NON-PROFIT organisations (NPO) are finding the funding climate a huge challenge, says Tracey Brand, the director and medical social Worker at Umduduzi Hospice Care for Children.
This is made more difficult for her NPO because of the nature of the organisation’s work.
Umduduzi Hospice Care for Children cares for children with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses in nine state hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We also provide telephonic support and, if the child is local, we will visit the child in their home providing support.
“This year alone, we've probably provided direct and indirect services to about 500 children, and that’s the tip of the iceberg of those who really need the service.”
Brand said there was a lack of awareness and understanding about palliative care. Most programmes focussed on children’s futures to appeal to more donors.
“It’s getting people to realise that there is a need for what we do. When we talk about children, it’s not just about early childhood development, or under-five mortality because of nutrition and sanitation.
“It’s also about children who are living with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses – there is a whole population who aren’t really being thought about.
“There is also the emotional aspect of our work which adds to some people’s reticence. In addition to this, and this is a problem for many NPOs, many funders do not want to pay for operational costs like salaries. As a team of medical professionals who work in state hospitals, this is our largest expense.
We are Durban, an NPO established in 2010 to assist other NPOs, has also found that running a sustainable NPO is challenging.
Its founder and manager director, Linda Morrison, said NPOs were typically started as passion projects to fulfil a need and seldom got a chance to step back and dedicate resources to their sustainability.
For that reason, We are Durban, in partnership with Gateway Theatre of Shopping and Hollywood Foundation, had facilitated the Change in Action initiative, which provided NPOs with training, marketing material and a platform to grow awareness for the work they do.
Twenty NGOs met last week to relook at their business model and find fresh ways to keep their organisations going.
Mpho Dintwa, the CSI manager at the Hollywood Foundation, said: “By enhancing the skills of NPOs, we help them attract more funding and become more resilient in facing challenges. This strengthens their ability to tackle local issues and make a greater impact in their communities.“
Brand said the training was an opportunity to review their NPO’s Vision and Mission statements.
“As an organisation that has been around for 11 years, this is not something we have reviewed often. The Change in Action training sessions made us look at where we were, where we are and where we would like to be.”
Morrison said training was split into four sessions.
“Topics ranged from writing a clear vision and mission and preventing ‘scope creep’, to digital marketing, managing finances, project management and the specific legal requirements of NPOs.”
The Hollywood Foundation provided one-on-one social media training sessions with each organisation, teaching them how to improve their social media presence.
There was added excitement at the training session as the super-regional mall offered a R10 000 mall card as a prize for the best proposal submitted.
“Each NPO drafted a funding proposal which they pitched and between the Hollywood Foundation and We are Durban, we gave individual feedback. This can help with future proposals, as they generally don’t hear back when a pitch is unsuccessful,” said Morrison.
She said her organisation was thrilled to be a part of empowering other NPOs.
“We have offered training, given them branding and opened the platform for them to show Durban what they are about and who they are. It’s up to them now to show off all their good works and make the most of this amazing opportunity.”
The initiative culminates with the Change in Action NPO Fair at Gateway Theatre of Shopping on Friday, September 6.
Gateway’s marketing manager, Ayesha Sewbaran, said the event would be open to the public.
“Join us in supporting 20 incredible NPOs making a difference in our city. The public can visit the Cinema Level, from 9 am to 9 pm, and connect with these inspiring organisations.”