M.A. / Migration and resettlement in South Africa bring many challenges to refugee women. Within a very hostile and discriminating environment, refugee women have to familiarise themselves with a new culture and new languages, as well as gain access to systems of health, education and employment. Loss of identity, income, career, equality and significant others are evident, which leaves them, as refugee women, excluded, isolated and disempowered. However, instead of just becoming passive recipients of aid, refugee women are active in forming their own informal horizontal helping networks, defined as Philanthropy of Community (PoC). PoC can be described as informal, multi-directional, intra-gender helping relationships among refugee women, who share communality in terms of language, culture, social circumstances and ideals. In this study, the networks are also referred to as “the sisterhood”, based on the shared goals, circumstances and feelings of mutual empathy and loyalty toward each other. Driven by the philosophy of ubuntu, altruism and religious beliefs, and guided by the principle, “If I have, I give”, the sisterhood gives and receives material and non-material help in its community. The goal of this study was to gain an appreciative understanding of philanthropy of community (PoC) among refugee women in Johannesburg as a social asset for community development. Objectives of this study were to identify and describe the PoC of the sisterhood, as it perceives and experiences it, and identify assets that can be utilised to facilitate community development practice. The sample consisted of five Congolese refugee women from Yeoville. All participants had a tertiary qualification, yet were unemployed. A qualitative research approach was followed to allow participants to construct meaning out of their social and cultural realities. Data collection methods were focus groups and individual interviews to elicit information and meaning of the sisterhood in Yeoville. 2 The following social assets were identified in the sisterhood of Yeoville: protection against social exclusion, provision of informal social support, maintenance of cultural links, promotion of socialisation and communication, community-building, pooling of human capital, self-organised support in adversity and a sense of well-being and spiritual fulfilment. Despite the positive effect of PoC, it also has limitations: a perceived sense of familiarity, based on same-ethnic relationships, as well as laziness, often lead to exploitation of fellow sisters, resulting in distrust and loneliness. It was concluded that PoC does not have the potential to meet all the psycho-social needs of refugee women, and cannot fully replace organised social welfare services. Research concluded that while participants acknowledge PoC within the sisterhood as their main means of survival, they find it difficult to envision the mobilisation of existing sisterhood networks towards participatory community development initiatives, creating sustainable livelihoods and integration into the local community. Reasons are a lack of capacity, lack of assertiveness and distrust. While they seem well-informed about the internal functioning of their sisterhood, they show a lack of information and skills on how to link with the external community to form partnerships and networks to stimulate development. A participatory Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach, with its mechanism for healing, social cohesion and nation-building, is the most appropriate way to propel human, social and economic integration and growth in the current migration context. By focusing on what is present, instead of what is absent, problematic or needed among women refugees, and embracing their strengths, gifts and indigenous wisdom, PoC within the sisterhood can be applied by community developers as a social tool in a planned change process to facilitate integration and development of refugee women in South Africa.

This report examines a nonprofit executive education provider, The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service (RGK), as a conduit to understanding challenges that nonprofit executive education providers in the U.S. are experiencing in the current economic environment. These challenges include attracting participants (who are presently less likely to invest in executive education because of budget constraints), cutting costs, increasing revenue, coping with slashed budgets, and trying to stay innovative by developing timely, relevant content that meets nonprofit leaders’ evolving needs and desires during economic hardship. RGK aims to strategically use its limited resources to expand its executive education programming, called the Strategic Management Program (SMP), in hopes of increasing revenue while better meeting the needs of its local nonprofit leadership community. This report provides the first steps in planning for SMP’s strategic expansion with a market analysis that will give RGK a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of current SMP programming, as well as a comprehensive view of the environment in which the SMP is operating. The market analysis is achieved through examining the external environment, RGK’s internal SMP environment, and a target audience assessment. Second, the report gives specific recommendations and strategies for expanding SMP, based on insights garnered from the market analysis and other research. / text

This master thesis is dedicated to strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to the concept of creating shared value (CSV). It analyses the difference between CSV and common business philanthropy which is based on allocation of some part of their profit. It shows the connection between business and civic society. Currently the companies realise that their success is related to the well-being of the society in which they work. Therefore - when adopting the concept of CSV companies focus on the field in which they are active in their core business. The thesis concentrates on partnering business companies with civic society organisations. This is based on the belief that social and economic aims coincide. This partnership is a challenge to find a solution to common social issues. It should gain profit to both sides. The theory of this thesis is complemented by a research and analysis of interviews with respondents from both business and civic companies.