corporate social investment

We live in an era of crass exploitation of suffering for perceived image and commercial gain. It is a time when product or company and brand image is often being pushed on the back of communities and individuals who have fallen by the wayside of life. No ethical brand custodian, communications specialist, marketer or chief executive officer should properly be a part of this. Rather, their communications should be of an altogether deeper and more nuanced explaining of reality.

1. The Political Environment

1.1. Grace before the meal
The very essence of “politics” is the human intercourse about how we are governed, where we are going, what our context is, where we find ourselves among broader humanity, and the essential and ever-changing debate about how best to divvy up limited resources.

South African NGOs are currently facing a crisis of financial sustainability. The combined result of diminishing international funding, ineffective delivery by state funding institutions, and the current economic recession, has placed many organisations in financial crisis.

What better time than now for NGOs and the institutions that support their work to be thinking together about more sustainable financial models.

Vodacom has donated R100 000 to the Waterberg Welfare Society towards uplifting the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS in Vaalwater, Limpopo.

Vodacom managing executive, Joe Dlamini, says the donation is part of the company’s celebrations of the Vodacom Foundation’s 10 years of existence.

In the same vein, July Letsebe, who is among people living with the disease, and who also works for the organisation, says he is hopeful the lives of people living with the disease will change for the better.

‘Corporate Social Entrepreneurship’ discusses the concept of corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE), a process aimed at enabling business to develop more advanced and powerful forms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The paper argues that CSE is not about managing existing operations or CSR programmes - it is about creating disruptive change in the pursuit of new opportunities. It combines the willingness and desire to create joint economic and social value with the entrepreneurial redesign, systems development, and action necessary to carry it out.

The findings of research into the diamond mining industry published by the Bench Marks Foundation, has painted a gloomy picture of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of the industry in the west coast region.

John Capel, CEO of the Bench Marks Foundation, a church-backed organisation monitoring corporate performance, says the findings contradict mining companies’ claims of success in CSR.

“We would have just built the road and left.”

Mike Wiley, CEO,WBHO Construction
June 25, 2009- WBHO/ComMark
Umzimvubu Red Meat Project Launch

Stephen Hanival
Executive Director  
The ComMark Trust 

A partnership with the ComMark Trust took what could have been basic “tick-the-box” corporate social investment (CSI) and made it real development for real people in Mt. Frere, Eastern Cape, South Africa.