Ask a Capetonian to play ‘word association” with the name Community Chest, and the most likely responses will be ‘carnival” and ‘twilight team run”.
These two fun-filled events have become the public signature of the Community Chest of the Western Cape, the 75-year-old organisation whose pioneering fund-raising and allocating of funds have woven it into the fabric of Western Cape communities — at the levels of both entertainment and community development.
The annual December fun run, initiated by former rugby Springbok Dave Stewart, takes place for the 21st time this year.
Both the fun run and the four-day carnival underscore the concept of volunteerism.
Beyond the surface presence of such events, Community Chest, led by CEO Amelia Jones, has adapted to South Africa’s fast-changing philanthropic profile.
The Western Cape branch, which hosted the World Assembly of United Way International in 2002, is the oldest and largest of eight South African affiliates and the oldest in the world outside Canada.
Community Chest invests its resources in developing communities to help alleviate the impact of poverty.
It does this through partnering and supporting 570 organisations that deliver services in the health, early childhood/child/youth development, elderly, homeless, and mentally and physically-challenged sectors.
A large part of its income derives from trusts and estates, as well as from corporate and individual donors.
But it is the burgeoning Give-As-You-Earn initiative, pioneered by the Community Chest in 1930, that best illustrates the integrated donor-beneficiary relationship that has evolved. Through this programme regular deductions are made from salary and pay.
Nearly R2,5-million is raised annually in the Western Cape through these deductions.
In the past 15 years the growth in contributions has come mainly from ordinary people — the programme allows for minimum contributions of R5 a month.
Wage earners support the system because they see it benefiting their own communities.
Community Chest makes a significant contribution to pre-school education in poor communities, for example.
And there is always the possibility that wage-earners themselves could benefit down the line should illness or mishap befall their families.
Over the years Community Chest has built close associations with a range of organisations and entities, including the government, business, workers and the public at large.
Its expertise in investing the donor rand has made it the recipient of choice over a wide spectrum when it comes to donations.
A significant pioneering initiative is a decade-long programme of enhancing capacity in community-based organisations (CBOs).
Community Chest runs training programmes for CBOs and more than 1 000 people have graduated with management skills to sustain their micro-organisations and provide community development in the most basic strata of society.
Community Chest CEO Amelia Jones was one of the judges of Investing in the Future Awards 2003