/ 29 April 2016

Investing in the Future Awards: Is your organisation a force for good?

The 2006 forensic report prepared for Zuma's trial that never saw the light of day ... now made available in the public interest.
The outcome of the ANC’s long-awaited KwaZulu-Natal conference was a win for the Thuma Mina crowd. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

The Mail & Guardian presents the 2016 Investing in the Future awards, with a focus on business as a force for good. 

As a result of tough economic conditions, corporate social investment has seen the rise of the concept of business as a force for good. This recognises that business has so much more to give than just money.

The business sector takes responsibility not just for providing some form of capital in support of a worthy cause, but takes the lead in the development and, importantly, in the implementation of interventions.

Business as a force for good emphasises the need to apply sound business principles in making any form of donation. It also supports the notion that investment has to create capacity to be sustainable, and understands that a well-planned and well-directed investment is an investment in future social capital.

This approach is evident in job creation programmes, involvement in enterprise, SMME and skills development, and of course corporate support for education-related development.

The M&G Investing in the Future Awards publicise the often unsung contributions by business to the future of South Africa and its citizens. The awards are designed to heighten public, government and business awareness about meaningful social investment.

Every year, we receive hundreds of entries from projects around the country that are judged by an independent, respected panel of judges.

We invite you and your company/organisation to be part of our annual celebration of business as a force for good.

Who can enter:

•    Corporations with corporate social investment (CSI) programmes, or corporate foundations attached to a company, or where the grantmaking programme is run by a self-governing foundation separate from the founding corporation;

•    Independent foundations and trusts, community foundations, grantmaking NGOs and trusts, family foundations and grantmaking trusts and private foundations;

•    Individuals from any sector across business, civil society or government who have played a significant role in developing new, innovative and inclusive approaches to anti-poverty and development work; 

•    Government or intergovernmental agencies, programmes or initiatives that create new possibilities and develop new models for policy engagement in the national and regional policy spheres. Ministries, government departments, parliaments or parliamentary forums are included.