Greater Good SA - Experience the Gift

December 2007

Communities that care
read more…

You, the giver
Get our survey results…

Give together
Family giving made easy…

Join in the giving season
Make this festive season magical by doing your Christmas shopping at Make Christmas Matter.

Or visit Gifts 4 Good to give a gift that could change someone's life - for good.

Set up a Giving Foundation
Take the next step in your giving journey: set up your own charitable fund as a family, an individual or as a business. It is a simple, effective and tax-efficient way to invest in South Africa's development.
My Giving Foundation

Be part of our social benefit networking revolution
Connect with great causes and other givers in your area, post comments, manage your own profile and track your online giving activity.
Register now

Contact us
Greater Good South Africa
Postnet Suite 293
Private Bag X16
Constantia, 7848
South Africa
t. +27 (0)21 794 0580
f. +27 (0)21 794 2239
e. info@ggsa.co.za

Season's greetings
It's the silly season. A time for gifts and parties and festive lights. A time for families to sit together and reflect on the year that's been. But it's also a time to care. World AIDS Day on 1st December gives us the chance to look at how South African families and communities are coping with a disease that now affects more than 5 million of us. And International Day of the Volunteer on 5th December shows how giving a simple thing like time can make a huge difference in the lives of others. At GreaterGood, we like to think of this time of year as the giving season so we're happy to report on the first results of our online Giving Survey. And we've included a few ways you can join in the giving season this year - on your own or with your family.

It takes a village

A famous African proverb says it takes a village to raise a child. Your child is my child and how that child grows up affects us all. This is the spirit of ubuntu. But it also takes a village to care for the sick and dying. My neighbour's suffering is my suffering and how they live with their illness affects the whole community.

It has been estimated that 50 to 60 per cent of people with HIV/AIDS worldwide have no access to professional healthcare workers. And with a significant increase in the overall burden of disease in South Africa, we have had to look to families and their communities to shoulder some of this burden.

But even the most committed and innovative community care programmes must evolve to respond to the changing needs of families and the pattern of the epidemic.

Read the full story

You, the giver

The preliminary results of our Giving Survey are in, revealing some interesting things about your online giving patterns. Most of you are women - almost 76% of the people who responded were female. You're also young, with the majority of responses from people between 20 and 39.

The vast majority of you (79.3%) give online because it is easier and you can do it from home or the office. And 62% of you use a combination of online credit card donations and other giving methods.

You're concerned about the greater good. Seven out of 10 of you (69%) give in order to see a difference in somebody's life and almost half (48.3%) give because you feel a moral obligation to give something back.

And you want to see results: more than half (55.2%) thought it was extremely important that the organisations you donate to have a good reputation. Almost 52% of you felt it was very important that there was evidence that an organisation you support is achieving its goals.

This not you? There's still time to fill in our quick Giving Survey and let us know what you think.

Give together

The family that gives together, stays together. Why not get together this giving season and start your own family Giving Foundation.

It's a personalised charitable fund which you name and manage online:

Invest. You make a lump sum donation to a Giving Foundation which you name - like the Khumalo Family Foundation or Jones Christmas Fund. You get a tax certificate immediately.
Increase. Your donation is held in a secure money market fund where it earns interest and grows. You can add to Your Giving Foundation at any time.
Impact. You and your family distribute your Foundation's funds to pre-assessed and accredited social development projects you select on the SA Social Investment Exchange (SASIX) website. View the real impact that your Foundation is having on the lives of disadvantaged South Africans online.

You can keep track of your Foundation's fund balance, investments and distributions around the clock on Your Giving Foundation page.

Find out more

www.greatergoodsa.co.za