Philanthropy crucial to press freedom

Philanthropy has spearheaded major movements globally including the women's movement, the environmental movement, the hospice movement and now the fight against AIDS.

Unfortunately it was at this time that the non-profit sector came under attack from Mtikeni Sibande of the ANC, who directly accused “white-run” NPOs of posing a threat to the country's national security. In the middle of all the crises affecting the country, he chose to add fuel to the fire by referring to “unknown whites”, “instruments of imperialism” and the need to alert our own security establishment about them. Clearly the funding of these organisations, often from the pockets of ordinary South Africans, would also come under scrutiny. These were echoes of Mugabe. What was this about? Perhaps deflecting criticism of the slow and uncaring reaction shown by Government?

This attack resonated with recent attacks on the media by members of the ruling party and the proposal by an emotional Polokwane conference for the establishment of a media appeals tribunal. It is interesting to me what parallels the two sectors have.

Societal watchdogs

What do the press, philanthropists and the non-profit sector have in common?

In many ways we share the same values and commitment to public benefit. Journalists are potentially watchdogs and in many cases rely on the nonprofit sector to provide the data, the research and knowledge of a range of areas to enable them to provide the nation with news. Both the media and the non-profit sector have emerged from situations where they have contested or questioned power and have in turn themselves become influential and powerful. Attempts to rein in the media affect individual freedom. Attempts to rein in civil society organisations would also affect individual freedoms.

While I do not perceive at this stage any hard attempts at either, the fact that these issues emerge within ruling party debate and there is no reaction on the part of ANC leadership to seriously defend these freedoms, means that we do need to be awake and to monitor what is happening.

Philanthropy as a topic is rarely covered, although the myriad organisations that the media writes about or quotes from rely on philanthropy to survive.

Corporate and private philanthropy offer a fertile source of stories that can provide greater insight into the important roles philanthropy and the non-profit sector play in society. Let us look at some great news generated by philanthropy:

• Emergency 911 was begun by a foundation in 1966 that provided grants to 32 states in the US for regional emergency medical services. This was eventually taken over by government.

• Major medical achievements funded by philanthropy that have changed human health fundamentally have been funded by philanthropy, such as: the pap smear - funded by the Commonwealth Fund; the polio vaccine - funded by the Sarah Scaife Foundation 1948; and the yellow fever vaccine - the Rockefeller Foundation funded a 30-year effort to eradicate the disease.

• Sesame Street - now reaching 16 million viewers - was funded by the Carnegie Corporate of New York in 1966.

• White lines on highways - research into how they reduce the accident rate was funded by the Dorr Foundation of New York in the 1950s.

Philanthropy and the non-profit sector address many of the issues that make daily news: AIDS, xenophobia, gender issues, ground-breaking research, universities, environmental issues, human rights, etc. Yet despite the philanthropic sector's involvement and the impact they make, there is a lack of awareness on how philanthropy operates and the critical role it is playing in South African society.

We do not know if any major newspapers or other media have a full-time reporter devoted to the non-profit sector and philanthropy. We presume that the core areas of coverage are Government at all levels, business, education, women, medicine, health and fitness - even shipping, but not the non-profit sector which includes philanthropy. There is a need to build greater trust and communication between journalists, civil society and philanthropy to develop an understanding of each others' needs, roles and operations.

Press freedom

This therefore brings me to philanthropy's role in press freedom. Press freedom is enshrined in our constitution and it is meant to be guaranteed by the courts and the state. However, there is no doubt that it is coming under pressure as our Constitution and Bill of Rights start to bend and sway on the basis of interpretation.

Who then will put their energies behind press freedom? Obviously the press itself, through its own corporate structures or through an organisation such as SANEF, will engage on this issue. Individual journalists may play a role.

Independent media in Zimbabwe survived through philanthropy and the doggedness of courageous journalists. Our press freedom in many ways depends on civil society organisations to act as watchdogs and advocates for such freedom.

We then had a look at who funds them - this is all international money... That makes us vulnerable and dependent. If, at any stage, the Government decided that international donors cannot fund South African organisations, or if, at any stage, international donors no longer choose to fund in SA, this resource could collapse. It is not healthy to be dependent on resources from abroad.

If an independent and free media that is crucial to democracy is to endure, this will depend on the development and maintenance of sites of power other than the state. These can emerge from SA civil society (funded by philanthropy) and from an independent press.

South Africans themselves, if they are serious, should be supporting their own civil society organisations and institutions, including media organisations. We are not doing this.