HIV/AIDS Funding | Understanding Issues about Fundraising

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Funding

Fundraising for your organisation

Every one of the many thousands of Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) in South Africa relies on local and international funding. Without this funding, these organisations would not be able to function effectively. Potential donors receive requests for money every day, and they are not able to help everyone who asks. However, understanding what is required and good preparation can make the difference between successful fundraising and being rejected.

This section will help you understand all the issues about fundraising and covers the following topics:

What are the stages in fundraising?
What is a grantmaker or donor?
How can I find out their funding criteria?
How can I find out about potential donors?
What will help my organisation get funding?
How do I talk to donors?
How many donors do I need?
Internet fundraising

How to write a funding proposal

It is important to take time and care in writing a funding proposal as this is your chance to convince potential donors that your organisation is run efficiently, that it is accountable, that it can achieve the objectives it sets, and that it is of benefit to the general community.

The following topics are covered in this section:

How to write a narrative report

These are descriptive reports about your organisation’s activities throughout a specified period. This section describes how to write a narrative report and gives useful tips on writing such reports for donors

Financial reporting and accountability

This section explains this type of report, how to write one, and why they are necessary for the effective management and long-term sustainability of your organisation.

Department of Social Development

Toll-free helpline: 0800 220 250

The Department of Social Development (DSD) endeavours to create a better life for the poor, vulnerable and excluded people of society to ensure that their basic needs for food, shelter, education and health care are met. Vulnerable groups for which these services are intended include:

Children, youth, women, older persons and people with disability
Individuals, families and communities affected and infected by HIV and AIDS
Child-headed and adolescent-headed households
Households headed by older persons

Of the total national DSD budget for 2009/10, R2.2 billion (35%) has been allocated to the Child Care and Protection programme, R599 million to the HIV and AIDS programme (10%) and R161 million (3%) to the Family Care and Support programme. All nine provincial departments rely heavily on non-profit organisations (NPOs) to help provide such services to the community. Each year between 50-60% of the total social welfare programme budget is therefore allocated to NPOs for this purpose. More information is provided in this section about the DSD budget for 2009/10 and its relevance to NPOs working in the field of HIV and AIDS and vulnerable children and youth. NPOs providing services for any of the vulnerable groups identified above may qualify for government assistance. For detailed information on how to apply for funding and for national and provincial contact details, please consult the Department of Social Development entries in the AIDSbuzz Donor Directory or contact the relevant HIV and AIDS provincial co-ordinators.

Department of Health

Toll-free helpline: 0800 012 322

The Department of Health (DoH) will consider funding non-profit organisations (NPOs) whose work falls within the sub-programmes of the broad objectives of the National HIV and AIDS and TB Programme, providing they fulfill the application criteria specified in each 'Calls for Proposals' round. The sub-programmes are based on the following categories:

Prevention
Integration of HIV and AIDS and TB
Care, counselling and support
Youth programme
Partnership support

This section provides more information on the DoH budget allocation to NPOs and the focus areas with regard to the HIV and AIDS, TB and STI programmes. For more information on how to apply for funding and national and provincial contact details, please consult the the Department of Health entries in the AIDSbuzz Donor Directory.

National Development Agency

The National Development Agency (NDA) was established in November 1998 through an Act of Parliament and is mandated to carry out the following:

Grant funds to civil society organisations (CSOs) for the purpose of meeting the developmental needs of poor communities
Strengthen the institutional capacity of CSOs for long-term sustainability
Proactively source funds
Promote consultation, dialogue, and sharing of developmental experiences
Debate and influence developmental policies
Develop strategies to collaborate with local community development trusts, foundations, government clusters and CSOs

The NDA's two overarching programme focus areas include economic development and food security, with issues such as HIV and AIDS, the care of orphans and vulnerable children, gender and disability constituting important cross-cutting themes. In order to reach as many beneficiaries as possible the NDA has been decentralised and each province has developed its own strategic priorities. Your organisation does not need to be registered as an NPO in order to qualify for funding, but you do need to clearly show that your organisation does not distribute grants to members or office-bearers, except as reasonable compensation for services rendered. In the 2008/09 funding cycle a total of R82.8 million was allocated for distribution by the nine provinces. For more information on how to apply for funding and national and provincial contact details, please consult the National Development Agency entries in the AIDSbuzz Donor Directory.

Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)

EPWP is a government-led initiative aimed at drawing a significant number of unemployed South Africans into productive work in a manner that will enable them to gain skills and increase their capacity to earn an income. The Programme, which was launched in April 2004 and runs until 2014, aims to promote economic growth and sustainable development through the provision of training and additional work opportunities in public and community services. Public bodies from all spheres of government together with the non-profit sector (supported by government incentives) are expected to deliberately optimise the creation of work opportunities for the unemployed.

EPWP, working with the Departments of Social Development, Health and Education, selected two programmes - home community-based care (HCBC) and early childhood development (ECD) - as the lead pilot programmes for the social sector, with new programmes being added in the second phase 2009-2014.

The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund

The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), established in terms of the Lotteries Act, is the distributing agency for funding from the proceeds of the National Lottery. Each week the licensed operator of the National Lottery transfers funds generated for good causes to the NLDTF. This amount is calculated using a pre-determined formula based on ticket sales in terms of the licencing agreement. Under the current operator, Gidani, 34% of the revenue is paid to the NLDTF, up from an initial 2%. Six percent of revenue is paid as retail commission, 10% percent is retained as operational costs and 50% is paid in prizes. In addition to the category of reconstruction and development, the Lotteries Act identifies the following three broad categories as potential beneficiaries of these funds:

Charities
Sport and recreation
Arts, culture and national heritage

The financial year of the National Lotteries Board and the NLDTF runs from 01 April to 31 March. Funds generated for good causes in a particular financial year are only available for distribution in the following year. This section contains details on recent budgets as well problems regarding the distribution of the money, including a detailed submission of complaints. For more information on how to apply for funding and contact details please consult the National Lottery entry in the AIDSbuzz Donor Directory.

Useful funding websites

The Funding Site
Website: www.thefundingsite.co.za
Email: thefundingsite@icon.co.za
Tel/fax: 021 794 0581
This website, which serves the interests of the non-profit sector, has an online donor directory. This provides authorised subscribers with access to information on more than 1,700 corporate grantmakers, trusts, foundations, individuals or businesses from South Africa and abroad. A basic subscription (R250 per annum) provides access to the name, contact person and address detail only. The Platinum (R500 per annum) and Premium (R750) subscriptions include additional information on each donor, such as, the nature of funding provided, funding focus area, geographic focus, application procedures, exclusions etc. The Platinum subscription is only available to Non-Profit Organisations.

SANGONeT (Thusanang)
Website: sangonet.org.za
The SANGONeT website is a development information portal for NPOs in South Africa which features an NPO management toolkit and information on fundraising. The site also hosts the Prodder Directory, a free, searchable database of NPOs, development agencies and donor foundations and trusts. Organisations can enter and update their own details online. The donor organisations were previously featured in the separate Thusanang Donor Database but this has now merged with the Prodder Directory.

The Southern African Grantmakers' Association (SAGA)
Website: www.donors.org.za
Tel: 011 403 1610
Fax: 011 403 1689
Email: info@donors.org.za
SAGA is a membership association providing professional support to the Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and donor community. SAGA’s members include corporates with social responsibility programmes, international donor organisations, local private foundations, grantmaking non-governmental organisations, community foundations and government funding agencies.

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