Mandate

Eskom Development Foundation (Foundation), is a section 21 company (an organisation not for gain, registration number 1998/025196/08). The Foundation has been co-ordinating and executing Eskom’s corporate social investment since January 1999. It receives funding from Eskom to make grants and donations.

Highlights

Future priorities

Through the Eskom Development Foundation, Eskom has impacted 254 beneficiary organisations with some 303 983 beneficiaries for the year Total grant making amounted to R62.3 million In the “Top caring companies spontaneous awareness: 2010” survey Eskom was rated:   – among the top 10 since 2000, and in seventh position in 2010,  – second top caring company in the manufacturing/ electricity sectors and joint third with Vodacom by rural blacks and sixth by urban blacks; and – ranked first among public enterprises in this survey.

Adopt a holistic development approach to programmes in communities where Eskom implements its capacity expansion projects, focusing primarily on capacity building, skills development and job creation Continue with flagship and national programmes that have a strategic impact; viz:   – Eskom business investment competition, including the Simama Ranta school enterprise competition – Business Opportunities Expo – Eskom energy and sustainability programme – Enterprise development programme – Support to selected FET colleges

 

Overview

The Foundation operates in the nine provinces of South Africa. Economic and social development managers and advisers employed by Eskom are based in each province to represent the Foundation.

In addition, and in consultation with the stakeholder forums of the Eskom new build sites, integrated social and economic development programmes are initiated, based on identified needs that are within the operating mandate of the Foundation.

Target groups

Grants and donations are considered for community-based organisations, development agencies and organisations involved in philanthropic work for the development and benefit of the disadvantaged, as well as small and medium enterprises. The primary target groups for grants and donations are women, youth and children, as well as people with disabilities.

The Foundation revised its strategy to focus on development in communities around Eskom capacity expansion sites. Planning has been completed to implement projects in the communities around Lephalale (Medupi site). Communities around Kusile site include eMalahleni, Delmas, Ogies and Phola, as well as communities around Camden (Ermelo), Komati (Middelburg) and Grootvlei (Balfour), as well as Ingula pumped storage scheme (Ladysmith/Harrismith) and Eskom’s return-to-service (RTS) sites.

Programmes

The Foundation has a number of flagship programmes. It also supports a number of national CSI programmes that are deemed important for the socioeconomic development of the South African landscape.

Donations to philanthropic and welfare causes executed by registered non-profit organisations are also considered. The donation of assets is also facilitated and accounted for on behalf of Eskom and its subsidiaries.

Flagship programme

These programmes are initiated by the Foundation and include:

• Business investment competition
• Business opportunities expo
• Energy and sustainability
• Contractor academy
• Small- and medium-enterprise development.

National programme

National programmes are funded as they are deemed of strategic importance to Eskom:

• Energy and sustainability
• Further education and training colleges.

Development grants

Development grants are considered for the capacity building of registered and operating projects in the economic and social sectors that meet the grant-making criteria of the Foundation; particularly those in communities around Eskom’s new build sites.

Support to economic projects will continue in the form of marketing and financial assistance to small enterprises through the Eskom business opportunities expo and the Eskom business investment competition and business skills capacity building and mentoring through business incubators, contractor academies and other training initiatives.

Support to social projects will include support to philanthropic/welfare organisations, support to early childhood development (ECD) centres, capacity building for primary schools and further education and training colleges (FETs).

Donations

Donations are considered to registered, philanthropic or welfare organisations or donations to causes that are strategically important to Eskom, a region or to South Africa are considered.

• Philanthropic donations
• Strategic donations
• Divisional donations.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a vital element of Eskom’s CSI interventions. It is considered both in developing the Foundation’s strategy and at a project level.

In terms of the Foundation’s strategy:

• Support is provided in terms of education, from the early childhood development phase onwards. It is a long-term strategy to ultimately contribute to an improved pipeline of grade 12 learners with good results in mathematics, physical science and language to study in engineering and technical disciplines to meet the human resources needs of Eskom and South Africa.
• Support provided to further education and training colleges contributes not only to improving the employability of the youth, but also to creating a future pipeline from which to draw technical skills, for Eskom and other industries.
• Support provided to small business through skills development and marketing support assists these businesses in growing and providing further employment opportunities; and creates an ever increasing pool of SMME and BWO suppliers from whom Eskom and other large corporate players can procure goods and services.

Distribution of CSI grants and donations

During the year the Foundation approved a total of 30 grants for R46.6 million towards economic and social development projects, national programmes, flagship projects, infrastructure and food security projects as part of the rural development programme; as well as 224 donations for R15.7^RA million were approved for philanthropic and welfare organisations. This brings the total grant making to 254 beneficiary organisations to R62.3^RA million (2010: R58.7^RA million).

Beneficiaries

A total of 303 983 project beneficiaries are involved with the organisations that received grants and donations (2010: 590 440/ 2009: 239 617). There is a decrease in the number of beneficiaries due to implementation of a focused CSI strategy (flagship and national programmes and emphasis on communities around Eskom’s new build sites), resulting in fewer, but more high-impact projects.

Donation of assets

Assets that had been written off in the assets registers of the various divisions of Eskom were donated to the Foundation. These assets were in turn donated to schools and welfare organisations. The estimated market value of these assets was R72 650 in the current financial period (2010: R30 000).

		2011		2010		2009
Summary of corporate social investment		No of projects	Rm	No of projects	Rm	No of projects	Rm
	Grants for flagship and national programmes and economic and social sector projects	26	39.8RA	43	47.4RA	43	47.8
	Donations to registered, non-profit philanthropic organisations	224	15.7 RA	153	8.4RA	109	4.7
	Rural development1	4	6.8RA	7	2.9RA	50	27.0
	Total donations and grants	254	62.3RA	203	58.7RA	202	79.5RA
RA – Reasonable assurance provided by the independent assurance provider (Refer here). 1. Rural development department was incorporated in the Eskom Development Foundation in June 2010.

 

Further details of the corporate social investment programmes can be found at www.eskom.co.za/annreport11/csi/01.html

Eskom’s Western Region i-Volunteer team and Good Hope FM ran a toy-toy campaign for underprivileged children, bringing smiles to many children.

		Case study
		Yellow Woods primary school is on a farm at Witteklip, about 10km from Port Elizabeth, which falls in the Nelson Mandela metro municipality. The school was established in 1960 and has eight educators and 203 learners, of whom 87 are girls. Some of the learners come from surrounding farms. Many parents are unemployed, and those who are employed survive on low incomes and cannot pay school fees. The school has a reception year class, Grade R, and offers schooling up to Grade 9. It offers: isiXhosa, English, mathematics, natural science, economic and management science, life orientation, social science and technology, as well as arts and culture. There is no electricity, and teaching and learning are compromised. The Foundation funded wind turbines and palisade fencing at the school. Educators and learners are delighted that “our school also has electricity”. Yellow Woods farm school with the newly erected wind turbines at the far end.