Unless generosity of spirit prevails among men, there can never be upon earth an ideal life..
– Orison Swett Marden | Author
Unless generosity of spirit prevails among men, there can never be upon earth an ideal life..
– Orison Swett Marden | Author
We are particularly proud of our record of good governance, accountability and transparency. The team has been working hard to ensure that we start the next 30 years on a firm business and ethical setting, with stronger branding, better programmes and even more of a commitment to excellence.
Performance
In the reporting period, the Foundation began making changes to align operations to its strategic objectives. Business units operations largely met their deliverables in terms of programme output, with revenue generation remaining a challenge for all.
Basis Of Presentation
While the reporting period can be seen as a period of reorientation for the Foundation, work continued and both qualitative and quantitative achievements have been included in the report. Improved monitoring and evaluation of impact is being considered in addition to stories of impact. Stories of impact however are a good way of illustrating value at an individual level, given that developing people remains at the core of what we do.
Financial Summary
The Palabora Foundation’s primary investment portfolio is with Allan Gray Ltd. It performed to reasonable expectations during 2017.
The market value of the Palabora investment fund is R163 million, with a book value of R145 million, as at 31 December 2017.
Our average annual expenditure is currently R 38m of which most of the funds to operate are currently derived from this investment portfolio. Other income is informed by donations received from corporate sponsors, as well as nominal student fees received from the programmes offered by the Palabora Foundation.
The investment returns have recently declined due to market circumstances and hence more sustainability initiatives have been recommended as part of the new strategy of the organisation. These initiatives are driven by three primary objectives:
- Creating more income generating activities which are aligned with our core purpose,
- Diversifying our donor base by implementing structures such as a fund-raising committee, and
- Investing or re-investing our capital assets wisely, prudently and appropriately given our non-profit mandate.
Financial statements are presented to the Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis and to the Executive Management Committee monthly. These statements are also presented to the Trustees Audit Committee.
| INVESTMENT FUND OR ENDOWMENT FUND | 2016 | 2017 |
| Market value | R 179 865 506.43 | R 162 519 511.23 |
| Book value | R 122 628 713.74 | R 145 169 188.94 |
Performance
In the reporting period, the Foundation began making changes to align operations to its strategic objectives. Business units operations largely met their deliverables in terms of programme output, with revenue generation remaining a challenge for all.
Basis Of Presentation
While the reporting period can be seen as a period of reorientation for the Foundation, work continued and both qualitative and quantitative achievements have been included in the report. Improved monitoring and evaluation of impact is being considered in addition to stories of impact. Stories of impact however are a good way of illustrating value at an individual level, given that developing people remains at the core of what we do.
Financial Summary
The Palabora Foundation investment portfolio is with Allan Gray Limited. It performed to reasonable expectations during 2016. The market value of the Palabora investment fund is R180 million, with a book value of R123 million as at 31 December 2016. Most of the funds to operate are currently derived from this portfolio.
Financial statements are presented to the board of trustees on a quarterly basis and to the executive committee monthly. These statements are also presented to the trustees audit committee for approval.
The donations received were used to provide the necessary software for upgrading knowledge in maths and science for learners in our programs and surrounding selected rural schools. We also dedicated a portion of the funds to exposing learners to the world of science during the National Science Week.
For health we allocated funds to our flagship programmes including outreach services at schools and TVET colleges, youth dialogue and household visits.
Financial statements are presented to the Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis and to the Executive Management Committee monthly. These statements are also presented to the Trustees Audit Committee.
Help Fund Our Programmes
Our major funder since our inception has been Palabora Mining Company. Due to economic fluctuations and uncertainty in the mining industry, the Palabora Foundation is constantly on the lookout for additional funders. We need your assistance.