Corporate Social Review Magazine 1st Quarter 2013 | Page 29

Co-operation

Speaking in simple, pragmatic terms, Marc makes a business
case for far greater co-operation across the whole sector:
“Co-operation means you can share skills, reduce duplication
of effort, reduce costs and maximise the impact you have in a
community. It also means you can reduce your costs, lower your
operating overhead (always an issue in our sector) and work
together to work better. I mean, it sounds brutal but why have
two or three or four account departments when you can work
together and have one.”
Marc says that this need for co-operation at a fundamental level
also addressed another key issue in the sector.
“We’re a big sector and the biggest funder of the sector is the
lottery, who have a specific brief to give increasing money to
smaller organisations, to developing organisations. But, if you
want to expand reach, then you need to do it through people with
proven competence, make them responsible for developing new
areas and organisations. You need to encourage co-operation at
the point of delivery and encourage the very best organisations
to share their skills where they can do the most good.”
The fact is, this is an echo of what Marc told us last time we
talked to him. (Ed: And another echo of what his father is saying
elsewhere in very this issue.) There are a startlingly large number
of organisations working in this sector, employing an astonishing
number of people (greater than the manufacturing sector,
remember?) and that means duplication of effort and energy. It
also means that these critical, shrinking funds, are being spread
too thin. Duplicated in some places, unspent in others.
Instead of looking at communities as an organic whole, the
sector looks at their own little part of the wavelength on the
need spectrum and misses the vast rainbow of opportunity
that working side by side with other players in the sector might
provide.
So, lesson one. Co-operate. Look for partnerships, look to create
force multiplication and improved effectiveness where currently
there is duplication and a damaging dilution of effort.
Marc’s second suggestion gets substantially more complicated.
But we can still sum it up in a single word:

Revenue

Ok, so Marc’s explanation of his specific plans for how his
business is going to leverage its expertise in social issues to
generate income for Africa Tikkun is, well, complicated. But the
principles are well worth looking at.
The main principle is this: Organisations like Africa Tikkun are
full of skilled, passionate, hard-working people. They are people
with valuable kill sets. Some of the services that Africa Tikkun
provide could, at least in theory, be charged for. Charity can
be replaced by fair value and the ability of the charity to do
more with less increased. Furthermore, by working with local
communities and local people, by uplifting those communities
and empowering those people Africa Tikkun can inhabit the
‘Enterprise Development’ space creating a network of skilled
people who can themselves add value, and some of that value
can accrue to the charity that helped them to get there.
So, firstly there’s structure. Marc is structuring this process so
that he creates an income generating entity, an entity that can
provide commercial services for a profit, making his charitable
trust the sole owner and beneficiary of that income. This
structure allows the non-profit organisation to continue as a non-

Madiba with Tando

The Smile Foundation was born in 2000 as the Star Smile Fund
following the request of Nelson Mandela to secure surgery for a
young child suffering from a rare syndrome causing facial nerve
paralysis.
The Lubner family took on the challenge to bring surgeons to
South Africa from Canada to perform the surgery and provide
skills training for Professor George Psaras, Head of Department
of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Charlotte Maxeke
Johannesburg Academic Hospital, and his team. Marc Lubner
recruited the support of The Star Newspaper group to launch
the Star Smile Fund.
How Can You Get Involved?
For more information on how to make a donation, refer a patient
for assistance or volunteer your time, please go to our website:
www.smilefoundation.co.za or call our toll free number:
0861 276 453
Patrons of Smile Foundation
Mr Nelson Mandela – Chief Patron
Mr F.W De Klerk – Patron
Mission
Afrika Tikkun is dedicated to investing in education, health and
social services for children, youth and their families through its
Community Centres of Excellence and strategic partnerships.

CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW
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2013/07/29 10:45 AM