Addressing The Gap
During the last decade in South Africa, increased poverty and unemployment have created numerous social problems and needs, affecting all South Africans regardless of race, gender, age or income group. The magnitude of the problem has been so overwhelming that Government has called upon companies, non-profit organisations and religious groups to assist in the social battle. Most companies have responded to this by incorporating a social investment allocation into their budgets. Such allocations were intended to provide annual donations to welfare organisations or social development projects to uplift the community. This approach unfortunately gave rise to a two-fold problem.
In essence, the Foundation serves as a bridge between companies wanting to address the social needs of our country and those individuals who are doing so at grass-roots level.
On the one hand, companies were making donations to welfare organisations which failed to demonstrate the necessary financial integrity and frequently misappropriated funds. On the other hand, smaller welfare organisations and social development projects were not considered since they lacked the time and resources required to make meaningful contact with corporate sponsors. Companies consequently became frustrated, wanting to participate in the social battle, but being unable to scrutinise the credibility of organisations: few companies can afford to sacrifice the necessary time and money from their core business to investigate social investment options and the reliability of organisations to which they contribute. In turn, smaller welfare organisations and social development projects became frustrated, since the majority of their staff dedicated most of their time providing services to the needy, and did not have the human resources necessary to acquire funding.
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