The name Amandla comes from the Xhosa/Zulu tradition of call-and-response. A crowd member declares “Amandla!” meaning “power” and the crowd responds “Ngawethu!” adding that the power “is ours.”

Amandla Development builds its partners’ capacity in order to help them effectively deliver on their respective missions and opens streams of funding for them to expand and innovate. By cultivating powerful networks that work, these innovations can reach beyond their local communities and have national impact.

Well-managed institutions are fundamental to promoting locally driven change. Amandla Development equips effective, education-based NGOs to reach more youth through tailored services designed to improve:

• Documentation and assessment
• Talent management and development
• Fundraising strategy and execution

View Research

NGOs, Education, and opportunity in South Africa

Education and Development in South Africa

 

Strong institutions create an enabling environment for passing on skills and values. To build institutional strength, Amandla Development works to

• Build Financial Capacity
  Amandla works with demonstrably effective and innovative NGOs to help them develop long-term fundraising strategies and capacity to manage a larger budget.
• Build Organizational Capacity
  By developing infrastructure, aiding in strategic planning and partnering with technology companies, Amandla will help increase the reach of its non-profit. partners and their ability to effect change.
• Encourage a Connected Ecosystem
  Amandla will encourage organizations, donors and people passionate about our cause to share research and projects by providing a resource center right here on our website which will act as a knowledge sharing portal to reduce inefficiencies and maximize impact in civil society.

NGOs fill gaps and innovate in important ways that policymakers usually cannot. They meet needs and do important work that must expand and achieve sustainability. Examples include:

• Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD) helped craft current education policy during the dying days of apartheid and continues to contribute key research to education policy in South Africa
• LEAP School serves disadvantaged youth and has a 100% pass rate for the national matriculation exam versus the national average of approximately 50%. 75% of LEAP graduates since 2005 have continued to higher education compared to 12-15% nationally
• The Observatory Junior School’s Shine Centre has seen an increase in the literacy rate from 48% to 78% in grade 6 learners since 2002. Overcrowded classrooms struggle to identify and help learners struggling with literacy, but Shine Centre’s efforts give learners the individual attention they need.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTuyL8ULyuc

 

These are just a few examples of NGOs that have seen success in advancing education among South African youth, but it does not stop there. The continued growth and flourishing of such efforts is imperative for the expansion of opportunity for those left behind in South Africa. This is where Amandla Development steps in.

With Amandla Development’s help, partners can change the face of education and opportunity for the youth of South Africa. We help social entrepreneurs follow their dreams: to change the future for the youth of their country.

MAGI (Multi-Agency Grants Initiative)

 

MAGI is an initiative of Hivos, Ford Foundation, and Atlantic Philanthropies to fund and build the capacity of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in southern Africa. As a member of MAGI, Amandla is building capacity in partners who educate their populations on how to access their rights as individuals in the new South Africa. We know that an empowering education takes place both in and outside the classroom. Partners advocate for their constituencies and educate them on how to protect their rights. Specific projects include preventing gender-based violence, protection of LGBT individuals and protecting farm worker rights. Amandla is developing methodologies for identifying both institutional and programmatic weaknesses that would hinder an organization from achieving its mission. Amandla is further identifying and helping implement appropriate approaches to then addressing the gaps. These approaches are context-specific and driven by the needs of the partner organization and the realities on the ground.