inclusive, fair, and just society. While political conflict, the climate crisis, inequality and a host of complex challenges make progress toward a balanced and just society seem slow, we believe that our work shaping responsible leaders are helping to make a difference, as we see from advances made by you, our alumni.

However, serious work still needs to be done. Non-profit organisations (NPOs) play a critical role in advancing the vision of a just society. Every day, they serve the needs of communities, taking care of people and the planet and making the most of constrained resources.

Unlike traditional businesses, most NPOs are unable to monetise their services and instead rely on donations to fund their work. Globally, corporations are increasing their investments in NPOs and social impact. Unfortunately, the impact of these investments is limited when made without understanding the needs of the communities.

The SBS social impact committee is pleased to introduce the ChangeMakersHub, a South African organisation connecting people with organisations making a difference said Dr Armand Bam, Head of Social Impact. ChangeMakersHub sees the positive change that can come when we connect the wisdom and market knowledge of NPOs with investments in social and environmental change. The investment opportunities are tremendous. In South Africa, there are over 200,000 registered NPOs, but only 28% of NPO income came from South African companies in 2021 (Trialogue, 2021).

A barrier to unleashing social investments has been a gap in understanding the impact that NPOs make. Few NPOs have staff available to produce compelling and evidence-based impact reporting. ChangeMakersHub is working to fill that gap by helping its network NPOs to share stories of their impact and first-hand knowledge of the needs of communities.

The ChangeMakersHub’s mission is to connect those that need help with those that want to help. The ChangeMakersHub unlocks “movements for good” that serve the most vulnerable through a platform that match-makes stakeholders across all sectors, looking for causes they care about and want to support.

The ChangeMakersHub profiles these credible organisations through our digital storytelling initiative. The multi-sided platform gives these nominated charities a digital profile page, giving them a voice telling the story of their impact on the communities they serve. They can further promote their social impact and wish lists (mainly calling for time and effort) to the network, encouraging active citizenship where everyone can be an agent of change. As a result, the ChangeMakersHub.org platform bridges the gap by connecting people who want to help to causes they care about, creating a ripple effect for sustainable impact.

These impact stories are shared with the broader stakeholders that want to make impact investment (e.g. capital, time) in a specific cause ranging from education, mental health, humanitarian relief, agriculture, animals etc. Enterprises making these impact investments are issued with a Section 18A certificate (Tax deductible).

ChangeMakersHub further collaborates on sustainability projects that bring about real change through partnerships across sectors, involving active citizens, business, government and social enterprises to address the Sustainable Development Goals.

The “Impact Accelerator Programme” is currently deployed in the Cedarberg region, Clanwilliam, where an inclusive circular economy model is rolled out in conjunction with the community and other stakeholders. The aim is not only to uplift the environment (planet) but also to focus on job creation (people) and the community’s economic growth (prosperity). In addition, the objective is to use this initiative as a blueprint for scaling into other small towns that need socio-economic development.

Sustain our mission. Become an active citizen by volunteering to become a storyteller and/or make an impact investment in a specific cause you and/or your business supports.

Contact:

• Bontle Mali at [email protected] for more on our Social Impact partnerships at the business school
• Tasneema at [email protected] to become an active citizen creating a ripple effect for sustainable impact.