This study focused on the similar and different roles that the non-government organization sector plays in the China and South Africa together with the challenges they face.

This study focused on the similar and different roles that the non-government organization sector plays in the China and South Africa together with the challenges they face.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Cross-sectoral collaborations between non-profit organisations (NPOs) and the business sector are on the rise. The success of the cross-sectoral collaboration is varied and based upon the value generated for both parties. Most literature around cross-sectoral collaboration has been written with a bias towards the corporate sector, not taking into account the challenges faced by NPOs. This research project focused upon the value generated from collaborations between NPOs and individuals from the corporate sector, within the NPO landscape. The University of Stellenbosch Business School Executive Development (USB-ED) presents a course to develop the skills of senior managers in the Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP). As part of the programme, participants (from the business sector) are required to complete a business driven action learning (BDAL) assignment where they engage NPOs in order to do a strategic analysis and develop a strategic plan for them. The BDAL assignment is not only designed to provide the SMDP participants with the opportunity to apply knowledge acquired in the course, but also aims to make a social contribution. Qualitative research methods were employed to study the engagement between the NPOs and the SMDP participants, the outcomes of the BDAL assignment and the perceived value created for the NPOs and SMDP participants. The research was not an evaluation of the BDAL assignment but drew on the information generated from the BDAL assignment to understand how value was generated through the process of business and NPOs working together. Value was generated for the NPOs through the relationship with the SMDP participants and the skills the SMDP participants employed during the collaboration. It was found, however, that the outcome was mostly generated on a strategic level for the NPO. But, as a result of a lack in capacity, the NPOs were not able to maximise the value from the BDAL assignment implementing it on an operational level. Where the SMDP participants were able to close the gap between the strategic and the operational level, through skills transfer and providing practical guidelines, the value increased significantly and operation efficiency increased. The findings on how value was generated through the BDAL assignment and the literature review formed the foundations for the guidelines that are provided for cross-sectoral collaboration, within the NPO landscape. Subsequently, the aim of the study is to enrich the cross-sectoral collaborations between NPOs and business, as well as the BDAL assignment and its outcomes.

The social problems that exist within South Africa cannot be ignored. The magnitude of poverty, unemployment and crime that exist are ever increasing while HIV/Aids has left 10 percent of the children within this country orphaned. Discrepancies in the access to proper healthcare and education between the private sector and the public sector is evident, mainly due to the failure of the public sector (government) to effectively implement and manage the healthcare and education systems in South Africa. In the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of registered non-profit organisations which can be attributed to a greater awareness of the social problems that exist, as well as the inability of the government and the public sector to address the social problems on their own. Social entrepreneurs are attempting to find innovative solutions to these problems by starting non-profit organisations and then implementing projects and programmes that will help alleviate these social problems. Social entrepreneurship is a fairly new concept, particularly within the realm of academic research. Previous studies on social entrepreneurship have highlighted the need for social entrepreneurs and have also emphasised the many challenges these social entrepreneurs face, one of which is the lack of education and business skills training. Research indicates that a non-profit organisation should be run like a small business in order to be successful, which highlights the importance for social entrepreneurs to be equipped with the appropriate business skills. The impact that a social entrepreneur’s education and business skills training has on the success of a non-profit organisation is however still largely unknown. The purpose of this study was three-fold: firstly, to study the relationship between the education and business skills training of a social entrepreneur and the successful functioning of their non-profit organisations; secondly, to develop recommendations for social entrepreneurs on how to more effectively manage their non-profit organisations and guide them in what business training will benefit them as a social entrepreneur; and lastly, to add to the already existing knowledge on social entrepreneurs, particularly within a South African context. The main research methodology used to conduct the empirical investigation in this study was qualitative in nature. Elements of quantitative data collection were adopted in the instruments in order to ensure standardisation when measuring a social entrepreneur’s education and business skills training, as well as the success of their respective non-profit organisation. In-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen social entrepreneurs who work in a variety of social developmental sectors within South Africa. An interview guide was developed to record the formal levels of education and business skills training received by the respondents and to discuss the impact of other types of education and business skills training on their capabilities as managers of non-profit organisations. A tool was developed to measure the success of the respective non-profit organisations and the results were compared to the social entrepreneur’s levels of education and business skills training. Global analysis was the data analysis technique adopted in this study and was used to identify common themes among the transcripts as well as possible relationships between different variables. There were two main findings with regard to the impact a social entrepreneur’s education and business skills training has on the successful functioning of his/her respective non-profit organisation. Firstly, the formal types of education and business skills training of a social entrepreneur have a direct impact on the success of a nonprofit organisation. Secondly, once a social entrepreneur has completed school level education, informal types of education and business skills training play a bigger role than formal types in the effective management and success of his/her respective non-profit organisation. The findings of the empirical investigation showed that the most valuable three types of informal education and business skills training include workshops and conferences, business experience and networks. The most important recommendation for social entrepreneurs is that their school level education should be completed, in order to access further education and business skills training opportunities. The social entrepreneurs must equip themselves with certain skills and knowledge, namely: financial management, legal knowledge, human resource management, strategic management, monitoring and evaluation skills, technical skills and research skills, in order to ensure the successful functioning of their respective non-profit organization.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public and Development Management) 31 March 2014 / Non Profit Organisations (NPOs) are not exempt from the demands of employee attraction, retention and motivation. As NPOs seek to sustain themselves, the need to manage the performance of employees will continue to be a critical human resource management issue. Performance Appraisals (PAs) are used as tools that help manage the performance of employees; however, there is little understanding by those who participate in their use in NPOs. The purpose of this research is to explore how PAs are used at the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD) and how the employees perceive their use. Using qualitative research methods, primary data was collected through interviews and document analysis. The main findings of the research were that, the CEPD was unclear about its objectives for conducting PAs due to poor implementation of performance management systems and that, employees’ perceive the performance appraisal process as ineffective and irrelevant. There are serious managerial implications for defining the process of conducting appraisals and these include; training, selection of appropriate tools and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the process.

The role of NGOs has been widely recognised in eradicating poverty and creating sustainable development in communities. Governments and private corporations view them as complementary partners in enhancing the livelihoods of people. In order to survive, NGOs need to be financially sustainable to carry out their missions. Their existence is, however, threatened by the current economic and political climate. In South Africa, the recent global economic recession and the country’s recovery from the apartheid system since 1994 have both had a negative impact in funding financial flow to NGOs. Compounded by the growing demand for new NGOs, evidence shows that there is fierce competition between NGOs for the same funding and, since NGOs by nature do not produce commercial outputs, they are limited to pursue funding opportunities made available through donations. This study explored the issues of financial sustainability within local NGOs in the Gauteng Province. The aim was to build mechanisms that could be put in place to monitor organisational financial sustainability over time. The study used a qualitative methodology and the researcher adopted an exploratory design to gain insight and meaning into the issues faced by NGOs. A sample of ten members from local NGOs in the Gauteng Province was identified and data was collected through key informant interviews and questionnaires. The study found that the majority of NGOs face difficulties in achieving financial sustainability over the long-term. The results indicated that funding in the sector is shrinking, with very few NGOs surviving through endowments. Their major challenges in raising funds are due to area limitations, competition within the sector, lack of skills, staff shortage and visibility. They optimise available opportunities but also acknowledge that they are not implementing other fundraising strategies that could be effective in raising funds. Evidence also showed that these NGOs are meeting the requirements of good financial management practices, which could improve their likelihood to achieve financial sustainability. The research recommends that NGOs need to be empowered to negotiate restrictions under the grants, raise endowments through income-generating activities, manage stakeholder relationships and cost any future funding prospects for key decision making that is likely to have an impact on the structure and the strategic direction of an organisation.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The planet is at risk, which could be to the peril of its people. The current consumption rate of natural resources surpasses capacity and new ways are required to address the ecosystems threats and biodiversity losses the planet faces. This research reviewed the various threats Earth faces and ways to finance corrective action to ensure it remains inhabitable. The research aimed to review factors influencing fundraising of non-profit Environmental Funds and chose as case study, the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa, given its long history in supporting conservation in the country. The research used the Seven-S strategy model as analysis framework and assessed four of the seven categories namely strategy, structure, systems and staff using data in the public domain. The World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa was found to be financially healthy, liquid and stable. This in itself confirmed its fundraising success over many years and not only during the period of review. It had a diversified funding mix and its largest type of income was derived from subscriptions and donations, which was confirmed by the reliance ratio calculations. There was a clear organisational purpose and direction, yet no specific fundraising strategy was stated. Findings from the supporter retention analysis indicated a possible shift in focus to obtain a larger unrestricted income base and to align with supporters that stay with the cause over longer periods. Structural aspects showed that there was a substantial increase of organisational sub-units supporting new programmes between 2008 and 2013. Contributed income mirrored the changes up to 2012 after which a drop in income was observed. Trustee composition changes and income derived from subscription and donation changes trended in similar patterns. Systems incorporating governance practices, financial reporting and auditing were observed to be sound and in line with good governance practices including King King Code of Governance. The staff analysis showed an increase in overall staffing numbers and concomitant rise in contributed income up to 2012. The retention of key managerial staff was prevalent.

A research report submitted to the University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Humanities, School of Arts, in fulfilment of the requirements of a Masters degree in Arts and Culture Management Johannesburg 2015 / The Civil Society sector in South Africa has been experiencing a funding crisis for the past 20 years. The arts represent a small portion of Civil Society, and the visual arts a small part of the art. This research considers how these visual arts non-profit organisations (VANPOs) in this economic microsphere have been challenged to survive and sustain their missions in what is a competitive, fluctuating and complex environment. This study scrutinizes the concept of sustainability and the visual arts non-profit sector’s capacity for implementation of economically sustainable projects in the current economic and funding environment in South Africa. It outlines the complex and challenging nature of sustainability for VANPOs. The VANPOs, all small organisations, have limited human and cash resources to implement sustainability strategies while fulfilling their missions. Furthermore the funding environment focuses on short-term project grants and production-oriented efforts. This does not offer the organisations much opportunity towards long-term organisational development nor strategic resourcefulness. At the same time they struggle to remain compliant with government regulations and donor requirements. This research considers methods of assessing sustainability and the perspectives of professionals involved in the management of VANPOs. It examines the challenges they have faced in finding ways to implement sustainability and in the implementation of ‘sustainable’ projects. The brief case studies focus on how five VANPOs have responded to diminishing funding.

Research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Science degree in Town and Regional Planning to the School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / This research report is interested in telling the story of activist work by looking at the work that is done by the Inner City Resource Centre which is an NGO operating within the Johannesburg area. The intention of this study is to understand the effect of activism in an environment that is highly contested by reflecting on different viewpoints of those involved in inner city work and dynamics where housing is concerned. The views of different stakeholders working within this space therefore become highly critical. The narratives by the different individuals highlight the strategies and tactics employed by various actors and institutions in shaping processes in order to achieve goals. / MT2017

Thesis (MTech (Public Relations Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / The research is based on the use of public relations methods by non-profit organisations that operate in the city of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province. The public relations function is often seen as a function that does not appeal to the bottom line, namely, bringing in profits to organisations. Contrary to this belief, the stakeholder theory of public relations emphasises the triple bottom line approach, which focuses on people, planet and profit. The third quarter of the year 2008 brought about an economic downturn in international markets. The repercussions of the recession that began in 2008 had a ripple effect that had an adverse impact on non-profit organisations. Not only did some businesses have to close down, but others had to re-align their purpose and role in society. They had to decide which causes were worthy of their donations, and whether these were strategically aligned with what the donor organisation wanted to achieve in their corporate social investment strategies. One of the sectors that took a knock from the recession was the third sector, also referred to as non-profit organisations. This sector already relies on donations from the corporate sector, philanthropists and subsidies from government. It has become necessary now for the third sector to become creative in finding methods of sustainability in order to continue to render their services. In the light of the current global economic crisis, there is now even more pressure for this sector to be proactive and creative in their methods of raising funds. The research attempts to find out which public relations methods non-profit organisations are utilising in order to raise funds and whether these methods are of any assistance in achieving the fundraising goals. The research also tests the relevance of themes such as relationship management, reputation management and the impact of consistency of communication with stakeholders.