FAQ

Governance

The Solidarity Fund is committed to transparency to give all stakeholders the reassurance that the money donated to the Fund will reach the intended beneficiaries. To meet the highest levels of governance and oversight, an independent board has been established along with the following oversight committees: Fundraising; Disbursements as well as Audit and Risk. Ernst & Young and ENS Africa have, on a pro bono basis, developed a governance framework to guide the allocation of all funds. The Fund is independently administered by Old Mutual on a pro bono basis and PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed as the external auditor, also on a pro bono basis.
The Solidarity Fund is committed to transparency around all of our activities. You can find detailed information and reporting around donations received, how we allocate resources, as well as the impact we are having by clicking here.
To read more about the tax incentives and implications around your contribution, download our tax guidance memo here.
Information about donations can be found here. More than 1 000 businesses and tens of thousands of South Africans have contributed to the Fund in their individual capacity.

The Fund is governed by a strong, independent board of directors that brings diverse views, perspectives and skills to the work of the Fund. The CEO and Board members are all working free of charge. The Board members are:

  • Ms Nomkhita Nqweni (CEO)
  • Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba (Chair Distribution Committee)
  • Ms Tryphosa Ramano (Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee)
  • Mr Sizwe Nxasana (Chair of the Fundraising Committee)
  • Prof Michael Katz
  • Ms Kgmotso Makhupola
  • Minister Tito Mboweni
  • Minister Ebrahim Patel
  • Mr Thulani Tshefuta

 

Funds donated to the Solidarity Fund go directly to meeting the Fund’s objectives: to procure critical health equipment, fund food relief interventions and provide educational material to help South Africa flatten the curve. Through our rigorous procurement and auditing processes, we have ensured that goods and services are procured at reasonable prices, rather than to fund the overhead costs of the organisations we work with. This ensures that we maximise the impact of our interventions.

The CEO and Board members of the Solidarity Fund are working tirelessly, free of charge. More than 75 individuals from 25 organisations have been deployed on a pro bono basis to help start up the Fund and to enable it to fulfil its mandate.

Yes, if you have donated to the Solidarity Fund you do qualify for a Section 18A tax certificate. If you have already made a donation please go to Section 18A page where you can request your Section 18A tax certificate.

The Solidarity Fund is listed as a predefined beneficiary at all major banks. Please look for the Solidarity Fund under the predefined beneficiary list on your banking application. If you have any questions or require guidance on making a payment to a predefined beneficiary, please contact the call centre of your personal bank for assistance.

Procurement and pricing

The Fund works with Business for South Africa and the National Command Centre to determine critical needs for the public health system and for humanitarian needs as a consequence of COVID-19. Once those needs are identified, the operational teams develop proposals that must be submitted to the Board of the Fund for approval. Most proposals entail working with various partners, including government departments. Implementing partners are selected through a rigorous process and evaluated against criteria, such as compliance requirements, proven track record, capacity to implement quickly as well as price. The Fund then enters into contracts with each of these partners, and has a strict reporting process in place to track and monitor impact.
Register your interest here: https://covid19manager.co.za/
A sophisticated web portal has been set up, which enables rigorous validation of potential suppliers. The portal allows the Fund to benchmark the price of goods on a daily basis, ensuring that every order placed is within market norms, taking into account global supply constraints and currency fluctuations. The Fund also ensures that the necessary international quality standards are met.

Food relief response

The Fund had already taken swift action to inject immediate humanitarian relief in the form of food parcels for the most vulnerable communities across the country. Complementing and augmenting the work of government and others, the Fund set the task of providing emergency relief to over 250 000 distressed families during the lockdown in April.
The Solidarity Fund made a deliberate effort to direct the organisations we’re distributing through to cover geographic areas and poor communities that are underserved and not covered by other interventions, and to minimise overlaps with others doing food relief. Part of the exercise involved identifying the most poverty deprived local municipalities in the country and ensuring that as many of them as possible were covered.

The Solidarity Fund is managing distribution of food parcels in partnership with a wide collective of organisations. These had been selected through a rigorous four-phase process, taking into account multiple criteria, including their ability to meet compliance requirements, geographic footprint and networks, a proven track record of food distribution as well as the capacity to implement quickly.

Around 25% of the food parcels will be distributed through the Department of Social Development’s Community Nutrition and Development Centres, and their nine implementing agents, while a further 50% through large national food distribution non-profit organisations (NPO). The remainder will be distributed through a range of 'community based' organisations at provincial and local levels, as well as private logistics companies.

The Solidarity Fund has entered into individual and independent contracts directly with the food distribution agents. These contracts include active monitoring and auditing criteria to ensure efficient delivery and mandated delivery to intended beneficiaries. An evaluation on the effectiveness of the food intervention will be provided to the Board, and will form part of the Fund’s reporting.
While over the medium term, longer term systemic solutions will be required to come on stream, both through additional government grants and sustainable food supply chains. The Fund’s key goal was to act rapidly, at scale, to reach people facing severe food insecurity, to achieve national coverage, and to be as inclusive as possible.
You can track where food parcels have been delivered here.

The Solidarity Fund’s food intervention is intended to provide short-term food relief and augment the efforts of government and non-governmental organisations. The Fund partners with a range of organisations that distribute food parcels through their established networks. The Fund does not consider individual requests for assistance.

Please contact your local NGO or community-based organisation for assistance or use the following government portals:

https://sacoronavirus.co.za/2020/04/17/food-parcels-are-available-for-anyone-who-may-need-them

https://www.gov.za/services/social-benefits/social-relief-distress

The Solidarity Fund is listed as a 'predefined beneficiary' at all major banks. Please look for the Solidarity Fund under the predefined beneficiary list on your banking application. If you have any questions or require guidance on making a payment to a predefined beneficiary, please contact the call centre of your personal bank for assistance.

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