I would like to begin this newsletter by paying tribute to the founder of our Charitable Division, Andrew Ewing, who very sadly passed away on 20 November 2016. Andrew made a huge, positive impact on so many lives, not only in the legal and investment environment, but also in the charitable environment. His passion for making a positive difference was infectious, and his decades of experience in working within the charitable environment gave him such great insight, which he so generously shared with us all. Andrew was the Founder, long-time Director and non-Executive Chairman of Ewing Trust Company (Pty) Ltd and his dedication to the business will be a motivating factor for those of us that remain for a long time to come. We look forward to honouring his legacy of care, compassion and excellence going forward.
The Charitable Sector has experienced a number of challenges this year, particularly with regard to fundraising and sustainability as well as compliance measures. We are constantly updating our registration documents and templates to ensure that we are at all times in line with the latest requirements from The Master of the High Court, SARS and the Department of Social Development.
Fundraising has become very difficult with a significant drop in monetary donations locally and internationally, and for those organisations without an endowment fund from which to draw regular income, it has been especially difficult to keep afloat. It is my opinion that charitable organisations could benefit greatly from collaboration with other NGOS’s, adopting different approaches to fundraising and looking at volunteer programs. Another exciting development that is starting to gain traction within South Africa is the concept of entrepreneurship for social change. There have been some exceptionally powerful stories from around the world regarding these programs (most often from schools running entrepreneur programs for their students) and fits in perfectly with our belief that a “hand up” is better than a “hand out”. I look forward to seeing further exciting developments in this regard.
We remain committed to assisting and supporting charitable organisations where possible in an effort to assist in their growth, and are so fortunate to be able to see and be involved with the passionate people who strive to make a positive difference across all of charitable sectors. We are constantly amazed by the vast amount of goodwill shown by communities across our country and abroad in supporting charitable organisations, and with this in mind, we see only a bright and positive future for our country.
Michelle Brown
Charitable Division Manager