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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