Income Generation

How does C4L support itself as a nonprofit?

C4L tries to maintain its own baseline income, in such a way that grant funding becomes "value added", not a perpetual necessity.  This is because grant funding tends to be occasional, not regular.

Income streams

Nonprofits are constantly being challenged to look for "social enterprises" to generate some of their own income.  Here are the ways that we try to do this:

• Growing "tree spinach" and baking spinach bread, spinach pies (like Fatayar) to sell locally
• Training church youth teams to grow tree spinach and run Bakeries
• Subscriptions for UNEMBEZA media articles and sale of C4L publications
  
• Project management role for large-scale training projects
• Rental incomes from homes on its campus

A Coopted Board

C4L has a coopted or "independent" Board.  It provides the oversight like a Bishop would in a church.

In a nonprofit organization, Board members donate their time, they are not paid.  Thus it is sometimes called a Voluntary Board, governing a charity or "voluntary association".  This Board, not any one individual, is the true Owner of C4L and its assets.

Simply as evidence of its own good governance, the DSD Code for NGOs that C4L Board members was adopted over a decade ago, is presented here:

Members or Directors

Currently the membership of the voluntary association is less than the maximum number of 9 that is permitted.

These members come "on Board" and leave from time to time, although two founding members still remain on the Board.

Profiles like gender of the Board composition are frequently reviewed.

There is one Executive Director, the others are all Non-Executive Directors.

Office Bearers

C4L's Acting Chair is Mr. Dallas Mokone, due to the recent retirement of a founding member who served with distinction for 17 years (not always as Chair, but on the Board).

The Board Secretary is Mr. Alfredo Mazive.

The Treasurer is Mr. Samson Nkosi.

Office bearers are elected at annual meetings.  They can only serve for two consecutive terms.  Meetings are conducted according to our Constitution.  Membership issues are always on the agenda of meetings as well as programming issues.

Meetings

There are two ordinary meetings every year in an annual cycle - in March and September.  The second meeting is the AGM.  It is also regarded as "Founder's Day" a celebration of thanks.

Minutes are kept scrupulously, as are annual audits.  Compliance is a vital issue to C4L.

Staff

The executive branch of C4L expands and contracts based on funding flows.  This can be very trying at times and has caused C4L to look for missionaries and volunteers whose presence helps to even out the boom and bust cycle.

In a context of wide inequalities, this can cause resentment because the local organization has linkages overseas.  So it really operates in two or more spheres.  So not only inter-racial, but cross-cultural challenges are with us every day.  Not to mention gender and other disparities embedded in African society.