Insight

CSI Insight – the top 11 of 2011

2 February 2012

There are over 80 articles in our Insight archive, covering a wide range of corporate social investment-related topics from sustainability and governance to social development and education to issues affecting NGO specifically and those related to grantmaking.

Here is a list of the 11 articles our visitors read most in 2011:  

Time for the nonprofit sector to consolidate

23 January 2012

In the business world, it is not unusual for companies to be merged, bought and traded. Sometimes, this is how companies survive, albeit in a different incarnation. Tshikululu’s CEO, Tracey Henry, considers that when NPOs are struggling financially, collaboration to the point of consolidation may well be an alternative to closure.

This article was first published by Business Day on 20 January 2012.  

In response to The Daily Maverick

11 January 2012

On 11 January, online news publication The Daily Maverick featured a report on South Africa’s ranking in the World Giving Index conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation entitled “Charities Aid Foundation: South Africans need to give more“, which included an interview with CAF Southern Africa’s CEO Colleen du Toit.

Tshikululu’s Senior Communications Specialist, Gina de Villiers, responds.  

Parents and schools – teaching and learning together

1 December 2011

Involved parents mean learners with better marks, better attendance and even, a better chance of attending university

Studies and research and on the ground experience tells us that involved parents make for better students, but school management is still faced with the challenge of  encouraging parental involvement. Beatrice Ralfe, CSI practitioner at Tshikululu, describes some of the tactics schools can use to encourage engaged parents and communities.  

Technology in schools – what we’ve learnt

2 November 2011

Bertha Phohlela, Tshikululu CSI practitioner working with the Epoch and Optima Trusts, shares the experiences gained while assisting local schools introduce technological advances to their students.

Technology is a part of our everyday lives, and so it is no surprise that a variety of technological innovations have been introduced in classrooms around the world.

In addition to computers, these include interactive whiteboards, video games, virtual worlds, simulations, and mobile telephones. Schools are also looking to network their classrooms and use Skype-similar technology, whereby one teacher can simultaneously teach learners in several different classrooms.  

In the footsteps of the barefoot banker

10 October 2011

Samantha Braithwaite, Tshikululu CSI practitioner, spent last year working in Bangladesh for the Yunus Centre, training in the Grameen Bank model. She compares what she saw to our South Africa reality.

Last year I set off for Bangladesh – land of cyclones, extreme poverty and home to global inspiration, Professor Muhammad Yunus – founder of the Grameen Bank and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Grameen bank, started in 1983, today provides collateral-free microloans to 8.2 million of Bangladesh’s poorest.  

All NPOs should be using social media. Well, maybe.

13 September 2011

Social media is not the “˜next big thing’, it’s right now’s big thing. But, NPOs, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone should be doing it. At the risk of sounding like a social media cynic, Gina de Villiers, Tshikululu’s senior communications specialist, explains.  

Achieving community investment with corporate returns

7 September 2011

Corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives can do much to build a company’s resilience and reputation and to generate sustainable improvements for South African communities. So why do many still struggle to gain internal corporate recognition and demonstrate lasting impacts?

Louise Gardiner, international corporate sustainability expert and founder of First Principles Sustainability Services suggests four reasons and four strategies to address them.  

Grantmaking in the disability sector – “˜Nothing about us without us’

1 September 2011

Elinor Kern, CSI Practitioner at Tshikululu Social Investments, considers how social investors should approach their work in the disability sector  – in an inclusive partnership with the people they support.

“˜Nothing about us without us’ is an international disability slogan that encapsulates the importance of the inclusion of people with disabilities.

Until recently, much of the focus in disability sector work has been on the medical and individual implications for people living with disabilities, but this is a limiting approach and does not take into account their social needs. It is most commonly referred to as a “˜medical model’, which is not developmental in nature and it does not acknowledge the real needs of people with disability.  

Seek social returns on enterprise development investments

29 August 2011

The focus on enterprise development (ED) is given impetus by the fact that companies can earn points on their BBBEE scorecard by supporting such initiatives.  But, says Jane Woodhouse, Business Development Manager at Tshikululu Social Investments, becoming involved in ED for the right reasons is more important than the pure financial contribution.