Going beyond painting classrooms vital for effective employee volunteering

Estelle Cloete, operations executive of the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership

At the Beyond Painting Classrooms workshop in Cape Town in mid-March, entitled New and exciting approaches to employee volunteering 2017, 65 delegates from corporate South Africa, non-profit organisations (NPOs), local government and institutions of higher learning sought to share knowledge, experience and insights on maximising employee volunteering approaches, with the aim of achieving enhanced benefits for all involved.

Collaboration is key

Head of ministry in the office of the Minister of Social Development in the Western Cape, David Abrahams emphasised the importance of collaboration between the public, private and NGO sectors in working to build a stronger, more unified South Africa. “The notion of beyond is a powerful one – it refers to pushing conventional boundaries to achieve greater things. Volunteering is all very well, but it’s not enough to paint classrooms – we need to look beyond painting classrooms, beyond short-term projects that bring superficial benefits, and find longer term initiatives that link to concrete developmental outcomes, particularly for South Africa’s youth. We need to work together – the province, NGOs and the private sector – to achieve sustainable results,” said Abrahams.

Born in 2012, Beyond Painting Classrooms is itself a prime example of a successful collaboration between a corporate, FirstRand, and a non-profit organisation, CAFSA. Desiree Storey, manager of the FirstRand volunteers programme and initiator of the Beyond Painting Classrooms project, maintains the key to the alliance is that each party shares the same purpose and their values are strongly aligned.

“Successful partnerships in employee volunteering are incredibly rewarding for both the corporate and the NGO. But for this to be achieved, they need to be well matched,” said Storey.

Using a video recording of a local theatre production depicting a typical corporate volunteer scenario, delegates were taken through the typical pitfalls of a challenging employee volunteer situation, as well as the opportunities for strengthening the dynamic. Poor communication between the employee volunteer and the NPO emphasised the mismatch and disconnect that often exists when the necessary ground work and preparation for the relationship is not done. The workshop culminated with an exercise showing how listening, understanding, respect and empathy can help to strengthen a mutually beneficial relationship.

Alignment is critical

“A successful employee volunteering programme is like a marriage – it requires dedication, patience and passion, but when it works, the rewards are great,” said Karena Cronin, CAFSA business development manager. “Alignment of the corporate’s volunteer programme to its core business is imperative in order for synergy between the parties, as is clarity around the value proposition for both the corporate and the partner organisation.”

Trust, honesty, transparency, lack of prejudice, dropping of assumptions, coordinated collaboration and structured orientation are essential ingredients for successful partnering between corporates and NGOs. Estelle Cloete, operations executive of the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership, emphasised that collaboration involves far more than simply agreeing to do things together – it is about being actively involved in getting things done.

Partnerships versus partnering

Cloete explained the difference between partnership and partnering. “Partnerships involve red tape and can be limiting. Partnering, however, is about behaviour, attitudes and a way of doing things. Effective partnering involves working together, sharing knowledge, promoting dialogue and, most importantly, collaborating. Within partnering, there is mutual accountability, shared risk and a common vision.”

Cloete outlined the importance for any country of a strong private sector, a strong public sector and a strong civil society. She discussed the seven attributes for effective partnering solutions: agreed goals and objectives; clearly identified roles for each partner; sharing of resources; constant communication; good governance; processes, technologies and systems that work and are agreed upon; and collaborative leadership.

Adriaan Brand, development project manager of the Music van de Caab Heritage Development Project on Solms Delta in Franschhoek, presented a practical “op die plaas” example of successful socio-economic upliftment in which employee volunteering is rooted in the local cultural heritage of rural music. The Cape winelands has a deep history of social disempowerment, with farm labourers kept economically disenfranchised. Funded by the Delta Trust, the Music van de Caab project was established in 2007 to promote social cohesion and nation-building through the musical traditions of the Cape interior.

Brand says the programme, which does not take a typical approach to employee volunteering, emanates instead from the interests and assets of the employees themselves and thus an emergent volunteering model “growing from the centre outwards”.

“By focusing on the traditional vernacular style unique to the region, the project encouraged the farm workers and their families to explore their cultural identity,” said Brand. Today the Delta Valley Entertainers are a traditional “klopse-style” walking brass band of 80 players and 150 marcher-singers, the Delta Langbroek Band is a 25-strong stage ensemble and the Delta Soetstemme is a choral group of 25 singers. The sense of pride amongst the workers and their families is matched only by the social cohesion the project has achieved,” said Brand.

The Beyond Painting Classrooms initiative will host its third conference on 13 and 14 September at the Wanderers Club in Illovo, Johannesburg.

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