David Barnard on his #NGOs4Africa Campaign

Inyathelo is holding its sixth annual course in Advancement and Resource Mobilisation from 16-21 July. We asked course graduate Zwakele Ngubane about his key learnings, and how he is applying them in his current post of Director of Advancement at the Durban University of Technology.

South African universities and non-profit organisations (NPOs) are under pressure to manage their fundraising opportunities and processes optimally. This requires well-trained fundraising practitioners with up-to-date, professional knowledge.

Strategic, well-written fundraising proposals are the lifeblood of most of South Africa’s estimated 150 000 non-profit organisations (NPOs). To meet this need, Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement, recently held a proposal writing workshop at its offices in Woodstock, Cape Town (16 May).

ASK Inyathelo houses information, resources, tools, and articles anchored within the Advancement framework, as well as articles in relation to the context we work in as non-profit organisations and institutions. The content is shared through a variety of multi-media tools such as video clips, comic strips, podcasts and via practitioner profiles.

When civil society organisations flex their “knowledge muscles” and engage with donors on more equitable platforms, the potential of philanthropy to run away with the agenda becomes difficult.

This policy brief was prepared for the Inyathelo Philanthropy Forum in November 2017 and examines different forms of philanthropy, its benefits, and risks.

Inyathelo is delighted to welcome Dr Russell Ally as Chairperson of its Board of Trustees from March 2018.

The importance of authentic leadership, digital fundraising and media, and donor motivations were key learnings from an international course created for Inyathelo management and South African higher education fundraising directors.

I am honoured to have been invited to contribute a piece to Inyathelo’s 2016-2017 annual report under the theme of “Reimagining Our Future”. As a starting point, it is worth reminding ourselves of the steadfast and important role that advocacy organisations, like Inyathelo and the Graça Machel Trust, play in these tumultuous times.