The Townships Project
To Make a Donation – click here
Or send a cheque payable to The Townships Project, Suite 1210, 155 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5H 3B7.
You will receive a tax receipt for donations of $20 or more.
Mission
Poverty can be eradicated. Micro-credit is a proven technology in the global fight against it.
Since May 1999 The Townships Project has been supporting South African microfinance institutions (MFIs) in township areas in South Africa. These MFIs make repayable, interest-bearing loans to entrepreneurs, primarily women, to operate a range of small businesses, to become self-sustaining and to break the cycle of poverty. As of November 2008, The Townships Project has changed the lives of more than 15,000 people at an investment of about $50 per person. Our goal is to ensure that every South African who needs such a loan has access to it and to ensure that our South African partners become self-sustaining.
Vision
The Townships Project is tackling a difficult job – raising the infrastructure funds needed to build an early stage MFI. There are many NGOs (e.g. kiva.org), banks and government institutions that provide loan money for micro loans once an MFI is up and functioning, but finding the infrastructure and training support necessary to build the institution to that viable stage is a huge challenge. We use a “made in South Africa” approach to this task, which takes into consideration the challenges posed by the highest HIV/AIDs infection rate in the world and a poor education and skills base. Despite South Africa’s highly-developed infrastructure and first world economy, 20 million struggle to survive on $2 or less per day. Neighbouring Zimbabwe offers a lurid example of what can happen if these problems are not addressed.
Values
The Townships Project is a registered charity in Canada and is authorized to issue charitable donation receipts for income tax purposes. The United Nations Development Programme has recognized micro-lending as the single most effective mechanism in the front-line struggle against poverty in developing countries. In the words of Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, “I have come to believe, deeply and firmly, that we can create a poverty free world if we want to. I came to this conclusion not as a product of a pious dream, but as a concrete result of experience gained in the work of the Grameen Bank.” The Townships Project shares this belief and has been working to alleviate poverty in the townships of South Africa since early 1999.
Receipt and Use of Funds
At The Townships Project, we continue to expand our fundraising and educational horizons. We had our first audit in 2007, which indicated that 1.5% of funds raised were used for administration according to Revenue Canada standards. We issued tax receipts for income of $196,186 and spent $217,416 on our South African activities. Income for which tax receipts were not issued more than covered the costs of fundraising and administration. As we expand our fundraising efforts, we will continue to cover as much of the Canadian administration and fundraising costs as possible through non-receipted income and to ensure that each $50 you donate changes a life for the better forever.
Founder and CEO
F. Martha Deacon, B.A. (Hons), LL.B.
Ms. Deacon is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Townships Project, an international charitable organization that supports micro-lending in South Africa. Between 1994 and 1998, Ms. Deacon founded and was the Chief Executive Officer of P1 Parking Systems Inc., which was purchased by Imperial Parking Limited in 1998. From 1986 to 1994, Ms. Deacon was Vice-President Corporate Finance and a director of BZW Canada Limited and its predecessor firms. Before becoming an investment banker, Ms. Deacon was a solicitor with the Toronto law firm of Fraser & Beatty (now Fraser Milner Casgrain).
Why Should the Mining Industry Get Behind This?
The mining, financial and mining service industry in particular has the most to gain by embracing this challenge at the earliest stage. A successful campaign accompanied by substantial press can establish the industry as a leader in social responsibility, environmental sustainability and as a powerful force behind the economic welfare of Africa. Partnering with The Townships Project is a chance to get on-board, helping Africans, women in particular, to escape poverty by starting or expanding their own small businesses.