The Old Mutual Staff Volunteer Programme was launched in 1993, long before employee community programmes had become vogue in South Africa. It was set up in response to the many requests for funding the company received from staff.
After limited success, the programme was relaunched to staff in 1998. It now has the full support of executive management and the managing director, Roddy Sparks, is the patron.
Staff and members of their immediate family are encouraged to identify projects within their communities that are in a position to make a difference.
‘Many of these projects don’t know how to apply, or would never have thought to apply, for funding,” says Sandy Fouché, the project manager.
The staff members who arrange the funding are actively involved in the projects, in terms of volunteering their personal time and contributing financially themselves.
Old Mutual has a skilled workforce of more than 13 000, with huge potential to reach out and assist a variety of communities countrywide, in both rural and urban areas.
The programme has three components:
l The Staff Community Builder Programme encourages staff to share their skills and expertise with outside communities. Staff apply for financial assistance for these projects of up to R20 000.
l The Staff Charity Fund encourages employees to donate a chosen amount of their salaries to charitable initiatives. The company matches this donation rand for rand, up to an annual limit of R800 000.
The staff charity fund focuses on abused children, animal welfare, HIV/Aids and welfare for the elderly. These focus areas were identified as a result of a survey in which about 3 000 staff members indicated where they would like their funding to go.
l The Adopt an Orphan Programme encourages staff to ‘adopt” an orphaned child by donating a fixed amount each month. Again, the company matches the financial contributions staff make.
Heartbeat, an NGO that specialises in caring for orphans, administers the Adopt an Orphan Programme. Heartbeat uses the money to buy basic items for the children in its care and provide them with an education.
Since the launch of this programme in May last year 375 children are receiving support on a monthly basis and 96 youngsters are receiving tertiary education courtesy of the programme.
Employees’ involvement and ideas are communicated through corporate publications and every year the MD hosts an annual awards ceremony to celebrate the company’s ‘community champions”.
‘Offering something of yourself to help a fellow being is an act of generosity and love,” says Sparks. ‘Every year more Old Mutual employees are making a contribution, whether financial or personal, to help better the lives of South Africans and to help this young democracy of ours to prosper and grow.”
Fouché says the direct involvement and interest of the managing director and executive have made a huge difference to the success of the programme.
‘The staff are more eager to buy into a programme that has the clear support of the MD,” she says. ‘Fortunately, our MD is so passionate about the community that his enthusiasm infects the staff.”
She adds that executive managers are responsible for the various business units in the company. ‘Those business units with managers who are enthusiastic about the staff volunteer programme are the ones with the most community projects, so there is clearly a link between management involvement and success.”
Old Mutual has a foundation which allocates about R2-million each year to 120 community projects or organisations through this programme. More than 500 projects have received support since 1993.
Projects range from childhood development programmes to HIV/Aids assistance, education, health, welfare and economic development. Applications for assistance are received from executive management level through to the cleaning and service staff.
Fouché says the programme has encouraged a more caring corporate culture throughout Old Mutual. Comments recorded from staff members involved bear this out.
‘When you give, you grow as a human being. It is only by giving that you receive, not only spiritually but in every conceivable way,” says Wynand van Rooyen, who assists the Sencit Resthaven Old Age Home in Gordon’s Bay.
‘It makes me feel so great, knowing I have done something for these people,” says Rhulani Baloyi, who helps out at the Tlakukani Mi Ti Endlela Club.
This was the first year the Investing the Future Awards featured a category for corporate employee community involvement. The category was introduced in response to the growing popularity and complexity of staff volunteerism programmes.
There was a good response to the new category, not only in terms of quantity of entrants but particularly in regard to the quality and innovativeness of programmes being run by corporations, both large and small.
The judges singled out the Old Mutual Staff Volunteer Programme as a ground-breaking initiative and for setting a good example.