Institutional Context

The Fundisa for Change programme is currently led by Rhodes University working in partnership with a growing consortium of partners. The programme co-ordination hub sits within the Rhodes University Environmental Learning Research Centre, which is in turn supported through the university’s operational structures (finance etc.). There is only one co-ordinator, so it is imperative to keep the administrative load to a minimum and focused on driving the programme delivery.
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The long-term sustainability of the programme is expected to come through the alignment to national skills development structures. However, during its establishment phase, there is a need for external donor investment, in addition to the in-kind contributions of the consortium partners. At this time, there are no dedicated fundraising or grant accounting staff working on the programme. Rhodes University is not set up to act as a funding conduit or grants administrator for funds to be utilised by partners. In lieu, these funding guidelines have been developed in consultation with GreenMatter, a seed funder of the programme.

Funding Principles

The below infographic summarises the key funding approach agreed upon within the Fundisa for Change network of partners.

Shared Ownership as an Underlying Principle

An important underlying principle, in addition to those defining the Funding Approach, is shared ownership. Delivery of the programme is dependent on collaborative working. The leadership by consortium partners in proposal development, and administering the resulting grants, is considered essential for those elements of the programme that they are delivering directly. Rhodes University can support in ensuring alignment with the overall programme objectives and the funding approach. Information sharing and joint working in this way will be necessary, even though there will be time and cost implications. Where a number of partners are considering applying for the same opportunity, a consolidated application may be preferable (from the donor as well as the programme perspective). Identifying such opportunities will require information sharing by partners with one another, as well as through the central co-ordinating structures.

Policies

To maintain consistency and a ‘joined-up’ approach to the programme resourcing, the following policies are recommended as applying to all fundraising by all partners:

1. Fundraising activity must be carried out in a manner that:
   a. complies with all applicable laws and regulations; and
   b. accurately reflects the programme’s activities and resource requirements.
2. All resources received must be reflected in the recipient organisation’s annual reports.
3. Resources accepted with specific restrictions (e.g. allocated to certain activities, timeframes or beneficiary groups) must be utilised in line with those conditions, unless approval to change the allocation has been secured in advance from the donor.
4. The donor’s involvement must be appropriately acknowledged within programme literature and/or other forms of publicity pertaining to activities that they have supported. Partners should therefore inform Rhodes University of the resources secured and any visibility requirements under the terms of their contract(s).
5. The grant recipient will never withhold or revise any programme information at the request of a donor or in any way prejudice their independence. A funding relationship should never be represented or construed as endorsement for the donor organisation, their products or activities.
6. Rights to all intellectual property generated by the programme are retained by the consortium partners and all materials are made freely available for not-for-profit use. No restrictions on this should be accepted in any funding agreement. (see also Intellectual Property Clause in Appendix 1. of the Fundisa for Change Partnership Protocol document)
7. In seeking funding for Fundisa for Change activities, the partner organisations shall at all times represent themselves and not represent Rhodes University in any way without prior permission.