Within a context of seemingly perpetual concerns regarding funding within the non-profit sector, and against the background of a continuing lag effect from the recession and associated CSI budgetary cuts, the Making CSI Matter conference is devoting one of its breakaway engagement sessions to exploring of the state of development funding.
The session will investigate the characteristics, constraints, efficacies and flow of various sources of funding, with a view to interrogating what funding is available, where and how it is being spent, and the challenges involved in accessing it. We also explore which areas are still being unmet by the various sources of funding available. Each funding source has its own agenda and areas of priority.
Corporates are looking for business-aligned projects and may seek branding opportunities; the National Development Agency (NDA) places rural development and empowerment at the top of its agenda, while government seeks to meet national and provincial social development priorities. For each of these sources, there are varying degrees of transparency about funding availability and the criteria used to determine to which projects funds are ultimately channelled.
Where and how, for example, does one access National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund monies disbursed through the National Lotteries Board (NLB), or funds from the National Development Agency? These two funding sources will be explored in depth, making use of the findings of the Funding Practice Alliance’s Meeting Their Mandates? research report.
It interrogates whether these agencies are meeting their mandates with regard to grantmaking, and focuses on the extent to which they are realising their potential to address South Africa’s development challenges. It is an interesting case in point.
The research report highlights a number of challenges — including operational inefficiency; poor civil society engagement; cumbersome administrative structures, functions and processes; lack of a clear funding approach; and governance, transparency and accountability concerns — all of which hinder the effective flow of funding from the NLB and NDA to potential beneficiaries. While corporate funding may appear to be easier to access, it too presents areas of challenge.
The breakaway session will take a deeper look at field research conducted by Trialogue and presented in the latest CSI Handbook. This indicates that while overall CSI budgets were cut in the wake of the recession, the net-profit-after-tax (NPAT) proportion of spend has, on average, risen. Overwhelmingly, projects in education account for the largest proportion of corporate CSI spending, followed by health and HIV/Aids, and social and community development.
There are still many focus areas that are under-serviced: sports development, housing, and safety and security among them. A third of the monies being disbursed go to national projects but from a provincial point of view, projects in Gauteng are still most likely to receive the lion’s share of corporate funding. The Northern Cape and Free State where, arguably, development needs are extremely pressing, still receive less than 5% of corporate funds.
Accessing government funding presents different challenges. If NPOs are to flourish, they need to navigate this difficult territory, familiarising themselves with the different agendas, timelines, criteria and approval processes of each source of funding — all the while trying to operate successfully in what is an already challenging sector. The breakaway session will provide information that will help them better understand the funding space, while delivering to funders a clearer picture of those areas that still present funding opportunities. Panelists will include experts in each funding field.
Insights into the Department of Social Development’s priority areas and funding channels will be provided, while representatives from Trialogue will explore the various characteristics and types of corporate funding currently being disbursed.
James Taylor, development practitioner from the Community Development Resource Agency, will represent the Funding Practice Alliance and offer insights into NLB and NDA funding characteristics. Their insights, coupled with key findings from research, will be presented during the breakaway session, with a view to managing the funding hurdles that currently exist and potentially making funding more accessible.
These and other key funding issues will be explored and interrogated at the Making CSI Matter conference, providing delegates with a chance to be part of a discussion that will provide practitioners with greater clarity on the way forward for development funding within South Africa.
To be part of these engaging discussions on development funding, register for the Making CSI Matter conference on www.trialogue.co.za
This article originally appeared in the Mail & Guardian newspaper as a supplement to the M&G in partnership with the Southern African Trust