Corporate Social Review Magazine 1st Quarter 2012 | Page 14

value in giving our various sponsors, partners and collaborators
exposure for the abilities they employ and the needs they meet.
But we also want to dig deeper
than that. We want to deliver greater value to you the reader and we
want to perhaps inspire you in
some small way.
With that in mind we took a look at
Vodacom’s Volunteers programme
– as discussed in their own advertorial. We thought it would be worth
finding out more about this specific
programme: how it works and why
they elected to spend part
of their limited CSR budget in this specific way.
One thing that is clear.
This approach delivers
far more than it costs. By
placing highly motivated
and skilled volunteers in
organisations that so desperately need those skills,
this programme acts as
a force multiplier – with
these skilled interventions delivering far greater
value than the costs involved and leaving behind
a legacy within each of the
organisations that these
volunteers touched.
Hopefully it will provide
you with some food for
thought. Perhaps it will
inspire you to consider a
similar programme or to
consider something entirely different. If nothing
else it will, we hope. give you a
greater insight into this innovative
and inspiring programme.
We talked to Mthobi Tyamzashe,
Executive Director: CSI at Vodacom and here’s what she had to
say:
Can you explain a little more
about the technical aspects
of just how your programme

12

works?
The Vodacom Change the World
programme is Vodacom’s unique
initiative that mobilises skilled professionals to take time out and
work for non-profit organisations.
10 skilled South African professionals are given the opportunity to
donate their time and expertise as
volunteers at one of 10 non-profit
organisations for a period of 12
months - at no cost to the volunteers or the host organisations.
Are the people you are funding
to work with these organisations
really ‘volunteers’ or do you pay

their Key Performance Indicators
as agreed with the NPO. This will
also cover other expenses such
as fringe benefit tax, insurance as
well as any other taxes and deductions.
What criteria did you use in
choosing the people you are
funding and the organisations
you are working with?
Vodacom supported NPOs were
invited to participate in this year’s
programme. To ensure a national
spread in all of the provinces other
NPOs were also identified in cooperation with CAFSA
(Charities Aid Foundation,
South Africa). Each NPO
was put through a stringent process and the final
10 were selected based
on set criteria.The top ten
NPOs were selected in accordance with key developmental criteria from an
extensive list of registered
non-profit organisations
through an open process.

A nationwide call was then
issued for professional
South Africans, who met
these requirements, to apply for these positions. By
the closing date, over 580
entries had been received
and so began the tough
task of selecting the top
10 volunteers. The calibre
of entries was high and
many skilled professionals
applied, so this was not an
Chris Kirchoff, MediaClubSouthAfrica.com
easy undertaking. Followthem?
ing screening, background checks
and interviews with the NPO’s- as
The volunteers each receivea well as a dedicated panel of judges
monthly stipend of R25 000 per -the right volunteers were matched
month to go towards their living ex- to the right host organisations
penses. Each organisation is also based on interests, skills, experigiven a grant of up to R70,000 and ence and personality.
project funding of R120 000 which
will be applied towards the volun- Why did you decide that this
teer’s placement costs as well as programme was one worth creensuring that they can deliver ???????????????????????????()
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