Well-organised NPOs are always more impactful and sustainable than those that are poorly organised. Paying attention to the organisation is crucial not only for administrative efficiency but, much more importantly, for enhanced impact and sustainability. A surprisingly common leadership approach that refuses to attend to the organisation is what I call the Panglossian approach. Dr Pangloss (in Voltaire’s Candide) famously held that we always live in the best possible world. The pessimistic P...

We quite often see standard ‘quick fix’ or arbitration dispute resolution clauses included in founding documents such as trust deeds, MOIs and constitutions. These dispute resolution clauses originate from contracts, and as a way to try to have people who have signed an agreement resolve matters faster and cheaper, before resorting to tedious and expensive legal process. Whether they are ‘independent expert’ or ‘quick arbitration’ clauses, the idea is that parties with competing views and in...

Many NPCs which are registered in a hurry or without any understanding of the importance of the Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) of an NPC are often established with the CIPC standard form MOI as their founding document. At ngoLAW we only register with a standard CIPC MOI as a short-term emergency measure when the NPC needs to be registered fast and it is felt that there is not sufficient time for the board to engage with the process of drafting a “unique” MOI. (“Unique” is what the Companie...

The widely misunderstood term 'ex-officio' means “by virtue of another office held” and simply means that the person automatically becomes a board member because of some other position they are in. Those who serve ‘ex officio’ are not voted on, do not resign and are not subject to terms of office, as they are in when they are in the (other) office, and out when they leave. Please note that the “ex officio” status does not mean that they are non-voting on the board. If anyone (the CEO, the C...

Financing a non-profit organisation has always been one of the most significant challenges faced by such ventures. However, leveraging technology to secure recurring donations and automate tedious administration, means that in this day and age, sustainable funding is no secret. “Non-profit leaders are much more sophisticated about creating programmes than they are about funding their organisations.” These are the words of Stanford Social Innovation Review writer William Lan...

The ‘D’ day for POPIA compliance has come and gone. Some of us have it all sussed and sorted, some had good intentions but have been diverted by other dramas, and some are still wondering whether they need to engage with POPIA (for the last lot, yes you do!) The good news is that the Information Regulator’s office seems to be as stuck as its website still is, with the Information Officer registration portal still not accessible due to technical difficulties. Our suspicion is that the technic...

What are they? Audit certificates are a record produced each year and kept on file certifying/giving an opinion on the use of funds for which 18A receipts were issued.  According to s18A(2B), a PBO which falls under section 18(2A), must obtain and retain an audit certificate. This audit certificate confirms that all donations received or accrued in the year for which they were issued were used for 18A activities. Who needs them? Not all 18A organisations are required to prod...

The current provisions of section 18A of the Income Tax Act requires that 18A receipts which are issued to donors include the following details: 18A RECEIPT:  Your organisation’s name, address and PBO number; The donor’s name and address; The date the donation was received; The amount of a monetary donation/nature and value of property donated; The required certification being: we hereby certify this receipt is issued for the purposes...

Some people believe that trading is prohibited for PBOs, and others that all income of PBOs is tax exempt. Neither of these is true, and the answer lies somewhere between the two extremes: Under Section 10(1)(cN) of the Income Tax Act, all non-trading income and some types and parts of trading income are exempt from tax if the organisation has PBO status.Any organisation with PBO status potentially receives three categories of income: Non-trading tax exempt income; Non-taxable tradin...

Storytelling, used well, is the single most powerful tool available to nonprofits You know you love reading a good book, watching a great movie or listening to an engaging story. But why? And how does it relate to telling stories for your nonprofit? Our brains love stories It’s true! Research shows that character-driven stories cause the brain to make oxytocin. This hormone is sometimes called the “love hormone” or the “bliss hormone” because of how it makes us feel when our brains re...