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Frustrated women sitting at desk as she is being shut out of DSD NPO portal

Institutional Gaslighting in the NPO Sector: How the DSD's Portal Rush Impacts South African Non-Profits

This is a textbook case of 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗗𝗦𝗗 —presenting a public narrative that completely contradicts the lived reality of its users, making us feel like we are crazy, incompetent, or at fault for their systemic failures.

Why Outsourcing Your NPO/NPC Registration in South Africa is a Dangerous Shortcut

Outsourcing your NPO registration might save you a headache today, but it will cost you tomorrow. Discover why the "done-for-you" route is a dangerous trap that sets your charity up to fail.

Board Member vs. Appointed Director: Why Blurring the Lines Puts Your Organization at Risk

Why The Distinction between Board Member vs. Appointed Director is Make-or-Break

The Wedding of a Imaginery NPO with existing NPC

Digital Alchemy: How the New DSD System Birthed a Fictional NPO

Our real NPO is invisible, our NPC is now legally married to an imaginary NPO, and we have enough "ghost directors" to start a soccer team.

Protest sign - fight for a better tommorw

Red Alert for the NPO Sector: Why the New Amendment Bill Is a Threat to Civil Society

At Elizayo, we believe that a strong, independent civil society is the heartbeat of South Africa’s democracy. For nearly 30 years, our sector has operated under a framework of transparency and collaboration. But right now, that foundation is under threat. A new draft amendment Bill, recently published by National Treasury, marks a radical and alarming shift in how the state intends to "govern" non-profit organisations (NPOs). If passed in its current form, it won’t just regul

From Dusty Shelves to Strategic Assets: The Living Policy Manual

Most organizations view policies as a set of "no's"—rules designed to prevent trouble. While risk mitigation is essential, a document focused solely on restriction is reactive

A satirical cartoon titled "The Bikeshedding Syndrome" showing angry non-profit board members pointing fingers across a table, arguing over whether a napkin color is "off-white" or "antique ivory". They are completely ignoring a whiteboard displaying a "$5 Million Strategic Budget" and large stacks of grant applications. The bottom caption reads: "Nobody has looked at the budget in an hour, but the napkin color debate rages on.

Diagnosing Your NPO Board's "Bikeshedding" Syndrome: NPO board governance

s your non-profit board debating napkin colors instead of the $5M budget? Learn how to cure Bikeshedding Syndrome and improve your NPO board governance.

Wasting Time Efficiently

We need to ensure that our services are relevant, and determine whether interventions should bestrengthened or discarded.

Risk Management in the NGO Field

Risk is inherent to the life in general and in the NPO field in particular. In the NPO field risks cannot be avoided and are part of our everyday organisational life. This has always been the case - The future is always uncertain and the outcomes of events unpredictable. Why then the perpetual surprise in the NPO field when these risks pop up. Why then the resistance in developing plans to address the risks and the tendency to year after year raise the negative impact of th

The Rights of NonProfit Staff?

We have been working with around 350 Non-Profit organisations through various activities – training, monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning, due diligence, fundraising etc - in the past four years. In all my years in the Non-Profit field I have always fiercely believed that the organisations exists for the purpose of rendering services to the focus client group that their vision and mission advocates. I believe that the needs of the clients come first and that staffing