With the national effort turning to economic recovery in the wake of the lockdown, non-profit organisations (NPOs) will shoulder much of the burden of helping vulnerable people and communities to rebuild.
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This comes at a time that their resources have been depleted by their frontline work during the worst months of the pandemic.
Their ability to raise funds was restricted during this time, and many of their usual private and corporate donors have cut back funding.
Whether they focus on poverty relief, education, healthcare, gender-based violence or socio-economic challenges, NPOs need support more than ever.
With this as the background, now is an opportune time for corporate South Africa to rethink many of the ways in which it engages NPOs. Here are some ways large companies could better engage with the NPO sector:
- Recognise their experience and expertise
Even now, many corporate sponsors and donors take a heavy-handed approach towards their partnerships with NPOs. As a starting point—one from which my other bullet points naturally evolve—private sector companies should accept that the NPO and its team are the experts. They know the landscape and the stakeholders. They have the intellectual capital and experience needed to deliver the outcomes, provided they get access to the right support and resources.
- Understand that they will do better work if better resourced
In the for-profit sector, we assume that people will expect market-related salaries, perform better if they are given the right financial incentives, and achieve more if they have the right tools and facilities. Why do we imagine that NPOs can do their jobs if they can only pay low salaries and have to use substandard tools? When companies engage with NPOs, they should look at their outcomes, not only at their overheads.
- Give them time and space to achieve their goals
In the for-profit sector, companies and entrepreneurs that take calculated risks to drive growth and innovation are respected and admired. We also accept that it may take two years or more for a newly founded business to break even, especially one that makes substantial investments in building infrastructure. NPOs that fail with a creative campaign or programme, however, will often lose credibility and funding. Those with bold, game-changing plans that will take more time to produce results struggle to get sponsorship. This encourages NPOs and social entrepreneurs to play it safe. It kills innovation in revenue generation, fundraising and developing ambitious solutions to large social problems.
NPOs are at a disadvantage
NPOs are at a severe disadvantage compared to for-profit companies – starving them of the opportunity for growth, sustainable scale and impact. They cannot use budget to attract talent, they may not take risks, and they often are expected to achieve miracles in unrealistic timeframes. It’s time to re-evaluate how we think about these organisations. As corporate South Africa let’s go beyond the one-dimensional metrics of cost, risk and deadline, and consider how we can help NPOs to use time, money and opportunity to achieve blue-sky outcomes. It’s time we shift our thinking, instead, towards a mindset that harnesses social innovation as a fundamental tool to change the world.
Bianca Lima-Boekhoud, Group Head of Transformation at Blue Label Telecoms
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