I attended the Women in Philanthropy Network Event held in Cape Town this week , with the subject of: ‘How can NGOs become more business-like and generate their own income’.
The speakers (Cathy Wijnberg, Founder and Director, Fetola & Associates and Noel N de Villiers, Founder and CEO, Open Africa) shared some very practical and useful insights with the 60 ladies present.
As a partner to the Nonprofit sector, it was an ideal forum to be able to hear what the issues are that Nonprofits grapple with and for me to have a deeper understanding of he sector I support.
Some of what I walked away with was:-
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1. Many organizations are realising the need to be able to generate income for themselves rather than rely on donors alone. This income stream does not have to be linked at all to your mission e.g. renting out office space in a building that you have been given to use as office space.
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2. There is a growing need to build reserves for those leaner years when funding could be less. Donors are more ready to give funding to organisations that do not solely rely on them and that have resources to sustain themselves if the need arises.
And to end on a personal note, I came away with a deeper appreciation of how valuable it is to spend time communicating face to face with other like-minded women and to not rely solely on our electronic media.