South Africa has such a great future if its children are well-educated. Quality early childhood development plays a critical role in achieving an educated society where people are able to play a meaningful role in the socio-economic development of their own communities.
The RECM Foundation has chosen to actively contribute to early childhood development in a well-defined, strategic and sustainable manner.
We support initiatives that increase the capacity of existing organisations in delivering early childhood development programs and services. That is how we make our positive impact and foster the future of our country.
Board of Trustees
The RECM Foundation is an independent trust, governed by its board of trustees. The trustees are all independent of RECM itself, although the trust can co-opt employees from associate companies of RECM. Trustees give of their time without remuneration.
The trustees appreciate that good governance is essential for the RECM Foundation to deliver sustainable value, enhance business integrity and maintain the confidence of all stakeholders, particularly its beneficiaries.
The Board’s key roles and responsibilities are:
- Promoting the interests of all stakeholders
- Formulation and approval of strategy and spend
- Oversight of the investment of Foundation resources in line with the strategy and sustainability plan
- Ultimate accountability and responsibility for the performance and affairs of the Foundation
Trustees
Rodger is retired. Prior to his retirement he was the Chief Financial Officer of ASISA (the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa).
Previously, Rodger was a fund manager with Momentum and before that, RECM. He is a CFA charterholder.
Zanele is currently the CEO of Merafe Resources, a position she has held for more than a decade, after initially being appointed as CFO. She is a Chartered Accountant with a depth of experience at executive management and board of directors’ level. Her previous roles include serving as Group Financial Director of Kagiso Trust Investments and CFO of the Development Bank of Southern Africa. She is an independent director of Dipula Properties, Gold Rush Holdings and Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited.
Alicia is the CEO of the ASISA Academy, an independent business school serving the financial services industry. Alicia started her working career as a high school teacher at Macassar Secondary School and, over the years, has developed a firm conviction that education is a critical part of personal, communal, and societal transformation and progress.
Alicia holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership & Management from the University of Johannesburg.
Grantmaking strategy
Since inception in 2011 the Foundation has contributed to various organisations and causes through a consultative process with RECM staff. Historically, it has supported diverse organisations such as:
- The Centre for Early Childhood Development
- The Hangberg Educational Trust
- The Umtshayelo Foundation
- The Unogwaja Charitable Trust
- The KIKA Trust
- Eagle’s Nest Ministries
In 2020 the trustees took a decision to revise the grantmaking strategy in an attempt to create a greater impact in the particular focus area of early learning through its partnership with the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD).
The CECD focuses on improving the education and care of children from disadvantaged communities through advocacy, promotion, support, awareness creation, building of stakeholder partnerships, knowledge dissemination and training.
The CECD works with communities, organisations, individuals and parents, thereby offering a holistic approach to addressing the fundamental issues the Foundation wishes to address.
The CECD not only drives world-class programmes, but provides the appropriate monitoring and evaluation, offering the Foundation both quantitative and qualitative feedback on grants, short- and long-term impact, as well as learnings based on actual outcomes.
Impact story
Faith Educare is an early childhood development centre in Pelican Park, on Cape Town’s Cape Flats. Its principal, Gwendoline Speelman, started it in her own home with four children, and has always kept fees low so that local families can give their children a safe place to learn.
Working with the Centre for Early Childhood Development, the RECM Foundation funded a child-friendly outdoor play area and further improvements that helped the centre obtain its health clearance certificate, an important step towards registration and the government ECD subsidy.
Sustainability
Currently, the Foundation is the recipient of three avenues of support:
- The benefit of its shareholding in Beagle
- Corporate donations from within the RECM family of companies and beyond it
- Generous individuals
Beagle is a B-BBEE investment company, the aim of which is to ultimately pay consistent and growing dividends to its shareholders (including the Foundation, which is a cornerstone investor).
To date, the investment outcome for Beagle has been successful, benefiting the Foundation in two ways: it enabled the Foundation to build a strong capital base, and it is now in a position to pay meaningful dividends. This allows the Foundation to implement a long-term and sustainable grantmaking programme through which to build even stronger partnerships and create greater impact.