The non-profit organisation sector consists of people with different skills sets. What they share is a passion to make a difference in the lives of less fortunate persons.
Donors provide NPOs with programmatic grant funding or operational capacity-building support to enhance services to their beneficiaries.
The Community Chest of the Western Cape distinguishes between two types of assistance that can help an NPO to function effectively and to achieve its mission.
Most donors provide no operational support to NPOs because they prefer to provide programmatic support. Operational support focuses on an NPO’s day-to-day functioning and management, ensuring that it has the systems, resources and infrastructure it needs to operate efficiently.
The types of operational support we provide include:
- Financial management and accounting
- Human resources and staff management
- Office administration
- IT systems
- Legal and compliance services
- Fundraising and donor management
- Monitoring organisational policies and procedures
- Procurement and logistics.
Programmatic support seeks to strengthen an NPO’s internal capacity and sustainability. It focuses on the design, implementation, monitoring, and improvement of projects and programmes that directly serve an NPO’s beneficiaries.
Examples of our programmatic support include:
- Planning and development of programmes
- Project implementation assistance
- Research and needs assessments
- Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
- Training and capacity-building for beneficiaries
- Technical expertise in specific sectors (e.g. health, education, the environment)
- Data collection and impact measurement
- Reporting on programme outcomes.
Programmatic support can substantially improve the efficiency and impacts of an NPO’s programmes and services.