RECIPROCITY - Cape Town

Companies doing business in South Africa are presurised by government, civil society and the collective conscience of their employees and cutomers to contribute towards nation building through corporate responsibility programmes. This, besides a growing understanding of the positive impact on the bottom line resulting from responsible social and environmental actions, is causing more and more businesses to evaluate their corporate responsibility strategy. With over 100, 000 registered NGOs and a complex development environment in Southern Africa, identifying a suitable cause, implementing partner and intervention is a daunting challenge for most businesses seeking to engage in mutually beneficial corporate responsibility actions. Corporates often fail to make the transition from a  

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corporate to a development mindset, with the result that their CR actions: a) fail to address real needs b) have unsustainable outcomes c) over emphasise marketing returns d) don't meaningfully engage their employees. Small to medium size businesses often position the responsibility of CSI under the Marketing or HR manager resulting in CR being a secondary priority lacking a focused and strategic approach. civil society & the development environment Non-profit organisations striving to meet social and environmental development needs are faced with enormous challenges in Africa - from resource mobilisation and restrictive legislature to the far reaching influences of poverty on the sustainability of their actions. Many NPOs fail to meet the professional communication, management and reporting standards expected by donor agencies and corporate funders. Too many NPOs are soley dependent on donor funding without leveraging their expertise or infrastructure to generate income. With many donors restricting their funding to project outcomes, this places enormous pressure on the administration and general opperations of NPOs.