How corporates can really make difference on Mandela Day

Mandela Day on Tuesday is the day corporate South Africa rolls up their sleeves and heads off to the closest nonprofit organisation (NPO), armed with business builders, volunteers, gardening tools, buckets of paint and plenty of good intentions.

But, what if our annual efforts aren’t making the impact we think they are? What if we’re unintentionally contributing to the dread that many NPOs feel in the run-up to Mandela Day?

For many charities, it’s a day when teams from well-meaning businesses arrive in a hurricane of matching T-shirts and bootloads of supplies, get stuck in, and then leave as quickly as they arrived. Aside from having a freshly painted wall, the NPO is no better off than it was before they arrived – and more often than not, there’s a bit of a mess to clean up.

We need a new approach. One that reignites a passion for changing the world.

Here are four things you shouldn’t do if you really want to make an impact and leave a legacy, not just for one day a year, but every day:

Don’t pick just any NPO. Find a NPO that could really benefit from what you do: your product or service, or your business counsel.

A catering business could easily set up a soup kitchen at a homeless shelter. An IT company can teach underprivileged children how to access educational information online. One costs money; the other time. But both are equally effective;

Don’t assume. Painting walls and planting veggie gardens are popular Mandela Day activities. However, many charities have more pressing, immediate needs – and the simplicity of some might be surprising.

Schools, for example, might choose printer paper over a painted wall. For stationery suppliers, this is a cost-effective, low-effort way to make a massive difference. Ask your chosen NPO for their wish list and act on it;

Don’t overlook planning. You need a solid action plan for the day – especially if you only have 67 minutes to spare. If the homeless shelter really needs a veggie garden – but this is not your core business – consult experts on the right seeds to plant for the time of year, the right tools to use, and how to maintain the garden.

Without proper planning, the shelter could be left with a barren patch of sand that doesn’t yield a single carrot; and

Don’t neglect your legacy. The efforts you put into Mandela Day should not be a once-off exercise. Ideally, you should partner with the NPO so that you can make a real difference, all year round, year after year. – Citizen reporter