CSI Sunday Times

ENVIRONMENT

FROM LEFT: In 2018, Theewaterskloof
Dam experienced a water supply shortage in

the Western Cape; The uMhlathuze Water
Stewardship Partnership.

Partnerships between corporate SA The uMhlathuze Water Stewardship Partnership is a river
and municipalities basin collaboration of business, government and civil society,

When South Africa’s two recent life-threatening droughts established to address water security challenges in the
affected KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, in 2015 uMhlathuze region in KwaZulu-Natal.
and 2017 respectively, NBi was on the ground working
Images: supplied, GIZ/Lynne Matthysen with municipalities and corporate partners to bring relief Six of South Africa’s strategic water source areas are in business, government and civil society, established to
to communities and businesses.“We set up a partnership the Western Cape and are critical for water security at a address water security challenges in the uMhlathuze
in Richards Bay in collaboration with WWF, GIZ (the national level. CapeNature manages nature reserves in region in KwaZulu-Natal..
German Development Service), Mondi Forestry and five of the six identified strategic water source areas.
Tongaat Hulett focusing on how we were going to “We are very much focused on key vulnerable
provide support to government to address water risk “During the drought crisis in Cape Town, CapeNature catchments that have important industrial components.
in the Richards Bay area. That partnership, called the developed an advisory tool to assist in the identification Our priority areas are KwaZulu-Natal, especially the
Umhlathuze Water Stewardship Partnership, still exists.” and mitigation of risks associated with the establishment economic hub and the economic hub of the Vaal system,
of new borehole drilling sites in the Western Cape,” Gauteng and the Western Cape. We try to match industry
When Cape Town first experienced a shortage explains CapeNature’s spokesperson Loren Pavitt. It need and ability with key economic zones of the country,”
of water, talks were initiated with the Western Cape identified highly sensitive areas to avoid and closely says McNamara.
government and the city to involve businesses to respond monitored the initial drilling phases to minimise
to the crisis. NBi set up a drought task force to look at potential negative impacts on the natural biodiversity. He adds that unfortunately, water shortage is always
how big businesses in the Western Cape could reduce going to be a problem in the country. That is why a
their water consumption and conserve water. They also Water security challenges and lot of work has to be put into making sure that people
looked into what infrastructure needed to be protected conservation measures understand the importance and value of saving water.
if a Day Zero situation actually occurred. “There was
that behind-the-scenes thinking around how we could According to the Water and Sanitation Master Plan, “If you spoke to someone living in Cape Town during
maintain food supplies, refineries and other key private South Africa has a water crisis because of insufficient February 2018, they knew their water consumption, they
sector infrastructure in the context of a major drought skills, some institutional capacity challenges, a decline knew what they were paying and they were doing what
event,” says McNamara. in water quality and, obviously the major stressor, they could to conserve it. If we start facing those kinds
climate change. of droughts in Gauteng, consumers will have to start to
Mazars South Africa, an auditing firm with an adopt that kind of behaviour,” says McNamara. ■
international footprint, became one of the few corporates In some parts of the country, water loss can be
to heed the call of the Western Cape government calculated up to 50 to 60 per cent. The cost varies per WATERWASTE AT
around the pending Day Zero. “We have reduced water municipality, but on average physical water leakage is A GLANCE
consumption in the Cape Town office by 60 per cent somewhere around a third of the water in the country.
since the City of Cape Town requested companies to According to NBI, 50 per cent of
play a role in water conservation,” says William Hughes, “Basically, if you had to ask what we need to take out South Africa’s wastewater works are
business sustainability consultant for Mazars. “We do not of climate change, what is our quick win right now, it dysfunctional, 40 per cent of South Africa’s
only influence our employees to save water at work, but is water conservation. It is water conservation in every general water systems are dysfunctional
we also encourage them to do the same in their homes industry, it is water conservation in agriculture as a and 36 per cent of water is lost to leakages.
and communities.” big user, but it is very much water conservation in the
municipal space because about a third of our water does R10-billion worth of water is lost annually
Mazars achieved this through a visible awareness not reach the consumer,” explains McNamara. and a R900-billion investment is needed to
campaign that involved reducing the pressure in taps, avoid dry taps by 2030.
the introduction of hand sanitisers in bathrooms and NBi, which has very strong relations with corporates,
changing the dual flushing system in toilets to a single has been able to raise finance from corporates specifically
flushing system. for the uMhlathuze Water Stewardship Partnership
(UWASP), which is a river basin collaboration of
Another organisation that assisted the Western Cape
during the drought crisis was CapeNature. CapeNature
manages almost one million hectares of nature reserves
in the Western Cape. More than 70 per cent of these areas
are mountain catchment areas, which are critical to the
provisioning of water in the Western Cape Province.

C O R P O R A T E S O C I A L I N V E S T M E N T 49

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

MINING COMPANY

extends a helping hand

LYNNETTE JOHNS talks to a local
mining company about interventions
to support communities in the areas

where it has mining operations

The worst drought in five decades is Afrimat’s longest-running programme is supporting maths “Instead of just building Image: supplied
hammering the Northern Cape and no one teaching at Vusisizwe Secondary School in Worcester in the a library for a township
is immune. In October, Deputy President Western Cape. school, we partnered with
David Mabuza announced R30-million Sage to install electronic
of fodder was on its way to the area and that the Recent projects include building classrooms, a kitchen, equipment and a digital
government would start drilling boreholes. toilet facilities and a toy library for an early childhood library. This means the
development centre; running maths programmes children will have access
Meanwhile, in Kathu, JSE-listed mining company in schools and an adult basic education training to books, and virtual
Afrimat, which mines iron ore in the area, has stepped programme for illiterate community members; books. Sage will maintain
in to provide life-saving water after witnessing the training unemployed youth; and a back to school the service.” —­ Esther Teffo
suffering of its staff and the local communities. The uniform drive.
company is spending R4-million to drill boreholes and Partnerships are increasingly important, she says.
install aluminium pipes to lead the resultant water to One of the longest-running programmes is Afrimat runs a skills and job readiness programme
a reservoir, where the municipality will treat the water supporting maths teaching at Vusisizwe Secondary for young people in DuNoon in Cape Town, but it
for domestic use. School in Worcester in the Western Cape, where is not enough to train the young people and assume
Afrimat mines aggregate. Afrimat employs a maths that is all they need, so it took it one step further
“Can you imagine life without water? The residents teacher for Grade 10 to 12 learners. “What makes the and partnered with national companies to place the
of Kathu are queuing twice a week to get water from programme even more special,” says Teffo, “is that young people in their companies for further training,
the municipality. There is not enough water to drink one of the previous learners is now the teacher. The internships or jobs.
or to cook. Not enough water to wash. Everyone is learners have done so well with the increased attention
suffering,” says Esther Teffo, Afrimat’s Social and being given to maths. We have been doing this for “This is what we have to do. We have to be
Labour Plan officer. more than 10 years and we can see the value of it,” responsible corporate citizens. We have to be of value
she says. to the communities where we work. Whatever is not
Afrimat’s ethos is to work with the community functioning or is lacking in a community, affects us all,
to understand the needs and find projects that Teffo says that while Afrimat cannot deliver all so we become part of the solution,” Teffo concludes. ■
will change lives. The black-empowered open pit the projects and programmes people need, it is
mining company, which sells industrial minerals and increasingly looking at partnerships to see how to
construction materials, has invested in communities enhance its community investment. “Instead of just
living around its sites and has a project at each of the building a library for a township school, we partnered
40 mines it operates in the country. with Sage to install electronic equipment and a digital
library. This means the children will have access
The group targets one per cent of profit after tax for to books, and virtual books. Sage will maintain
social responsibility projects by each of its subsidiaries. the service.”
Its CSI focus is to empower the communities
surrounding their mining operations and production
plants. It could spend R2-million to demolish
dilapidated containers and build six classrooms at
a school or teach young people how to operate huge
construction vehicles because that is the need that has
been identified.

Afrimat consults with the residents and their
representatives to understand what the needs are
and how it can work with them to meet those needs.

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DISASTER RELIEF

Emfuleni, Midvaal and Lesedi (Sedibeng District
Municipality). Evidence shows that smoke detectors
in only a few shacks saved numerous lives.Santam
also targeted high-risk senior citizens of old age
homes and children in orphanages in Gauteng for
smoke detector installation

• Targetting high-risk schools
Santam assessed the risk of school compliance with
safety standards and, with municipality partners,
is improving standards. “Starting in 2018, our
assessments found various safety challenges to sort
out. We began with the most vulnerable: schools
for the deaf and blind,” says Lombard.

“Sedibeng municipality in Gauteng, together
with the Department of Education, we targeted the
most vulnerable schools first. We’ve now assisted a
handful of schools.”

• Disaster relief fund

Supporting “We sponsor a disaster relief fund,” says Lomberg.
emergency action “And when a disaster occurs in a municipality
we respond. Together with government we try to
bring relief and assist with personal loss issues.”
Some victims in community halls lose personal
documentation and clothing, blankets or food.
Santam addresses these issues via its partnership

Santam’s Partnership for Risk and Resilience initiative is proactively with the South African Red Cross Soxiety.
• Proactive training

building risk-aware resilience, reports KIM MAXWELL The Red Cross Society also provides proactive first

aid and CPR management training to municipal

When disasters strike who ensures • Geographic information systems (GIS) to staff and community volunteers. For instance,
that corporate spend is invested children are trained on what to do in the case of
in the right places so that it partner municipalities fire or drowning.
reaches relevant projects and Municipalities now use scientific data from GIS
to understand risk in their environments. For Looking to the future, Lomberg says Santam
wants a shift towards building resilience proactively.

people? For Santam, the goal was to address fire and instance, South African weather service data “That’s why we train the firefighters and provide the

flood risk on the ground. Specifically, partnering assesses rainfall levels and flood risk to improve firefighting equipment, and we look at science data.

with national government to build capacity and appropriate disaster-management decisions for at- But when disasters strike, we have a programme that

support municipalities with key services dealing risk communities in advance. kicks in. We want to shift from reactive to proactive.

with disasters that impact on the most vulnerable • Installation of early warning systems It shouldn’t be only disaster relief. It must be about

communities. Our most vulnerable, the informal settlements, preparedness and disaster prevention.”

Santam’s Partnership for Risk and Resilience get ravaged by fires. We’ve now launched initiatives Santam supports 48 municipalities with P4RR,

(P4RR) initiative was started in 2010. “Disaster where we install smoke detectors in shacks in 5 shy of its 2020 target of 53. “Our target is to build

in our category includes fires, flood, drought and the informal settlements of municipalities we’re capacity as per the five key initiatives in these

storms. To address the challenges, we realised from working with,” says Lomberg. “We target the municipalities,” says Lomberg. “Our community

the get-go that it requires strong partnerships,” hotspots: those informal settlements known for assistance support in partnership with government

says Santam’s head of stakeholder relations and regular fire outbreaks We’ve learnt that people and the Red Cross is a crucial component.”

corporate social investment John Lomberg. don’t die of fire; they die of smoke inhalation. How are P4RR outcomes measured? “We’ve

“Santam’s ‘business adopt a municipality’ was Detectors serve as an early warning system so seen a significant reduction in the loss of lives,”

our first initiative to partner with national people can vacate their dwellings.” Santam installed says Lomberg. “During a fire, there are times when

government for risk reduction. As a pilot smoke detectors in Wallacedene and Khayelitsha people have been evacuated and nobody has died.

programme, we adopted five municipalities to (Cape Town), Alexandria (Gauteng) and in That is our measure of success.” ■

assist them with resources in disaster management

centres, for example, firefighting equipment and “When disasters strike, we have a programme that
firefighter training. We also concentrated on

Images: supplied community disaster awareness education.” kicks in. We want to shift from reactive to proactive.
In 2014, Santam expanded the P4RR programme It shouldn’t be only disaster relief. It must be about
preparedness and disaster prevention.” – John Lomberg
from 5 to 53 local municipalities. The company
shifted its focus to these key initiatives:

C O R P O R A T E S O C I A L I N V E S T M E N T 53

SOCIAL INVESTMENT

A MULTIPRONGED APPROACH

to social responsibility

How do companies choose where Selecting partners
to spend their CSI budgets?
Another way that Woolworths maintains focus
MEGAN ELLIS discovers that a and impactfulness is through its selection of
multiprogramme approach can potential partners. 
effectively support many varied causes
The company assesses initiatives based on their
. impact, scale, and required input. In partnership
with initiatives and beneficiaries, Woolworths
FROM LEFT: Zinzi Mgolodela, director of decides on agreed success indicators.
corporate affairs, Woolworths South Africa;
a learner enjoying produce harvested at Mgolodela highlights that due to the complex
Nombulelo Ntabeni Tebelelo Primary school. nature of community involvement, it’s important to
consult with beneficiaries and partners regarding a
programme’s relevance and efficacy.

“Our approach to social development is based
on meaningful collaboration with key partners. The
complex challenges facing us require deep insights
and a collective effort to make a difference,” she says. 

“Each programme or initiative we embark on is
a collaboration between ourselves and one or more
partners,” Mgolodela adds.

T here’s no shortage of worthy causes and While this opens up a broad range of partnerships, Complex problems require
initiatives in South Africa. From education it also provides a needed focus that aligns Woolworths’ innovative solutions
programmes and job creation initiatives vision with national needs.
to awareness campaigns and essential The biggest case for multiprogramme corporate
charities; companies face the challenge of choosing Many Woolworths’ initiatives focus on teaching responsibility initiatives is their ability to fight issues
where to direct their corporate social investments. skills, reducing food wastage and helping those with a on multiple fronts.
lack of food security, among other goals.
But what if companies made their social “Social challenges are by nature complex, therefore,
investments varied so that they could tackle numerous One partner includes Food & Trees for Africa, require a multidimensional approach to addressing
issues at once? This is what Woolworths has done, which works with Woolworths to run the EduPlant them,” notes Mgolodela.
choosing a multiprogramme approach for its programme. This programme includes food gardening
corporate social responsibility. workshops, helping thousands of school educators and “The best and more realistic initiatives address
learners establish their own food gardens. multiple challenges at the same time and even better if
The company discusses why this approach was approached in a collaborative manner.”
chosen and the many ways it can impact South Another partner, FoodForward SA, helps
African communities. Woolworths reduce food wastage from its surplus by Mgolodela stresses the importance of collaboration
distributing this edible food to communities in need. when it comes to making a difference to social
Varied, but not unfocused development.
Meanwhile, the MySchool fundraising programme gets
Corporate responsibility that involves a diverse range of customers involved in selecting beneficiaries. Through “It is important for us to work together to
initiatives does not mean that programme investment this programme, Woolworths has donated R64-million address the complex issues facing society, rather than
is haphazard or unco-ordinated. A broad scope of to South African schools, R11-million to environmental to work in silos. As the African proverb goes: ‘When
initiatives can still be in line with company goals and NPOs and R8-million to community upliftment NPOs. spiders unite, they can tie down a lion’,”
visions, as Woolworths demonstrates. she concludes. ■

“We aim to make a meaningful difference in FACTS AND FIGURES Images: supplied
our communities through our social development
programme,” says Zinzi Mgolodela, director of • Through its FoodForward SA partnership, Woolworths has been able to redistribute
corporate affairs at Woolworths South Africa. R 611-million of surplus food. This surplus has been distributed to 1 400 charitable
organisations, providing 3781 000 meals to vulnerable people in South Africa.
“We focus on four pillars — food security, education,
community resilience, and employee involvement — • Woolworths has partnered with Food & Trees for Africa through the EduPlant programme for
that are aligned to our overall business strategy and that 15 years. This year, 86 per cent of the schools participating in the programme started food
are relevant to the national development priorities in gardens. Currently, there are 336 schools learning to grow food through the programme.
the markets in which we operate,” she explains.
Source: woolworths.co.za

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ARTS & CULTURE

APPLAUSE
FOR

INCREASED

support of the

performing

arts

A ccording to Artstrack No. 8, a biannual The show could not go on without dedicated and continued sponsorship.
report that tracks art sponsorship and TIISETSO TLELIMA applauds some of the role players
evaluates consumer engagement and the
popularity of music, arts and cultural of the NDP, and the business sector mainly focuses positive narrative with global impact,” says Standard
events, overall sponsorship spend on the arts by business on responsible corporate citizenship, investment and Bank’s spokesperson Ross Linstrom.
increased to an estimated R654-million in 2018 from an marketing, but also extends to other areas such as shared
estimated R136-million spend in 2000. Of that amount, value, innovation and human resources.” “Our mandate at Standard Bank is to support a
more than half went to music, leaving the remainder for wide range of initiatives that nurture young talent and
the other arts and cultural genres. “The arts in Africa is a showcase the rich diversity of our creative arts and our
approach to selecting projects in the arts and music space
Artstrack No. 8, launched by Business and Arts South powerful expression of our is indicative of this.”
Africa (BASA) in July this year, closely quantifies and
analyses audience sizes and perceptions, genres and creativity and plays an In addition to the National Arts Festival, Standard
sponsorship trends. BASA and National Arts Festival Bank also supports artists through the Standard Bank
CEO, Ashraf Johaardien, say BASA’s supporting grant integral part in generating a Young Artist Awards. Established in 1981 by the National
data over the past 20 years has shown an overall Arts Festival, the event recognises relatively young and
increasing trend in visual arts, literature and festival positive narrative with global emerging South African artists with exceptional potential
sponsorship. “However, this differs substantially year-on- in their chosen fields.
year, and it’s important to note that this data only reflects impact.”– Ross Linstrom
partnerships that received grants from BASA. It does not The National Arts Festival Committee presents the
necessarily reflect the full arts sponsorship spectrum in As to which sectors contribute to the arts, BASA’s awards annually to the best young artists representing
South Africa,” says Johaardien. 20-year research report finds that the financial, food and theatre, music, jazz, visual art, performance art, dance
beverage, and media and entertainment sectors have and film. The Awards holds its ground as the country’s
He explains that government along with specific been the arts’ most consistent and biggest sponsors over most prestigious arts award — offering the combination
support from the private sector, are the key role players this period with 24.25 per cent of all arts sponsorship of a cash reward with creative incentive through the
in terms of funding the arts. “Government’s focus is coming from the country’s financial sector. commissioning of new work.
very clearly aligned to national priorities and the goals
The financial sector mainly includes FNB, Absa and Standard Bank also supports the Joy of Jazz, which
Ashraf Johaardien, Old Mutual, with Standard Bank offering the most takes place every September in Johannesburg, the
CEO, BASA and support to the arts across the country. National Youth Jazz Festival, and helps in preserving
National Arts art through its African Art Collection. “The Standard
Festival. For four decades, Standard Bank has been at the Bank African Art Collection, jointly owned by Standard
forefront of sponsoring and nurturing arts in South Bank and the University of the Witwatersrand since
Images: supplied Africa. Its flagship National Arts Festival garners an 1979, was established out of growing concern to
estimated R90-million for the GDP of Makhanda and preserve disappearing African cultural heritage due to
R300-million for the Eastern Cape province in just industrialisation and urbanisation,” explains Linstrom.
two weeks.
The bank funds the purchasing and preservation
“The arts in Africa is a powerful expression of our of classical African pieces from across the continent,
creativity and plays an integral part in generating a through its annual sponsorship to the university. The
collection is one of the largest classical African art
collections in the southern hemisphere. ■

C O R P O R A T E S O C I A L I N V E S T M E N T 57

COLL A BOR ATION

INVESTING

in the future

Sasol turns its attention towards education and community upliftment. KIM MAXWELL reports

S asol plays an important role in South Africa’s its “significant multiplier effect” can have an inter- FROM TOP LEFT: Sasol readiness workplace Images: supplied
industrial and socioeconomic development. generational impact on the alleviation of poverty and programme; Sasol supports young people in aspects such
The integrated chemicals and energy company improve quality of life. as career guidance, teacher training, exam support and
operates in 32 countries and has CSI activities matric rewrites; Gaopaleloe Mothoagae, vice president
in South Africa, Mozambique, North America, Qatar and Almost 50 per cent of Sasol’s annual budget for social investment, Sasol.
Nigeria. The bulk of activities are concentrated in South focuses solely on enabling access to quality education
Africa and Mozambique. “This is where social inequality opportunities, specifically around STEM education, as To improve both teaching and learner outcomes at a
issues are most prevalent,” says Gaopaleloe Mothoagae, well as the development of quality skills in young people. local level, two resource learning centres (Botjhoarisong
Sasol’s vice president for social investment. Its interventions in education are driven by a need to see Resource Centre in Sasolburg and Osizweni Science
meaningful youthful change, and to prepare and enable Centre in Secunda) run activities to support young
Sasol understands the value of collaborative efforts, the youth for an economically-sustainable future. people in aspects such as career guidance, teacher
particularly in corporate social investment (CSI), where training, exam support and matric rewrite support.
its key focus is education and community social and Sasol Techno X is South Africa’s biggest annual science
economic upliftment. “Recognising that the issues exhibition for young minds. Displays, workshops, tours, Some of Sasol’s work through partnerships is CSI-
are too great for us to resolve on our own, we work in talks and hands-on activities are aimed at enthusing focused. For example, partnerships with accredited
collaboration with key partners to jointly develop and schoolgoers, tertiary students and the public about the technical colleges such as Gert Sibande Technical College
implement sustainable solutions. “Education is a topical endless possibilities unlocked by maths, science and in Secunda or with training institutions such as Sedibeng
issue especially where there are so many questions technology. Held alternately in Secunda and Sasolburg, Training centre in Sasolburg. Mothoagae says Sasol’s
around quality of education and pass rates,” says it exposes various facets of technology and encourages work with the Gert Sibande Technical Vocational and
Mothoagae. “A lot of companies are putting money learners to explore a range of disciplines and career Education College created practical training for learners
into education. We always ask: what is the real impact of choices. “Our focus is also on practical issues around in the Sasol Secunda Factory. Some qualified artisans are
this investment?” creating employment opportunities. We want to expose now permanently employed by Sasol.
young people to the jobs of the future. Some of those
Of Sasol’s R800–900-million global annual spend, don’t yet exist, so this helps them determine what they “Partnerships and collaboration are important if we
88 per cent goes to South Africa. “Of that, 46 per might be able to do in the future,” says Mothoagae. Sasol are to turn the tide as a country,” says Mothoagae. “We
cent of the budget is allocated to education and skills works closely with the Mpumalanga Department of Basic must prepare our youth to access economic opportunities
development, where we promote STEM (science, Education — more than 450 000 learners have been in the future by ensuring that there is a strong foundation
technology, engineering and mathematics) education at impacted by participation at Techno X. that expands the landscape of opportunities through
schools, and boosting technical and vocational skills,” education and skills development.” ■
she says. Skills development

Tech and science “We focus on enabling access to work opportunities for
young people, concentrating our efforts on community
Sasol is one of South Africa’s biggest institutional development. This includes the work we do in
investors in education. Mothoagae says the main collaboration with technical schools and TVET colleges
driver for Sasol is seeing the transformative effect of to improve the youth’s quality of skills to enable them to
education on young lives. The impact of education and join the workforce,” says Mothoagae.

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PROFILE: CASUAL DAY

GOING Casual Day school activation.
CASUAL

generates
funds and
awareness

Casual Day turns 25 this year,
MEGAN ELLIS finds out more
about this well-supported initiative

Casual Day has raised over R334-million for The funds from Casual Day are also distributed FAST FACT
persons with disabilities since its inception to 11 national beneficiaries each year. Casual Day
in 1994 when the National Council of also supports the disability units of numerous local The first Casual Day raised around R400 000, but as the
and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) universities, the South African Police Service and the campaign became more popular and gained more support,
decided to establish a simple yet effective means to South African National Defence Force. fundraising soared over the years. In 2018, R31-million
raise money and awareness. was raised thanks to supporters.
Lessons learned
As the fundraiser celebrates its latest milestone, we “We are sharing more stories with the public to
take a look at its history and vision for the future.  The more than two decades spent advocating and show how their R10 donations have changed the lives
fundraising for people with disabilities has also of persons with disabilities,” she adds. “Casual Day is
The story behind the idea included valuable lessons on how to enhance the not only about raising funds; it is also about raising
message of Casual Day. “We have learned that more awareness. This is a valuable platform to teach our
Before 1994, the NCPD relied on funding from scratch focus must be placed on the social change that children about inclusion, social responsibility and
cards, but when these were discontinued, they had to Casual Day is making, and not so much on the fun issues surrounding disability,” she says. ■
look into new ways to raise funds. aspect of dressing up/down (although this is still
key),” explains Wentzel-Du Toit. 
And so, Casual Day was born.
On the first Friday of September each year, South A FUNDRAISING RECIPE FOR SUCCESS Images: supplied
Africans are called on to go to school or work dressed
differently than usual — more casually — provided they What has made Casual Day such a success? According to NCPD national director, Therina
are sporting the official Casual Day sticker. The R10 Wentzel–Du Toit, a few factors have played a role.
purchase of a Casual Day sticker indicates their support • One major factor is the impact of the NCPD’s work and the transparency around spending.
for persons with disabilities.
“Since then, Casual Day has grown into South Africa’s Rather than providing an abstract aim, the NCPD outlines the many ways that Casual
biggest fundraising, awareness, and advocacy campaign Day funds are used to help people. This includes naming specific beneficiaries, outlining
for persons with disabilities with participation across advocacy work, providing assistive devices, and working with schools and government
all sectors of society including the public, companies, departments to increase accessibility. 
schools, government departments and the NGO sector,” • Over the years, Casual Day has also gained major corporate sponsors, such as Absa and the
says NCPD national director, Therina Wentzel–Du Toit. Edcon group. Meanwhile, more major retailers have come on board to help sell Casual Day
stickers to customers.
Ongoing impact • Finally, Casual Day has also been able to adapt according to trends and technology. In
2019, the campaign’s first digital sticker was launched, making it even easier for supporters
The funds raised by Casual Day go towards the to contribute. People were able to SMS their name to a dedicated number to send a R10
NCPD’s many beneficiaries and programmes. Due to donation with their airtime. 
the sheer success of the fundraising, the NCPD has The NCPD plans to continue this trend of innovation and tangible impact achieving this success
also been able to expand these programmes to include in its exciting and promising future.
their Children’s Programme, the Universal Design
and Access Programme, the Inclusive Employment
Programme, the Women’s Programme, and their
information, education and awareness programmes.

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