The Vodacom Foundation and group CSI

Vodacom is committed to investing in the development of the communities in which we operate. We recognise our duty to assist communities not only with financial contributions but also through the innovative application of our technical skills and operational capacity. The application of mobile communications in education and health in particular can be broadened to deliver much needed services to the citizens of the countries in which we operate. It is for this reason that Vodacom has established Foundations in most of the countries of operation.

Celebrating its tenth year of existence, The Vodacom Foundation in South Africa disbursed R67 million during the 2009 financial year, a 2% increase over the prior year. This brings the Foundation’s total investment since its inception a decade ago to approximately R500 million.

Stakeholder engagement

While project selection decisions are taken by the Vodacom SA Foundation Board of Advisors (who annually receive a budget allocation from the company), these decisions are not taken in isolation. Vodacom Foundation has strong relationships with the government departments of education and health, at national, provincial and local levels. Programmes are normally also delivered by a number of implementing partners, each providing specific expertise, and the Foundation enjoys a close working relationship with institutions such as the SA National Council for the Blind, Netcare and the Pretoria Eye Institute. In April 2009, the Vodacom Foundation launched its website to serve as an interactive communication portal for its engagement with stakeholders ranging from government and implementing partners to communities and individuals.

Approach

Vodacom Foundation support takes the form of cash, in-kind giving, time and skills:

• Cash support usually consists of once-off donations, or one- to three-year funding agreements. Additionally, contributions deducted from staff salaries through the company’s ‘Payroll-Giving’ platform totaled R654 000 this year, with 1 260 registered payroll contributors.
• In-kind support comprises collections, driven by the company’s 1 729 employee volunteers, our Yebo Heroes, typically in the form of books, clothing, blankets and other much-needed items.
• Time and skills contributions are driven by Yebo Heroes, including form of relief duty, gardening, painting and tree-planting. Staff completed 75 volunteer projects this year.

The criteria for dispensing Foundation support include the potential to use ICT to solve social problems, the degree of impact, partnerships, sustainability, sound governance, track record and solvency. Currently, the bulk of its funding goes towards projects that offer naming rights and branding opportunities, e.g. mobile labs and clinics, lifesaving operations (facial reconstruction, cataracts, cardiac surgery), as well as those that require ongoing funding to survive, such as feeding schemes and bursaries. In the future Vodacom will be looking to increase the proportion of spending on projects that are more closely aligned to our business competency, such as applying ICT to solve social problems. Good examples of these are Cell-Life and ICT Resource Centres.

Focus areas

Education and Healthcare remain Vodacom’s main focus areas, while projects in areas such as security, arts and culture, community sport, and the environment are granted funding on a per-case basis. We also place emphasis on vulnerable groups like children, the youth, the empowerment of women and the disabled.

Performance and evaluation

The Vodacom Foundation in South Africa established a monitoring and risk management department with a mandate to improve a number of key performance areas:

• Accreditation of beneficiary organisations;
• Addressing bottlenecks;
• Contracting and reporting;
• Milestone payments;
• Systems compliance; and
• Early warning systems.

Projects recommended by the Board of Advisors are visited and scored by independent service providers. Regular visits by Vodacom Foundation employees are conducted during implementation. Post-project audits are also conducted to inform decisions to renew or discontinue projects.

Future commitments

This year the Vodacom Foundation will embark on rolling out ICT resource centres that aims to assist schools through e-learning. These facilities will be community based, providing general internet services, a range of computer training programmes primarily for the teachers and also the community at large. Two centres will be rolled out this year. The intention is to provide seven more facilities in the next few years, with the aim of establishing one resource centre in each of the nine provinces.