MTN Foundation recognises non-profits for good M&E practice in sector

Nick Rockey, MD Trialogue (centre) with left to right: Mara Glennie, founder and director of the TEARS Foundation; Angie Maloka, senior manager community programmes at the MTN SA Foundation; Lumka Nkanyana, senior manager monitoring and evaluation at the Ubunye Foundation; and Susannah Morcowitz, SA programmes manager at Teach A Man To Fish.

The awards aims to establish a platform for learning and sharing information that will assist non-profits that engage in this process. Through the application process, non-profits are exposed to M&E practices and principles. Registered NPOs were required to enter a project or programme that is creating positive impact, has been running for at least two years and has some level of associated M&E practice.

Entries were shortlisted by Trialogue and 20 organisations were put forward for final selection by a panel of independent judges. A total of R1m of prize money was awarded to the winning NPOs in each of the three categories, as well as a fourth bonus award winner.

MTN Awards for Social Change winners

TEARS Foundation, for Help-at-yourfingertips

Small NPO category winner, with a total annual income of less than R2m (R300,000 prize)

TEARS Foundation supports survivors of rape and sexual abuse and has an annual turnover of R1m. The TEARS’ Help-at-your-fingertips programme, which began in 2012, provides support to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse using prompt-based mobile technology. When someone sends a distress message, using *134*7355#, they are geolocated. The person is then sent the locations of the nearest partner facilities that can assist them.

gold Youth Development Agency, for gold Youth Development South Africa

Medium NPO category winner, with a total annual income greater than R2m, but less than R10m (R300,000 prize)

The gold Youth Peer Education Model was established in 2004 to train peer mentors in order to improve school results and social behaviour among grade nine to 12 learners in 21 disenfranchised schools in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. The programme also aims to create internships, employment and income-generating opportunities for youth from the disenfranchised communities in which it is run.

Teach A Man to Fish, for the EEESAY programme

Large NPO category winner, with a total annual income greater than R10m (R300,000 prize)

Teach A Man To Fish helps schools create fully functional student-led businesses. The Entrepreneurial and Environmental Empowerment for South African Youth (EEESAY) programme started in 2016 to teach learners life skills that empower them to run environmentally responsible businesses.

Ubunye Foundation Trust, for the Savings and Livelihoods Programme

Bonus winner for providing the best evidence with regards to advanced M&E practice (R100,000 prize)

Ubunye Foundation Trust, for the Savings and Livelihoods Programme. Bonus winner for providing the best evidence with regards to advanced M&E practice.

Established as a rural development trust, Ubunye aims to address chronic poverty and marginalisation through an asset-based community development approach and has an annual turnover of R4.6m. The Savings and Livelihoods Programme is a self-sustainable, community-led and owned financial savings and enterprise initiative started by the trust in 2013.

“We wanted to reach out to all non-profit organisations, not just those currently benefiting directly from MTN’s existing ICT in education or youth empowerment programmes,” said Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi, general manager of the MTN Foundation.

“We were delighted that seventy NPOs entered the awards, with the quality of the entries reflecting the non-profit sector’s commitment to measuring their impact in our society,” she added.

Congratulating all winners, Mtunzi-Hairwadzi said that these awards are a valuable addition to the social investment landscape in South Africa