizenship through substantial and meaningful investments in the socio-economic development of South African communities. Our role is to assist companies in making the best social investment decisions and to facilitate the efficient execution of Corporate Social Investment (CSI) programmes, so that CSI budgets actually yield returns in terms of lives really changed for the better.
This means that corporate South Africa needs to make performance-based decisions about their social investments. Businesses can also enhance their corporate social investment programmes by exploring different ways that they can make a positive contribution – ways that go beyond making donations out of the corporate social investment budget. For example, they can partner with non profit organisations through employee giving and volunteer programmes. They can share their wealth of expertise, resources and surplus goods. Through these kinds of partnerships, businesses can play a vital role in building the capacity of our development sector.
GreaterGood South Africa is also committed to facilitating performance-based decision-making and social investment philanthropy through the application of professional investment tools and standards of performance and accountability. Our establishment of the South African Social Investment Exchange (SASIX) in June 2006 has enabled individual and corporate social investors to access quality information enabling them to make well-informed, thoughtful investments in accountable and effective social development organisations.
Our Vision
GreaterGood South Africa has a vision of a vibrant culture of philanthropy infusing all sectors of South African society ensuring that we are a nation of strong, interconnected communities caring well for ourselves, for each other and for the places where we live.
Our Mission
GreaterGood South Africa works to enable the nation to engage with, and substantially support bona fide development organisations in innovative ways that result in the eradication of poverty in South Africa, in our time.
Patron & President:
Mervyn E. King SC - Brait Société Anonyme
Board:
Bheki Sibiya - Brait South Africa
Nicky Newton King - JSE Limited
Vukani Magubane - Barclays South Africa
Conrad Sidego Exceed - Media 24
Raymond Ndlovu - Noah Financial Innovation
Merton Black - Deutsche Bank Securities
Tamzin Ractliffe - GreaterGood South Africa
Staff GreaterGoods S.21:
CEO - Tamzin Ractliffe
Managing Director - Carol Tappenden
Louise Palmer - CSI Consulting, F/R, Evaluation
Veralynn Lambert - Business Development – The Funding Site
Romy Saitowitz - Head : Project Research & Development
Ricolette Booysen - SASIX Admin; Teachers Dream & PR
Caroline Peterson - Training coordinator; Writer
Mariette Ritter - Client Service
Lindy Truswell - Creative Director
Staff GGSA Trust:
Anneline Horn - Head: Operatios
Belinda Claasen - Coordinator: Causes & Campaigns
Allewisen Witbooi - Cause Registration & Matching
Vanessa Hartle - Cause Registration (SVA for client service)
Princess Kanogoiwa - Project identification / Outreach for Cause,
Lehlomela Mopeli - School & Teacher Registration
Kathy Wootton - Financial Management
Liezl De Hahn - Administration & Financial management
Web Development Team:
Alan Alston - Technical Director
Le Roux Bodenstein - Senior Developer
Briehan Lombard & Philippe Fowler - Web Developers
Charlene Botha - Creative Design
Consultants / Specialist Service Partners:
Monitoring & Evaluation - OtherWISE (Donna Podems)
Writer - Caroline Petersen
Evaluation / Research - Beth Peterson
PR - Soapbox Communications
Auditor - Marycke Roche CA(SA)
Legal Advisor - Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs, Richard Rosenthal Attorneys
Information / User Experience Architect - JH-01
Legal Entity:
GreaterGood South Africa Trust
Postnet Suite 293
Private Bag X16
Constantia 7848
Telephone: (021) 794-0580
Fax: (021) 794-2239
E-mail: /
Date of Establishment - October 2004
Registered Trust - IT 3334/2004
Registered NPO & PBO (Section 18A) 040-346 NPO; PBO 930014027
TEU Reference - EVZ0064/11/05; Section 18A Tax Deductibility
The following organisations support GreaterGood South Africa through their Social Investment contributions:
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Ford Foundation
Noah Financial Innovation
Cadiz Financial Strategists
Deutsche Bank
JP Morgan
First Rand Foundation - Wesbank Fund
Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation
Media 24
Discovery Health
First National Bank
The Shuttleworth Foundation
