Zina le Sueur

Marketing for a small NPO is mostly about telling one true story clearly and regularly, with consent for every face you show. The biggest cost is usually staff time, not advertising. Here are the basics, the figures we could verify, and ways to keep costs down.

Trust in charities has stalled worldwide and fewer people are giving. In South Africa, trust in NGOs is higher, but donors increasingly want to see what their money did. Here is what the research says, and what small NPOs can do to show their work.

A recognisable photo of a child is personal information under POPIA, and an NPO needs a parent’s or guardian’s prior consent to use it. Here is what the Act really says, why the ten-years-in-jail headline is wrong, and how to choose photos a child will be glad of when they are older.

A short, dated record for every learner shows who is moving forward and who needs help, and becomes the evidence funders ask for. What to record, how often, how to keep it private, and how it works in Kaycie.

Most South African companies that fund non-profits expect a report on what their money achieved. Here is what a good impact report includes, and how to gather it as the work happens instead of at the last minute.

The cost to raise R1 is your fundraising costs divided by what they bring in. How to work out your own figure in rand, what to count, what the benchmarks say, and where admin time hides.

Monthly giving turns donations from something you chase into something you can plan with. What the data says about monthly donors, why larger organisations lean on them, and how a small South African NPO can start.

Time is your scarcest resource, and certainty comes second. Why recurring payments and automation are the most faithful thing an NPO can do with both.