CAF Southern Africa

Investing in sustainable communities 

Isiphala is the Ndebele word for a communal rural grain store. It is constructed in a variety of ways - often resembling a small raised dwelling. We use the Isiphala as a metaphor for our work because it represents investment in future well-being.  Our symbol is iconic rather than literal:  the CAF colours are used for the vital opening in the Isiphala through which the farmers 'invest' grain into the store, and through which they 'draw' their investment as needed.

Who are we?

CAF Southern Africa is an independent non-profit organisation that promotes and facilitates effective social investment.  CAF has been represented in South Africa since 1997, and became a Section 21 not-for-profit organisation in 2000.  We are a member of the international network of the Charities Aid Foundation, headquartered in the United Kingdom (CAF UK), and with members in Australia, Bulgaria, Brazil, India, Russia, and the USA.

Our vision is ‘to make social investment a part of everyday life’

We believe that the non-profit sector plays a vital developmental role by supporting positive social change in marginalised communities.  Our ultimate aim is therefore to increase the amount and impact of investment in the non-profit sector.

The diagram below illustrates the environment in which we operate:

Who are our clients?

We work with individual and corporate donors to increase the resources channelled to the non-profit sector, and with non-profit organisations to assist with effective use of these resources.

Our corporate clients include several of South Africa’s blue-chip companies such as Absa, Advantage Asset Managers, Anglo Gold Ashanti, BHP Billiton, Deloitte, Edcon, Ernst & Young, FirstRand, GlaxoSmithKline, Investec, Liberty Life, Netcare, ACNielsen, Telkom and Sasol.

We work with corporate and individual givers to advise on, manage and increase resources for the non profit sector, and with non profit organisations to ensure resources are put to effective and measurable use for the benefit of communities.

What do we do?

We facilitate cross-sectoral investment of money, skills, talent and in-kind resources to strengthen the effectiveness of the non-profit sector.   We are committed to endorsing and adding value to these contributions by encouraging innovation and cooperation. Our services include consultation on social investment policy and strategy, and fund management and administration.

We found our approach on authoritative research and expert practice.  Through our international network we are able to leverage global expertise, while our African identity and location ensures that we are responsive to the context in which we operate.  We promote a more enabling environment for giving and social development and we provide information and advice.  In order to facilitate an enabling regulatory environment for social investment, we also advocate for and advise on appropriate legislative change.

For more information please visit www.cafsouthernafrica.org