Members of Gap Capital and SAICA gathered together for a special site visit organised by the Light Trust, to experience the philanthropic work of one of its beneficiaries, The Domino Foundation.
The group were made familiar with some of The Domino Foundation’s youth-focused programmes by taking a tour of the Babies’ Home, a loving home that has cared for over one hundred abandoned babies over its decade-long existence, and the Sandwich Kitchen, which prepares and delivers over 4 000 sandwiches to underprivileged schools in and around Durban per week.
Wesley Smith, Executive Director of Gap Capital, Chartered Accountant and member of SAICA, has known about the Durban North based NPO for at least ten years. Through Gap Capital he hopes to stand in the gap between the rich and the poor and use capital for good.
“Our model is to create storehouses of wealth to sustain the poor not through charity and giving but through investing in businesses. Gap Capital’s role is to find great companies that we can earn equity stakes in and gain back territory for the poor through the Light Trust. We offer financial, strategic and operational support to a range of charities, just like the Domino Foundation. Can you imagine if millions of millions cold flow every month into charities?”
Naaem Asvat, Regional Executive of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), joined the group who toured the Domino Foundation. He believes that business and professionals, like accountants, have a crucial role to play when it comes to doing good.
“There’s a lot of good work being done by chartered accountants and if other chartered accountants could see this good work it will also encourage them to play in that space of social entrepreneurship as the Domino Foundation and Gap Capital have done. Our intention is to get chartered accountants involved in the community with a simple reason of benefiting our communities.”
With so much good to be done, it makes all the difference when businesses join arms with non-profits.
*ABOUT SAICA
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes. The Institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 40 000 members who are chartered accountants [CAs(SA)], and hold positions as CEOs, MDs, board directors, business owners, chief financial officers, auditors and leaders in every sphere of commerce and industry, and who play a significant role in the nation’s highly dynamic business sector and economic development
DOMINO EFFECTS 