Education South Africa Project #57633

FOUNDERS' GIFT

by TSiBA Education NPC

Project Report | Mar 3, 2025
GlobalGiving Project Report - Founders' Gift - February 2025

By Graham Moore | Head of Partnerships

TSIBA Ladies - Celebrating in the Campus gardens

The TSIBA Founders’ Gift campaign followed the decision by the Board of Directors in late 2022 to acquire premises as a future campus for the institution. The decision followed a financial analysis of the historic costs of premises rental and forward cost projections, particularly in the context of growing inflation and student numbers. The acquisition or ownership of its own campus was also a long-held dream of the four Founders of TSIBA, and hence the campaign name Founders’ Gift, a campaign to help fund a dream becoming a reality.

Pursuant to these events, premises were sought, purchased and renovated to be fit for purpose - and TSIBA Ndabeni (‘Place of Debate” in the vernacular) became home for TSIBA from July 2023. Founders’ Gift as a fundraising campaign for this momentous project and milestone was established and listed on the GlobalGiving platform in late 2022, and we are pleased to report net proceeds of USD$ 392 195,50 disbursed to TSIBA through GlobalGiving, including a significant trance in December 2024. The full contribution through all of these disbursements has played a highly significant role in the transition to the new campus and success of it. A big THANK YOU to GlobalGiving.

Completion of the first full academic year in the new campus in December 2024 presents an opportunity to reflect on the impact achieved. With 80, 86 and 17 Higher Certificate in Business Administration (HCBA), Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Post Graduate Diploma (PGDBA) graduates completing their studies through 2024, TSIBA can boast the highest number of graduates produced annually. The increased graduates numbers follow significantly higher student intake numbers, further enabled by the migration to TSIBA Ndabeni, but also enhancements and improvements to the academic programme under the leadership of Dr Ayuk as Academic Dean.

Since inception in 2004, TSIBA has now produced 1926 business qualification graduates including 1092 HCBA, 732 BBA and 102 PGBDA, who collectively will earn over ZAR 400 Million as South African tax-paying economic citizens over the course of their careers. This is no mean contribution to South Africa and the communities directly served by this institution.

It is also interesting to note that the 2024 academic year, the 20 year anniversary of TSIBA also marked a milestone of over 10 000 full or partial annual-tuition scholarships awarded to its students. This number provides a quantitative marker of the investment TSIBA has made into enabling access to quality higher education in South Africa for those who would otherwise noy have had such an opportunity. The number is also a marker of the incredible investment that TSIBA donors have made consistently over two decades, and including the contributions made through the GlobalGiving platform. This unstinting support from across the globe has been remarkable, consistent and the primary driver of the impact achieved to date.

The TSIBA impact data achieved to date has also presented as a moment to reflect on what additional impact can still be achieved. Indeed, there is work to be done - hence the launching of the IMAGINE TSIBA campaign in the latter half of 2024, and is the campaign which will replace Founders’ Gift on GlobalGiving following submission of this report. . IMAGINE TSIBA seeks to imagine what can still be achieved through our collaborative efforts.

As indicated above, the migration to the new TSIBA campus and the funding campaigns initiated to support it, were as one key element of a longer term sustainability strategy. While this sustainability journey outlined continues at pace and remains a work-in-progress, some important green shoots became evident towards the latter half of 2024. In our first full year in TSIBA Ndabeni, non-donor income from student fees and international academic programmes, royalties from the TSIBA Ignition Academy, and campus subletting arrangements secured income in excess of R6.5 million. This illustrates a marked and significant shift from the extremely high reliance on donor funding of previous years. This notwithstanding, total donor income remained steady at just over R17 million. At the same time, and notwithstanding campus maintenance and improvements associated costs, operational costs were tightly controlled at budgeted levels, following the appointment of a Finance Lead at the end of Semester one.

Perhaps the most significant indicator of progress made through our sustainability efforts was the unaudited financial deficit of R794,592, albeit not an insignificant value, representing a major improvement from the high operational deficit reported in the past few years. From a financial sustainability perspective, 2024 can thus be viewed as the period where the strategies set and executed are starting to yield the expected outcomes, such as the development of the Student Information System which will serve as a central database during the student’s life cycle and beyond.

Given its financial performance through 2024, TSIBA Education NPC was only marginally reliant on support from the TSIBA Education Trust. The Trust maintained cash reserves in excess of ZAR10 million at year end. These cash reserves present a positive outlook for future sustainability. Similarly, TSIBA Education NPC had a total asset base exceeding R67 million (including a fully operational campus asset) and a net asset value exceeding R62 million at year end. This places both entities in a fragile but stable position.

Certainly, the TSIBA sustainability journey remains in motion. Further, it is pleasing to report some returns on our investments bearing fruit. We look forward to a continued and significant upwards trajectory in 2025 and beyond. IMAGINE TSIBA - and see you on the other side.

Student Urban Garden - TSIBA Ndabeni

TSIBA Ndabeni - Front Entrance Garden

Campus Gardens in progress - TSIBA Ndabeni

The Marina Garden - TSIBA Ndabeni

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Nov 6, 2024
Founders' Gift Project Report of November 2024

By Graham Moore | Head of Partnerships

TSIBA Chromebooks Donation Receipt

TSIBA capacity to drive Founders’ Gift since our previous reporting in July of this year has been somewhat limited for a very full second semester academic programme, and one which has included a number of (international) extracurricular learning interventions, particularly through collaborations with institutions based in the United States of America

Pursuant, TSIBA hosted the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School for a cultural immersion programme with 44 business students from both institutions. Also co-hosted by facilitators provided by TSIBA and University of North Carolina, and working with local industry, the programme brought to life the uniquely South African spirit of building together through the spirit of UBUNTU. Similarly, we extended our long-standing exchange with Northeastern University by hosting the 18th NU-TSIBA Entrepreneurship Dialogues in late July 2024 The ‘Entrepreneurial Dialogue’ is an annual collaboration between Northeastern University (Boston, USA) and TSIBA Business School. In an entrepreneurship learning intervention, students from the two institutions work together with local entrepreneurs to gain insights into what makes these businesses function successfully and to provide feedback to the business owners on business enhancement strategies.

Besides the educational value of such interventions they provide valuable ‘above the line’ brand and marketing value for TSIBA, often resulting in fundraising campaigns. Following the July NU-TSIBA Entrepreneurship Dialogue participating students initiated a Husky Starter Crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for students unable to pay fees, and at risk of deregistration. With contributions from 109 American students the campaign goal of USD$ 10 000 was achieved by October, providing much needed financial relief to ‘At-Risk’ students at TSIBA.

As GlobalGiving will be aware, the Founders’ Gift campaign aims at raising financial resources for a fully owned TSIBA campus. While funds through GlobalGiving have not been realized through the 2024 financial year, funds to the objectives of Founders’ Gift have. These include funding to build green spaces and gardens on campus - a project in progress currently - funds to acquire enhanced learning technology, including Chromebooks and Chromeboxes for the expansion of the TSIBA DigiLab, and fund in support of the development of a new Student Information System to cater for both expanding student numbers and an expanding academic programmes online and on-campus.

Further efforts to draw attention to the value of TSIBA education model, and in particular its emphasis on purpose, our Purpose-Lived podcast series continued in the latter half of this year through conversations with three new guests and one with Monika Jiang as a follow up to the original podcast. Of the 1265 total purpose-lived downloads to date, the Monica Jiang conversations remain our most-listened to podcasts to date. Each conversation is a discovery of incredible personal purpose journeys and the insights which have ensued, ultimately providing a collection of profound perspectives from those who have been kind enough to share their unique stories. Recordings completed through the second semester include.

Purpose-lived with Camaren Peter

Purpose-lived with Monika Jiang

Purpose-lived with Munouwarrah Abdurahman

Purpose-lived with Regan Adams

As indicated in our previous Report, while the Founders’ Gift funding target is not yet achieved, we remain committed to its broad objectives as we continue to build Brand TSIBA across multiple South Arican and International initiatives. TSIBA continues to hold patience as it works to garner support from a community of people and organizations willing to support this project and this campaign.

Celebrating TSIBA

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Attachments:

TSIBA Annual Report of 2023 (PDF)

3 Attachments

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Jul 8, 2024
Founders' Gift Project Report 2 - July 2024

By Graham Moore | Executive Director: Sustainability

Following our Founders Gift campaign report in February 2024, efforts towards realizing the fundraising target shortfall between the amount received of USD$ 296 160,00 and the campaign target of USD$ 1 000 000 have continued. Much of these efforts in this period have taken place locally in South Africa and in Europe, where TSIBA holds long standing relationships which we believed would enable the campaign.

In South Africa, the campaign led to a partnership withDigital Skills Africa (DSA) and the Cisco Networking academy in a collaboration to provide access to highly sought after digital skills to young people who would otherwise not have the opportunity to benefit from such a skills development initiative (typically students of this institution). Digital Skills Africa provided all of the information technology infrastructure for the set of the TSIBA DigiLab, while Cisco Networking has made available its online courses fee free to both registered students of this institution and others who wish to use the DigiLab facility for purposes of exploring and completing the Cisco online courses. Ranging from Networking, Cybersecurity, Programming, Infrastructure Automation (and more), the initiative provides access for young people to gain skills in sectors forecast with rapid demand growth. Effectively, the initiative enables the purpose for which TSIBA Ndabeni, the new TSIBA campus was acquired, i.e., to provide a platform from which students can transition from unemployability into active economic employment. The TSIBA Digilab was formally opened on the 6th June 2024 - and shared on Video with our Instagram community.

In Europe, TSIBA Chief Executive Officer, Gia Whitehead, traveled to the United Kingdom and Switzerland to bring attention to this campaign. A highlight of the UK part of the trip was the hosting of the second annual Purpose-Lived Panel conversation which took place Tuesday 18th June (2024), during which time a panel of educators and business leaders explored the theme of purpose as the principal leadership dimensions needed for the realization of social and justice and the Global Sustainability Goals. Attended live (in-person) by guests in London at the time and online by those who wished to participate digitally, the event provided a further opportunity to showcase the work of TSIBA and its call for funding support, directly or through the Founders’ Gift campaign on the GlobalGiving platform. A full recording of this year's event was recorded and is available on the TSIBA Purpose-Lived podcast platform - Purpose-Lived

Further efforts to garner support from international funders extended to Switzerland where meetings with current and prospective funders occurred and during which a fundraising event in Zurich took place. The TSIBA fundraising was warmly hosted by and at Zurich-based Landolt Wines which opened its ‘Landolt Weine Vinothek’ to an evening of Wine and Impact to all of its Swiss based customers interested in their South African product and in the cause (TSIBA) in South Africa which they (Landolt Wines support). As with its London counterpart, this event was well attended and further worked towards building a base of potential supporters of TSIBA Fundraising campaigns. While the Founders’ Gift funding shortfall remains, we remain committed to its course and achieving its target through such efforts as described above, and over the longer-term. While we would be fortunate to achieved the target with a single generous donor, which we still seeks, TSIBA will hold patience as it works to garner support from a community of people and organizations willing to support this project and this campaign.

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