People First Foundation Quarterly Newsletter Issue 15 December 2015

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People First Speaks!

Issue 15: December 2015

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Welcome to the 15th issue of People First Speaks! In this final issue for 2015 we report on our 4^th recent Donor Forum and Mini-Conference held in Johannesburg. We provide a link to the speech by our guest speaker on current donor trends in South Africa. We also feature a must read article by the CEO of Community Chest SA, Lorenzo Davids, on The Fatique of the Intelligent Donor and tips on how to raise funds online. We also feature a new book for NPO leaders, The Roots of the NGO Crisis in South Africa: A look beyond the surface and how to obtain a copy.

The trustees of People First Foundation wish all NPO leaders a happy festive season and a prosperous 2016. We hope to see you at one of our events in the New Year. Happy reading and remember, your feedback is welcomed!

4^th Donor Forum and Mini Conference held in JHB

In line with our strategic objective last year to roll out our programmes to NPO leaders in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, we held our 4th and first Annual Donor Forum and Mini-Conference in JHB from 17-19 November 2015. Earlier on 29 September 2015 we hosted our first capacity building workshop in JHB focusing on effective monitoring and evaluation, facilitated by our trustee and vice-chair, Vuyiseka January. We thank all our partners who played a valuable role in making the Annual Donor Forum and Mini-Conference a great success such as Action Aid SA (for providing free training space), Khanya College (for offering to handle the catering and shuttle service), Linda Diedericks (guest speaker from the MAGI Fund), Sangonet (for presenting a special session on discounted computer software for NPOs), Mokesh Morar (for providing free accommodation).
To read the full speech by our guest speaker, Linda Diedericks, on current donor trends and opportunities in South Africa, please click hereâ€¦.

This is what some participants had to say:
â€œThese last 3 days has been such a big eye opener for me. It has given me a map to follow in order to follow a practical and realistic process of researching planning and implementing on an effective NGO specially me. Thank you for the opportunity, the honesty, sharing so freely of your information, experience and most importantly for the passion that you have. There is so much work to be done in our country and giving us this opportunity to make a sustainable difference in our communities.â€ (Anonymous)

â€œFirstly I want to thank People First Foundation and all the lectures over the past 3 days. I come from a small organization, but Iâ€™ve learned so much useful information over the 3 days that I now can take back and put to practise. What stood out for was the fundraising for struggling NGO`s and how to use resources and techniques to improve in an area that I am not strong in. Thank you again People First Foundation, much appreciated.â€ (Claudia Dippenaar, Project Manager, J 29 Community Care)

Participants at the Donor Forum and Mini Conference

James Senokwanyane presenting the NPO legal compliance workshop

Vuyiseka January facilitating a session on Effective monitoring and evaluation

Linda Diedericks from the MAGI Fund

Thank you SAFULA!

The trustees of People First Foundation wish to thank the Southern African Fundraising and Leadership Academy for their R5000 donation to cover the catering and admin costs at our 4^th Annual Donor Forum and Mini-Conference in JHB.

10 Tips for How Nonprofits Can Raise More Money Online

We click. We tap. We swipe. Everything, including fundraising, is faster thanks to technology.
Online fundraising has become contagious. People can donate from home, the barber shop, work (procrastinating much?), the kitchen (pay attention to those peas!), and the versatility is endless. Just donâ€™t donate and drive, please.
The simplicity and speed of online donations appeal to younger donors who wonâ€™t mail checks. The option to give online can get them involved and excited to give to your nonprofit.

Just donâ€™t think that online fundraising will be the magic elixir that cures all your achy ask amounts, sore retention rates, and that lingering headache from always falling just short of your fundraising goals.

40.5% of nonprofits said that less than 10% of their fundraising revenue comes from online donations. The goal of this article is to help you to increase that number, but online fundraising should still be a part of a holistic fundraising solution, as opposed to a magic cure-all.

To read more, click here: http://blog.nonprofiteasy.com/10-tips-nonprofits-raise-money-online/

The Fatigue of the Intelligent Donor
By: Lorenzo Davids
(CEO of Community Chest of SA)

The deep question that confronts us in 2014 is whether the noble acts of Philanthropy can further evolve into a far more directed force and more meaningful practice to impact the socio-economic challenges confronting the South African landscape? There is no doubt that the world in which we live in can do with a very significant dose of more philanthropically minded citizens everywhere. The generosity of both the wealthy and the poor philanthropist is to be lauded. Billions of rand of aid money are donated to worthy causes each year. And many of those causes,

despite severe challenges and constraints, are holding the very thin fabric of civil society together â€“ often on shoe string budgets and the lowest paid staff. One of the key questions for those of us who monitor these environments, is how does one shift this giving relationship from often transactional giving â€“ a donor giving money and a beneficiary spending that money on an agreed cause, to a more engaged, transformative and meaningful relationship . This transactional relationship has dulled the real intent of philanthropy â€“ the infusion of a responsibility to beneficiaries to transform context and currency by means of this exchange.

READ MORE...

Profile: Titania Fernandez-Bailey

An ex-trustee of People First Foundation, Mrs Fernandez-Bailey has pursued an increasingly progressive profession in Leadership Development, Philanthropy, Development and Advancement Practices and Public Relations Management since 1994. Her career has seen her involved in direct leadership of teams, systems, structures and procedures across multi-sectoral and cross-border relationships in a professional and volunteer capacity. She is both an advisor and trustee of various community initiatives and programmes and believes in leading without title.

Previously, as the driver of the Resource Mobilization strategy for the Community Chest of the Western Cape, her mandate was to expand Major Giving and strategic philanthropy across and beyond the Africa region. As part of a global affiliate with the United Way Worldwide movement Mrs Fernandez-Bailey was responsible for the facilitation of effective and efficient strategic and operational support necessary for the timely implementation of fundraising and resource mobilization strategies. As part of the management team, her mandate is to support the CEO and voluntary Directors of the Board in guiding the implementation of the corporate strategy of the organization while mobilizing consultative processes on a local, national, regional and global level.

Mrs Fernandez-Bailey has also been actively involved in the development of the Community Chestâ€™s Capacity Training Programme, developing and facilitating modules of fundraising and governance. She has expanded this competence through the facilitation of modules of capacity building on a global and regional level. In doing so she has achieved win-wins through nurturing community strengths, facilitating strategic philanthropy initiatives and contributing to the transformation of social development sectors across Africa. She is also an accredited facilitator.
She currently serves as Head: Human and Organisational Capital Development for the Community Chest â€“ Western Cape. She is a firm believer in serving humanity and living with purpose. She believes that leadership is about cutting through the fog and staying acutely connected to whatâ€™s most central and important, in work and in life. She completed a BA Social Science at UCT majoring in marketing and personnel management in 1992. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Social Policy and Management at UCT. She is also a founding member and current trustee of the Southern Africa Fundraising and Leadership Academy (SAFULA).

Titania with volunteers of YoungPeople@Work

Titania with fellow trustees of PFF

New book for NPO leaders by Frank Julie

"Frank Julie, in his penetrating piece "The Roots of the NGO Crisis in South Africa: A Look Beyond the Surface" provides first a careful analysis of historical aspects of South Africaâ€™s NGO sector. He then discusses the lessons learned from history on the political front and on the leadership learning front, alluding frequently to the ways in which the dialogue in South Africa was influenced by the dialogue in other parts of Africa. Declaring that the way the practitioners in South Africa look at the problem is â€œpart of the problem,â€ he concludes that â€œEnough evidence exists that many of us actually colluded in our own downfall and may have helped (consciously or unconsciously) to precipitate the current endemic crisis in the sector."

(Prof Karla Simon, Editor in Chief, International Journal for Civil Society Law, Catholic University of America)
Book price: R120 - To order your copy, please email frankjulie2603@gmail.com.

Who is People First Foundation

People First Foundation was established in 2009 as a Non-Profit Trust and publicly launched in June 2010. PFF consists of committed professionals with years of experience, who selflessly volunteer their time, skills and experience to build the necessary capacity within NPOs to deliver on their mandate. The organisation is deliberately structured in a way to limit operational costs to the minimum in order to create maximum access to its services. Its board of trustees is a wor...king board with a coordinator responsible for administration. We have no staff and pay no salaries. We are supported by a group of committed associates (some are ex-trustees) supporting our mission. It is through this model of volunteer labour, selfless giving and cultivation of strategic partnerships to reduce costs that we are able to reduce total dependency on external funding to ensure the long term sustainability of the organisation.

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