The Annual Top Donor Awards was held on the 23 July 2024 and is Community Chest’s way of acknowledging the generosity of our donors’ support of communities in need.
The basis of Community Chest’s work with welfare organisations is to empower those who need support the most in order to improve their quality of life.
“This requires funding and without the continued investment of all our donors over the past year, we would not have helped vulnerable communities. Every donor has contributed significantly towards us achieving our mission of empowering and enhancing communities in need. For this we are humbly grateful,’’ says Gordon McDonald, Director of Community Chest Durban.
“KwaZulu-Natal continues to weather many stressful and significant disruptions. We have responded, as best we can, through disaster relief efforts and are fortunate to have had the support of corporates and individuals that targeted their funding to such efforts, including winter warmth and hunger relief.”
Central to achieving our mission of “enhancing communities and restoring hope”, is the regranting of donor funds to credible NPOs as well as increasing annual allocations in line with a rampant inflation rate. In the light of our stagnant economy, increasing costs and reductions in government subsidies, the Non-Profit sector yet again finds itself needing to do more, with less.
At the event, Gordon went on to announce that the Board has approved R18million to be allocated to 109 Community Impact Partners for the 2024/25year (a total increase of 11.8% over the 2023/24 year). This is an average increase of 8.5% to previously funded applicants, and an additional R500 000 to fund new applicants. Grants are paid monthly and range from R5 000 to over R100 000 a month.
“This is only made possible by the continued generosity of our loyal donors, to whom we express our sincere gratitude. Quite frankly, none of our work would be possible without donor support and belief in our mission. The kindness of all donors, whether financial or in-kind, impacts lives on a daily basis, thank you!” exclaimed Gordon.
Good governance, strong ethics and rigorous accountability remains central to the Community Chest, both within the organisation and within the organisations that we support, and our Board of Management plays a critical role in ensuring this.
Gordon concluded a wonderful morning at Coastlands Hotel by thanking the Board which consists of dedicated and hard-working volunteers who contribute their time, expertise and effort for no financial reward.