Let’s get Professional: Not just a NPO

On Friday, 18 August we held our 3rd NPO Conference.  This time it was entitled “Let’s get Professional: Not Just a NPO”.  The history behind this is the unfortunate excuse that so many NPO’s make when they fail to deliver their services, or reports in the expected time or to the expected standard; “But we are just a NPO”.  We believe that Durban NPO’s are so much more than that and are able to deliver excellence in their services and reporting and we wanted to equip them with some tools to make it easier.

About a year ago we were looking at We are Durban’s systems and processes and trying to streamline and systemise as much as possible.  We were looking into ways that our board members, volunteers and staff could take some of the workload off our Managing Director, in a way that maintained the standard.  After trying a few options, we discovered Trello. According to their webpage, “Trello is an easy, free, flexible and visual way to manage projects and organise anything.  Trusted by millions of people from around the world”, and we would have to agree.  Bradford Wills, of Fulfil Engineering, has spent hours mastering Trello and teaching people how to use it in their own workspaces and we were thrilled that he joined us to help the NPO’s gain a technical advantage.  It was so well received that the energy levels were at buzz status come tea break.

The excitement continued the rest of the day as Dr. Thea van der Westhuizen challenged the NPO leaders to get very clear on their proposals and requests when they send them off to potential donors.  Her years of experience in this field were of huge value to the organisations as she pushed them hard to find their truly unique point and name all the resources required to deliver their service.

These days come at a huge cost to our donors and we thank VUM and StyleEyes for backing the work we do with the NPO’s of Ethekwini.  We really appreciate your generosity that allows us the freedom to make the day memorable and fun for the leaders.  We also have to thank our speakers and many volunteers who take time out of their regular lives to serve the community of Durban – you are the “we” in We are Durban.

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our wonderful volunteers

our wonderful volunteers

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