Noxolo Hlongwane, head of philanthropy at Nedbank Private
Wealth, and Bongiwe Mlangeni, CEO of the Social Justice Initiative,
discuss the 2015 edition of The Giving Report and how high net worth
South Africans are paying it back to society.
BUSINESS DAY TV: Despite tough times South African philanthropists have continued to give back to society over the past five years, both with cash and their time. And the majority of givers donate to causes that resonate with them.
These are some of the findings of the latest Giving Report and joining us in the News Leader studio with more detail are Noxolo Hlongwane, Head of Philanthropy at Nedbank Private Wealth and Bongiwe Mlangeni, CEO of the Social Justice Initiative.
Noxolo are we looking at the high net worth individuals that you’re measuring here giving back to society?
NOXOLO HLONGWANE: Yes, the study looks at individuals that earn a minimum of R1.5m per annum or have a net worth of R5m investible assets and that excludes their primary home. We survey individuals across the country and...
BDTV: ...not just your clients?
NH: Not just our clients. So randomly selected, using the word "randomly" very loosely. Obviously they do need to fit in with the criteria of the high net worth individual definition.
BDTV: To what extent though have there been shifts? Has the broader economic environment globally but more so locally, forced some of your clients to re-evaluate their commitments and the value that they’re actually directing down this route?
NH: The findings of the study have been consistent over the past five years in that high net worth individuals continue to demonstrate their long-term commitments. So last year 2015 was particularly difficult for individuals and consumers and one would ordinarily expect individuals to cut back, but the drop in giving was marginal. It was down from 91% to 88% so on the whole it is still nine out of 10 individuals that continue to give to social causes.
BDTV: Bongiwe how does the Social Justice Initiative feature in all this, are you part of the study that does the measurement?
BONGIWE MLANGENI: We encourage philanthropy for social justice causes in South Africa and by that social justice causes are different to the social and community development that takes place. These are organisations that usually do advocacy work. They ensure that they continue to encourage our government to come up with fair policies that enable people to access their rights. These would be organisations right now that would be concerned about the integrity of our public institutions and they will call on government to investigate corruption or strengthen some of the policy and political processes in the country. So we are an organisation that encourages philanthropy for the kind of policy work and advocacy work that drives systemic change in South Africa.
BDTV: Having said that though Bongiwe, only 3% of funds are being directed to advocacy funds, so why is that the case?
BM: We think that is happening because it is easier for people to respond to a call for immediate needs. So when you put out a call for school shoes or school uniforms or books, people relate to that, its tangible, its immediate need and they can cover it right now. Advocacy though is long-term and it involves consistent and persistent engagement with the State. It also involves a lot of lobbying. It could be mobilising so what happens is that people then tend to shy away from these activities.
At the same time though, if you look at, let’s take the case that is well-known, what TAC did, the Treatment Action Campaign, what they did to ensure that many people in South Africa access anti-retroviral treatment. If you look at that example you can see that while it takes a long time to see the results, when a policy changes, when the system shifts, it benefits most of us as South Africans and it helps us to remain a stable country. So what then happens is a question of just understanding just how important it is to have an access citizenry and that includes business advocating as well for the right kind of policies, and how important it is to walk this path with organisations that seek to ensure that we remain a country that is just, that is fair, that promotes equality and enables all the people to access their rights.
BDTV: Noxolo you get these big names like Bill Gates, JK Rowling, they make the headlines when they donate most of their fortunes back to society. Here in South Africa we’ve had Allan Gray and his wife Gill, they’re committing their controlling interests to a foundation. They’re the ones that make the headlines but do we have other big names in South Africa that are giving back to society but prefer not to publicise it.
NH: There are plenty and inherent in a lot of philanthropists is just the need to remain anonymous. The altruistic motives are driven by their personal values so a lot of them don’t do it for big PR but there is a case for coming out, such as Allan and Gill Gray...
BDTV: ...it encourages others?
NH: It encourages and inspires more but over and above that we are in a space where philanthropy as Africans, we’re redefining it for ourselves. You mentioned the big names but there is so much more that is happening on the ground. So much is happening in low income communities where low income communities are assisting each other on a daily basis and they have been for a very long time, way before aid, way before large charitable foundations and other funding institutions. And that’s the type of philanthropy that you also need to start recognising and appreciating and learning from.
BDTV: How well planned or strategic is planning around these commitments that are made, does it form a part of actual budgets and is it structured or is it done more so on a whim?
NH: The findings of the report, again very consistently over the past three studies, high net worth individuals generally aren’t very strategic in terms of their giving and also just to highlight that strategic doesn’t mean its large sums of money that are contributed and it doesn’t mean that it has to be through a foundation or a charitable trust or structured entity. As long as it’s considered, as long as its deliberate, as long as there are objectives set out upfront and the impact that you’re looking to make. So it may be small-scale giving, as long as it’s well considered, that is still strategic. But in terms of organisations or individuals that give through large structures, very small, about 5% because it is a huge commitment once you contribute your wealth or donate your wealth to this vehicle, you are just merely looking after it on behalf of the beneficiaries, you’re just custodians, it’s no longer yours.
BDTV: Bongiwe maybe just quickly. You talked about advocacy groups looking at the integrity of public institutions amongst those causes. Do you think recent events and institutions perhaps coming under pressure in South Africa might heighten the cause and draw more support?
BM: Definitely. We realised that if we do not support organisations that first bring us the information we need so that we know what is happening in our public institutions, if we don’t support those organisations that raise their voice whenever something is going wrong, then we are in real trouble. That these organisations are very key, not just in bringing us the information that we need, but in also conducting research that helps government improve its own systems.
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| https://youtu.be/dSxC5YC0UPk |
BUSINESS DAY TV: Despite tough times South African philanthropists have continued to give back to society over the past five years, both with cash and their time. And the majority of givers donate to causes that resonate with them.
These are some of the findings of the latest Giving Report and joining us in the News Leader studio with more detail are Noxolo Hlongwane, Head of Philanthropy at Nedbank Private Wealth and Bongiwe Mlangeni, CEO of the Social Justice Initiative.
Noxolo are we looking at the high net worth individuals that you’re measuring here giving back to society?
NOXOLO HLONGWANE: Yes, the study looks at individuals that earn a minimum of R1.5m per annum or have a net worth of R5m investible assets and that excludes their primary home. We survey individuals across the country and...
BDTV: ...not just your clients?
NH: Not just our clients. So randomly selected, using the word "randomly" very loosely. Obviously they do need to fit in with the criteria of the high net worth individual definition.
BDTV: To what extent though have there been shifts? Has the broader economic environment globally but more so locally, forced some of your clients to re-evaluate their commitments and the value that they’re actually directing down this route?
NH: The findings of the study have been consistent over the past five years in that high net worth individuals continue to demonstrate their long-term commitments. So last year 2015 was particularly difficult for individuals and consumers and one would ordinarily expect individuals to cut back, but the drop in giving was marginal. It was down from 91% to 88% so on the whole it is still nine out of 10 individuals that continue to give to social causes.
BDTV: Bongiwe how does the Social Justice Initiative feature in all this, are you part of the study that does the measurement?
BONGIWE MLANGENI: We encourage philanthropy for social justice causes in South Africa and by that social justice causes are different to the social and community development that takes place. These are organisations that usually do advocacy work. They ensure that they continue to encourage our government to come up with fair policies that enable people to access their rights. These would be organisations right now that would be concerned about the integrity of our public institutions and they will call on government to investigate corruption or strengthen some of the policy and political processes in the country. So we are an organisation that encourages philanthropy for the kind of policy work and advocacy work that drives systemic change in South Africa.
BDTV: Having said that though Bongiwe, only 3% of funds are being directed to advocacy funds, so why is that the case?
BM: We think that is happening because it is easier for people to respond to a call for immediate needs. So when you put out a call for school shoes or school uniforms or books, people relate to that, its tangible, its immediate need and they can cover it right now. Advocacy though is long-term and it involves consistent and persistent engagement with the State. It also involves a lot of lobbying. It could be mobilising so what happens is that people then tend to shy away from these activities.
At the same time though, if you look at, let’s take the case that is well-known, what TAC did, the Treatment Action Campaign, what they did to ensure that many people in South Africa access anti-retroviral treatment. If you look at that example you can see that while it takes a long time to see the results, when a policy changes, when the system shifts, it benefits most of us as South Africans and it helps us to remain a stable country. So what then happens is a question of just understanding just how important it is to have an access citizenry and that includes business advocating as well for the right kind of policies, and how important it is to walk this path with organisations that seek to ensure that we remain a country that is just, that is fair, that promotes equality and enables all the people to access their rights.
BDTV: Noxolo you get these big names like Bill Gates, JK Rowling, they make the headlines when they donate most of their fortunes back to society. Here in South Africa we’ve had Allan Gray and his wife Gill, they’re committing their controlling interests to a foundation. They’re the ones that make the headlines but do we have other big names in South Africa that are giving back to society but prefer not to publicise it.
NH: There are plenty and inherent in a lot of philanthropists is just the need to remain anonymous. The altruistic motives are driven by their personal values so a lot of them don’t do it for big PR but there is a case for coming out, such as Allan and Gill Gray...
BDTV: ...it encourages others?
NH: It encourages and inspires more but over and above that we are in a space where philanthropy as Africans, we’re redefining it for ourselves. You mentioned the big names but there is so much more that is happening on the ground. So much is happening in low income communities where low income communities are assisting each other on a daily basis and they have been for a very long time, way before aid, way before large charitable foundations and other funding institutions. And that’s the type of philanthropy that you also need to start recognising and appreciating and learning from.
BDTV: How well planned or strategic is planning around these commitments that are made, does it form a part of actual budgets and is it structured or is it done more so on a whim?
NH: The findings of the report, again very consistently over the past three studies, high net worth individuals generally aren’t very strategic in terms of their giving and also just to highlight that strategic doesn’t mean its large sums of money that are contributed and it doesn’t mean that it has to be through a foundation or a charitable trust or structured entity. As long as it’s considered, as long as its deliberate, as long as there are objectives set out upfront and the impact that you’re looking to make. So it may be small-scale giving, as long as it’s well considered, that is still strategic. But in terms of organisations or individuals that give through large structures, very small, about 5% because it is a huge commitment once you contribute your wealth or donate your wealth to this vehicle, you are just merely looking after it on behalf of the beneficiaries, you’re just custodians, it’s no longer yours.
BDTV: Bongiwe maybe just quickly. You talked about advocacy groups looking at the integrity of public institutions amongst those causes. Do you think recent events and institutions perhaps coming under pressure in South Africa might heighten the cause and draw more support?
BM: Definitely. We realised that if we do not support organisations that first bring us the information we need so that we know what is happening in our public institutions, if we don’t support those organisations that raise their voice whenever something is going wrong, then we are in real trouble. That these organisations are very key, not just in bringing us the information that we need, but in also conducting research that helps government improve its own systems.
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