Recent findings of the State of Giving Project’s research report suggest that individuals contribute an average of R920 million per month toward poverty alleviation and development in South Africa. In addition, 2.2 percent of the income of the working population and 1.9 hours per month are given to charity, which is comparatively high by international standards.

This is according to Adam Habib, executive director of the Human Science Research Council (HSRC), commenting on the findings of a recent report from the State of Giving Project, established by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS), the South African Grantmaker’s Association (SAGA) and the National Development Agency (NDA), at a recent forum event hosted by the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science.

 

The report found that while international companies are far more likely to fund social research in South Africa than their local counterparts, 45 percent of the South African population gives directly, 54 percent of the population gives money, 3 percent gives food, and 17 percent gives time, making South Africa a very charitable society.

The State of Giving project was established to analyse government spending since 1994, patterns of giving in the corporate sector, how corporate social investment (CSI) affected corporations and if black entrepreneurs participated in social giving.

The project, which took three years to complete, was funded by international corporations and South African private foundations at a cost of R9 million. Five research teams surveyed 3 000 respondents and analysed corporates, the state, poor communities, private foreign foundations and religious communities.

An interesting finding was that Gauteng, South Africa’s wealthiest province, gives less than the Eastern Cape, one of the poorest provinces.

Other findings included that men give more money than women, but women give more time. While whites give to organisations more than blacks do, blacks give more time.

A feature of giving in South Africa is the amount passed to extended families, which is not accounted for in philanthropic studies. 59 percent of the black community gives to their extended families, compared to 58 percent of the Indian community, 42 percent of the coloured community and 39 percent of the white community.

Children are the leading recipients of charity at 22 percent of the total, with HIV/Aids close behind at 21 percent. The ‘poor’ receive 20 percent, with the disabled and elderly following with 8 percent and 5 percent respectively.

Steven Friedman, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Policy Studies, looked at the role of corporates in giving as well as the reasons why companies make CSI decisions. They found two different positions, namely Process Professionalism and Substance Professionalism.

Process Professionalism occurs when a company has a serious strategy for CSI, and a coherent policy which is explained to the company and the recipients. The policies are transparent and personal preferences are not taken into account.

Substance Professionalism revolves around what Friedman has termed, ‘the chairman’s whim’, where executives plan their CSI policy around their own interests. Friedman believes that because companies are not run as democracies, the Substance approach is more common.

Another aspect the project examined is whether or not a company’s CSI programme should be aligned with its strategy. While some believe that this is inappropriate, it has worked very well for Pick ‘n Pay, one of the companies analysed by the project.

When asked if South African companies should be aligning their CSI strategies to that of the government, Friedman believes that this is the “last thing they should be doing”. He argues that if the government does not have the resources for development, that they should use taxes – not force companies to give more. CSI cannot duplicate what a government can do.

Source: Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) Review, November 2005
www.gibsreview.co.za

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This featured Article is brought to you by GreaterGood South Africa Trust

 

GreaterGood South Africa works to enable the nation to engage with, and substantially support, bona fide non profit organisations in innovative ways that result in the eradication of poverty and inequality in South Africa.

Inyathelo - The South African Institute for Advancement (SAIA) held its first Matric Giving Initiative workshop on 28 March 2006 in Green Point. This initiative is part of a pilot programme called YIPPSA (Youth in Philanthropy Programme South Africa), and is fully funded by Inyathelo - The South African Institute for Advancement.

By Barry Smith, Regional Director, Southern Africa of The Synergos Institute
July 2006

 

To many, the term philanthropy connotes” charity" or vertical giving from rich to poor to alleviate the symptoms of poverty and inequality, rather than to change the structural, systemic marginalisation of the majority. Barry Smith points to the emerging practice of social justice philanthropy and suggests that we need multi-sectoral collaboration – and a cohesive social giving sector – to overcome South Africa's massive social deficits.This article was prepared for the 2006 edition of The CSI (Corporate Social Investment) Handbook produced by Trialogue.

The concept of a non profit organisation is a familiar one which has been widely used for many years, and is useful in highlighting the fact that a Non Profit Organisation (or NPO) registered in South Africa does not make financial profits for distribution to shareholders, rather using any income purely to carry out work in support of its social mission. But when you stop and think about it, "non profit" is a pretty negative term.

Research the causes or issues important to you.

Look for a group that works with issues about which you feel strongly. You might already be giving money to one of these organizations, and that might be a good place to begin your volunteer experience. If you can't find such an organization, here's a challenging and intriguing thought: why not start one yourself? You can rally your neighbours to clean up that vacant plot on the corner, patrol the neighbourhood, paint an elderly neighbour's house, take turns keeping an eye on the ailing person down the street, or form a group to advocate for a remedy to that dangerous intersection in your neighborhood. There is no end to the creative avenues for volunteering, just as there is no end to the need for volunteers.