As you probably know by now, when I served as Vice Chair of the Cape Chamber’s NPO Portfolio Committee together with Dee Moskoff, we commissioned research into the economic contribution of the NPO sector. The findings were released in February, and they confirmed what many of us already understood. The NPO sector is not a marginal contributor to the economy. It is skilled, professional, economically active, and central to the country’s resilience.

At the Cape Chamber’s launch of the research in February, businesses and chamber members were asked to unpack what the research meant for engagement between traditional (business) members of the Chamber and the NPO sector. The ideas, feedback and input were very interesting. The conversation quickly moved beyond board roles and donations. There was genuine interest in strategic partnership—particularly in how nonprofits might sit within supply chains, support everyday operational challenges, and work alongside businesses to address shared pressures in the ecosystems we all operate in.

The same message was evident again at the Chamber’s NPO event on 9 April, and at EM Solutions’ session on 17 April. Across the sector, leaders are increasingly clear that business as usual and a purely charity-based engagement mindset are no longer sufficient. The NPO sector is a significant enough player to be considered an equal partner. Key out-of-the-box partnerships are critical in today’s economic climate.

Over the coming months, our theme will be to unpack what a strategic partnership with business means—and how to make it succeed. Too often, we present funding requests for core programmes as partnerships, missing each other at a fundamental level because we’re speaking different languages. While we’re passionate about the theory of change and deeply committed to our core programmes, this focus can make it difficult to adopt the speed of strategic thinking and operational agility needed to seize innovative opportunities.

How do we move beyond business-as-usual to unlock opportunities for collaboration, growth and significant change… let’s find out!