Over the last 20 years we have forged partnerships with many organisations and individuals. There are way too many to name, but our partners fall into roughly three categories:
Funding Partners
In the first few years our “founding” donors were the Methodist Church (Knysna & Plett), Knysna Rotary and the Garden Route Children’s Trust. Today, over 250 funding partners ensure that we have sufficient money to care for the children.
Our donors come from far and wide many of them are close – Knysna, George, Plettenberg bay and some from other parts of South Africa. A substantial number are from very faraway indeed: New Zealand, UK, USA and from a number of European countries. Our most northerly donor comes from the tiny Orkney Islands, which is between mainland Scotland and the North Pole. All of them are greatly appreciated and all of them are needed.
Distribution Partners
From the very outset we have sought to form distribution partnerships so that people who are directly connected with the beneficiaries do the final step of the distribution. Schools, particularly pre-schools, are the most numerous. However as we have grown many other partnerships have been nurtured – other charities that have a footprint where we do not, churches, farmers and township angels. Without these partners our reach would be greatly diminished.
Collaboration Partners
We are privileged to collaborate with a number of other charities and churches who serve the same constituency as we do, but in different ways. Some help schools to improve standards, get registered with the government and access government support, some provide young volunteers who enhance the teaching at pre-schools, some provide skills training and yet others find areas of being helpful that no one else is offering. What a wonderful privilege it is to work in an environment where the NGO’s see each other as partners not competitors.
e’Pap | Knysna Methodist Church | Knysna Rotary | Garden Route Children’s Trust |
Knysna Education Trust | Good News ZA | Knysna Hope | PlettAid Foundation |
Knysna Initiative for Learning and Teaching | Rheenendal Food Working Group | Ishishini Lethu | DataDot |
St Thomas Methodist Plett | Plett Volunteers | Project Colors |