This Covid-19 lockdown has had a profound impact on non-profit organizations and businesses in South Africa.

While a few have managed to scale their services to meet the demand, many have needed to shift how they do things to keep their doors open. Those who’ve been unable to do this, or who’ve simply been unlucky, have sadly needed to downsize or even close.

During the lockdown, I’ve been marveling at how willingly and rapidly some South African organizations have adapted.

This inspired me to source some examples from my network. This presentation showcases 10 organizations that have adapted and created positive change in the process.

I hope this will inspire you to explore new and interesting ways of doing things during this difficult time.

A while ago, we pitched to develop a strategic plan for an international non-profit organization. As part of our proposal, we needed to describe how we see ‘strategic planning’ and how we should adopt multiple perspectives when looking at organizations. A colleague and I drew this framework over a coffee chat at our local spot. It was then neatened up and integrated into our proposal.

I thought I’d share this short framework with you since you may find it thought provoking.

I gave this presentation to social entrepreneurs at The Mensch Network in Cape Town on 27 February 2019. It was a very engaging discussion. I learned as much from the participants as they did from me.

This presentation contains 10 pieces of Unconventional Advice that have served me well in my career, and which have helped to accelerate my progress. The origin of this presentation was a letter that a young social entrepreneur had written to me about her anxiety about not being able to “plot a clear path into the future”. This presentation explores how careers have changed and how adopting this advice will put you in good stead for the future.

This presentation investigates the meaning of “financial sustainability” and why non-profit organizations are feeling the pressure to become “sustainable”. It also highlights the importance of getting stakeholders to embrace these changes that are sweeping through South Africa’s non-profit sector, and the risks of not doing this properly.

The presentation shares 12 practical shifts or tactics that I’ve seen non-profit organizations use to improve their financial sustainability. The presentation ends with an outline of how you can develop your own sustainability strategy.

I developed this presentation for a “masterclass” on financial sustainability that I facilitated on 1 December 2017. This formed part of the Drivers of Change Awards, which were hosted by the Southern Africa Trust.

This presentation explores how a social entrepreneur’s personality (and preferred business model) strongly influences the type of legal structure that best suits their social enterprise. It contains the types of challenges that social entrepreneurs bring to my consulting practice. It includes 14 personality questions that entrepreneurs need to answer in order to make the best choice for themselves.

This presentation was first given at the Pathways to Funding Do-ference on 28 September 2017. This event was organized by the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town.

Social enterprises are rapidly emerging in South Africa. However, many social entrepreneurs find themselves confused about which legal form to adopt and the flexibility of their current legal form. Too often, entrepreneurs receive bad advice and create unnecessary complexity for themselves.

This presentation clears up 10 common confusions about legal forms for social enterprises in South Africa. It also shares six income tactics that social enterprises can pursue, regardless of their legal form.

This presentation was first given on 16 September 2016 at the Pathways to Funding Do-ference by the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship. It is based upon the many requests I receive each week for clarity on this topic.

Social enterprises do not magically appear. They are the result of many years of hard work. The good news is that thousands of South African organizations have set out on their journey to become social enterprises.

This presentation describes the Journey to Social Enterprise. It is based on 20 years of observation and consulting to aspiring social enterprises.

It describes how non-profit organizations and businesses can move towards a state of social enterprise. It unpacks and names the strategic transition points that organizations need to overcome when moving towards social enterprise. It also describes the specific skills that organizations need to master at each transition point.

The South African Accounting Academy runs an annual conference for non-profit organizations (“NPO Conference”). I was invited to speak in the May 2016 conference on one of my favorite topics. Here is the presentation I gave.

This presentation explores the pros and cons of the traditional charity model versus the social enterprise model. It explains why the golden age of non-profit funding is over. It emphasizes the importance of adopting either the business model or mindset of a social enterprise. The presentation also reveals some of the challenges that non-profit organizations will experience on their Journey to Social Enterprise.

The Graduate School of Business at UCT runs a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management Practice. It contains a module on Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I gave a series of lectures in May 2016 to students, including this short Introduction to Social Enterprises in South Africa.

This short presentation explores a definition of “social enterprise” and examines some of the challenges they experience in South Africa.

UCT Upstarts is a campaign to get students to start projects to have a social impact. I was invited to present a “101 course” on social enterprises in May 2015. This presentation introduces the concept of a social enterprise and highlights the three main challenges they are experiencing: access to markets; access to business support; and access to finance.