Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

27 November 2024

Post No. 380

The Week’s Contents

• Making Donations with Festive Shopping

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment – Activity/Stage 2 (from 27/11/2024 to 03/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Schedule, Timelines and Milestones (PSTM) with Investor’s View on PSTM

• Rescuing Children’s Education in Africa: Only 6 Days Left!

… And much more!

Key Messages

• • Making Donations with Festive Shopping

Please support CENFACS to help others this Giving Season by generating donations when you shop.

As the Festive Season’s preparation has started, anyone can help raise funds for CENFACS through their shopping without giving any penny. It does not cost them any money to give to charities like CENFACS while shopping, whether online or in-person, and being asked either to tick a box or to name or choose a charity to benefit from their festive shopping activities.

You can turn your Festive Shopping into Donations to CENFACS.

By ticking a box to donate to charity or naming or choosing CENFACS, they can enable CENFACS to receive no-direct cash donations from their shopping; donations which we need to help those suffering from poverty and the lingering effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

Please remember that around the festive period millions of shoppers do not claim their points, discounts and rewards. These points, prizes and rewards could have gone to good causes like CENFACS‘ noble and beautiful ones.

So, it does not cost you as a festive shopper anything if you tick a box or name or choose CENFACS as your favourite charity to receive your points, prizes and rewards which could otherwise become unclaimed, unused and wasted.

This festive season, please do not let these free offers resulting from your shopping go unclaimed or wasted. CENFACS wants them. CENFACS needs your loyalty shopping points, discounts, vouchers, prizes and rewards that you do not want or need.

We need them to help people living in poverty and hardships. These people require them. We are demanding your no-direct cash gift and support through your festive shopping to help them.

Please support CENFACS raise donations for its cause when you buy gifts, decorations, festive items and everything else.

You could help generate donations for CENFACS when you shop this Festive Season.

Would you mind ticking a box or name or choose CENFACS to benefit from your festive shopping activities!

More on ways of supporting CENFACS’ beneficiaries through your festive shopping as well as CENFACS’ Festive Shopping and Donations Project is given under the Main Development section of this post.

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment – Activity/Stage 2 (from 27/11/2024 to 03/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Schedule, Timelines and Milestones (PSTM) with Investor’s View on PSTM

Both Africa-based Sister Charitable Art Organisation (ASCAO) and Not-for-profit (n-f-p) Art Investor scored enough points in their individual first stage of this African art investment project. They would like to continue their talks and move to the second round of negotiation, which is Activity/Stage 2 of the Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment.

This second round of talks consists of agreeing on project schedule, timelines and milestones (PSTM) for ASCAO, and on the view of n-f-p Investor on PSTM. To reach an agreement, it is better to understand the match terms, in particular the meaning of project schedule.

• • Brief Understanding of Project Schedule

According to ‘coursera.com’ (1),

“Project scheduling is an analytical and data-driven activity that focuses on tasks and timescales”.

Another explanation of project schedule comes from ‘projectmanager.com’ (2) which argues that

“A project schedule is a timetable that organises tasks, resources and due dates in an ideal sequence so that a project can be completed on time. A project schedule is created during the planning phase and includes the following: a project timeline with start dates, end dates and milestones; the work necessary to complete the project deliverables; the costs, resources and dependencies associated with each task; and the team members that are responsible for each task”.

In brief, project schedule is about planning your project deliveries in terms of dependencies and interdependencies between different projects as well as between various activities. In other words, it consists of building project plan by identifying milestones and bottlenecks for their delivery.

For instance, at this activity/stage 2 ASCAO’s minimum tasks to achieve the project goals and the timeline for project critical path need to attract n-f-p investors. ASCAO has to convince investors that the project will be completed on time. This is the news that n-f-p investors would like to hear. And ASCAO is expected to produce evidence about this news since n-f-p investors may want to know about PSTM.

• • What Not-for-profit Art Investor Would like to Know

The n-f-p art investor want to know if ASCAO has a step-by-step map or roadmap of project tasks set up in chronological order. He/she also wants to be reassured that ASCAO’s art investment project includes timelines, task descriptions, task conditions and team distribution.

In addition, the n-f-p art investor would like to be informed if ASCAO will use a master schedule or a milestone schedule or a detailed schedule. He/she wants as well to be told if ASCAO will utilise project scheduling software to create and track project schedules. If not, ASCAO has to explain how it is going to monitor the progress of tasks, resources and costs in real time.

Consequently, ASACO needs to provide satisfactory answers to the above-mentioned points raised by the not-for-profit art investor. Failure to provide these answers may not help the matching talks to go to the next stage or to progress. In other words, there should be an agreement between ASACO’s PSTM and N-f-p Art Investor’s Approach to ASACO’s PSTM. If there is a disagreement, then the talks/negotiations could be subject to match or fit test.

• • The Match or Fit Test

As part of the match or fit test, n-f-p Art Investor’s view on ASACO’s PSTM Stage must be matched with the information coming out of ASACO’s PSTM process.

The match can be perfect or close in order to reach an agreement. If there is a huge or glaring difference between the two (i.e., between what the investor wants and what ASACO is saying about its PSTM process, between what the investor would like the PSTM phase to indicate and what ASACO’s PSTM process is really saying), the probability or chance of having an agreement at this second round of negotiations could be null or uncertain.

However, if this happens there is still a chance as CENFACS can advice ASACO and guide n-f-p investor on their approaches to African art investment.

• • • Impact Advice to ASACO and Guidance to n-f-p Art Investor

CENFACS can impact advise ASACOs to improve the presentation of the PSTM process they are bringing forward. CENFACS can as well guide n-f-p art investors with impact to work out their expectations in terms of the PSTM process to a format that can be agreeable by potential ASACOs. CENFACS’ impact advice for ASACOs and guidance on impact investing for n-f-p art investor, which are impartial, will help each of them (i.e., investee and investor) to make informed decisions and to reduce or avoid the likelihood of any significant losses or misunderstandings or mismatches.

However, to reduce or avoid this likelihood both parties need to follow the rule of the matching game.

• • • The Rule of the Matching Game

The rule of the game is the more art investors are attracted by ASACOs’ PSTM process the better for ASACOs. Likewise, the more ASACOs can successfully respond to art investors’ level of enquiries and queries about the PSTM process the better for investors. In this respect, the matching game needs to be a win-win one to benefit both players (i.e., investee and investor).

The above is the second stage or activity of the Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment.

Those potential organisations seeking investment to set up an art project in Africa and n-f-p art investors looking for organisations that are interested in their giving, they can contact CENFACS to arrange the match or fit test for them. They can have their fit test carried out by CENFACS’ Hub for Testing Hypotheses.

• • • CENFACS’ Hub for Testing Hypotheses

The Hub can help to use analysis tools to test assumptions and determine how likely something is within a given standard of accuracy. The Hub can assist to

√ clean, merge and prepare micro-data sources for testing, modelling and analysis

√ conduct data management and administration

√ carry out regression analysis, estimate and test hypotheses

√ interpret and analyse patterns or trends in data or results.

For any queries and/or enquiries about this second stage/activity of Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

• Rescuing Children’s Education in Africa: Only 6 Days Left!

The United Nations Children’s Fund (3) notes that

“Millions of children across Africa still lack access to schooling due to ongoing conflicts across the continent… In West and Central Africa alone, more than 14,000 schools are closed mainly due to conflict, affecting 2.8 million children”.

As a way of keeping education alive for these unfortunate children living in those parts of Africa in conflict or crisis (like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, etc.), many types of initiatives have been so far taken to support these children.

These initiatives have been carried out by organisations (such as the United Nations Children’s Fund) and people like you to help. Initiatives such as education by radio programme, back-to-school advocacy, delivery of school kits, etc. have been taken.

However, due to the immense educational challenge posed by the legacies of conflict, insecurity and violence; there is still a deep, intense and urgent educational need in many of these areas/parts of Africa.

This appeal, which is worded as or uses the slogan ‘EVERY CHILD HAS RIGHT TO EDUCATION in Conflict Zones in Africa’ (in short: EVERY CHILD HAS RIGHT TO EDUCATION), has already started and will make CENFACS‘ fundraising campaign for Giving Tuesday on 03 December 2024.

We would like people who may be interested in our philanthropic mission to join us on Tuesday 03 December 2024 in this campaign to Rescue Children’s Education in Africa.

• • What Will Happen on Giving Tuesday

On Tuesday Giving Day (03/12/2024), you can take one or several of the following actions:

√ Give £10 or more to these children via CENFACS

√ Fundraise with CENFACS for the educationally needy children in Africa

√ Donate educational goods for these children

√ Buy something from CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Charity Store to support children’s educational and skills development in Africa

√ Briefly, do the act of generosity and kindness towards these children and CENFACS’ noble and beautiful causes.

We are asking to those who can to support these Educationally Needy Children via this campaign, not to wait the Giving Tuesday on 03 December 2024.

They can donate now since the needs are urgent and pressing.

Even a small donation can lead to a BIG impact.

To donate, please get in touch with CENFACS.

Extra Messages

• Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households – On the Agenda from Wednesday 27/11/2024: Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

• Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, Development and Action Plan about Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households (28, 29 & 30 November 2024)

• Activity of the Festive Season: How to Make Your Triple-Value-Initiative Activity Raise Money for Good Causes

• Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households – On the Agenda from Wednesday 27/11/2024: Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling (in short Stakeholder Relationship Skills) are expertness to build connections with stakeholders and extract the most important aspects of these relationships and put that in the context of data storytelling and communications. These skills do not come alone. There are communication skills linked to stakeholder relationships.

Perhaps , the best way of tackling these two types skills is to proceed with the following:

σ explain stakeholder

σ highlight key skills for effective stakeholder management

σ summarise relationship-building skills

σ list communication skills in stakeholder relationships

σ provide a homework for the end of the week

σ emphasise the purpose of the work with CENFACS‘ community members

σ say the last word about Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

σ conclude Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households.

• • What Is a Stakeholder?

There are many ways of looking at stakeholder. According to ‘simplystakeholder.com’ (4),

“A stakeholder is the people, groups, and organisations that are impacted by, able to influence, or have an interest in your work, project, or organisation”.

From the above perspective, stakeholders in households life are diverse individuals, groups or organisations that have an interest or stake in the life of households and the way households achieve their outcomes. They (stakeholders) could be inside and outside households. For example, stakeholders could include their community, government, school, church, families and friends, workplace, etc. Households need some skills to manage their stakeholders.

• • Key Skills for Effective Stakeholder Management

There are skills to manage the way in which one manage its stakeholders. Before listing these skills, let us briefly explain them.

According to ‘tsw.co.uk’ (5),

“Stakeholder management skills are the abilities you need to manage the people involved in a project (stakeholders) successfully”.

For ‘tsw.co.uk’, stakeholder management skills include being able to:

σ find out who are your stakeholders

σ understand what they want and need

σ communicate with them clearly

σ influence them to support the project (here households)

σ keep track of the involvement and feedback.

To manage their stakeholders, households need to know their stakeholders (whether inside or outside their households), understand what their stakeholders want, communicate with them, influence them to support households’ life and track their involvement.

To do that, households may use basic tools to effectively manage their stakeholders. They may refer to tools such as tracking contact details, tracking communication, follow up sentiment tracking, stakeholder mapping, etc. They will require to have or develop relationship skills.

• • Relationship-building Skills

In the theory of stakeholder relationships, there is one aspect households need to care for. This aspect is relationship building. They need to have or improve their skills to build relationships if they want to survive as households, not living alone.

Relationship-building skills are therefore the abilities to establish rapport, trust, and long-term partnership with stakeholders. These require emotional intelligence, empathy, and conflict resolution capability.

For example, households can develop rapport and learn the needs of their stakeholders to increase shared vision and reduce conflicts between them and their stakeholders. This will enable them to have healthy, worthy and wealthy relationships with their stakeholders.

• • Communication Skills in Stakeholder Relationships

There are communication skills that households need to put into practice in order to engage with their stakeholders. Just as there are skills to improve communication with the same stakeholders.

For instance, ‘forbes.com’ (6) has listed 15 effective tips for improving communication with stakeholders. Amongst these 15 tips, there is one, which is conducting a stakeholder analysis. It is important that households, including those making the CENFACS Community, to conduct stakeholder analysis. The analysis can help them anticipate the concerns of those who influence their households. This analysis can as well support them to effectively engage with stakeholders.

• • Working with the Community Members on Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

We would like to repeat that the purpose of working with the community members on data storytelling and communication skills is to help them as follows:

√ to create trust in data, insight and outsight systems

√ to learn and build technical skills like statistical literacy and data skills

√ to enhance a culture of data and insight uses within household

√ to improve household/family the overall data and insight skills

√ to attach value to data and insight to explain and understand what is happening in their households

√ to empower and inform household data storytellers and communicators

√ to provide opportunity to those members of our community who deal with business analytics and insight tools (e.g., Google analytics) to bring their knowledge and understanding of these tools at the level of household/family analytics to benefit the management of their households/families

√ to encourage the community members to register their skills on CENFACS Skills Data Bank

√ above all, to reduce poverty linked to poor data and insight skills; yet data and insight skills are necessary to deal with life-saving household/family matters. They are the lifeblood of any household or family.

CENFACS can work with those who need help and support on data storytelling and communication so that they can effectively and efficiently manage and tell the stories of their households. Also, we can conduct with them basic data and insights analytics using the free frontline tools of poverty reduction we have in our box.

Where our capacity is limited in comparison to their demand or specific needs, we can signpost or refer them to relevant data insight and analytics services or organisations that are available on the market and can be accessible by them.

For those members of our community who will be interested in learning the Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills, they can contact CENFACS. CENFACS can work with them to enhance their Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills.

• • Homework for the End of the Week: Implement Data Storytelling in Real Life

One thing is know or learn a skill; another thing is to implement this skill in real life. This homework is about how can a typical household making the CENFACS Community can take forward the skills learnt so far. It can use the tips and tactics suggested in the last four weeks to implement storytelling and communication in its real life to its audiences.

• • Last Word about Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

As ‘lazaninastoy.com’ (7) explains

“The ability to build relationships and extract the most important aspects of these relationships and put that in the context of the data you have is a crucial component of data storytelling”.

This ability is about

σ knowing your stakeholders as people

σ finding the types of people they are

σ relating to them

σ communicating with them regularly

σ knowing what motivate them

σ being aware of what worry them

σ having a good understanding of your stakeholders.

• • Concluding Note about Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households

Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills are the last episode of our 4-week series of presentation of Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households. To conclude our serial presentation, we are releasing below the notes for Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households.

To get further insight into Skills Development Month, please contact CENFACS.

If anyone is particularly interested in a particular skill or has something to share about the skills we developed during our serial presentation, they should not hesitate to talk to CENFACS.

To get further insight into Skills Development Month at CENFACS, please contact CENFACS‘ Data and Insight Advocacy and Skills Project.

• Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, Development and Action Plan about Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households (28, 29 & 30 November 2024)

Through this ending November month of Skills Development, we have focused on Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households, in particular on the skills relating to the following areas and weeks:

~ data science and communication skills for week 1

~ data visualisation and communication skills for week 2

~ data narrative and communication skills for week 3

~ Stakeholder relationship and communication skills for week 4.

In order to know the progress and achievements made as well as the to examine our performance against objectives, we are carrying out two exercises:

a) Impact Monitoring and Evaluation

b) Learning development and Action Plan.

Let us explain what these two exercises are about.

• • Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households

We are now carrying on with the systematic process of observation, recording, collection and analysis of information regarding our 4-week work on Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households in order to get its impact or at least its output. This routine process will help to examine the activities of the data skills developed and identify bottlenecks during the process to see if they are in line with objectives we defined.

Also, we are undertaking the sporadic activity to draw conclusion regarding the relevance and effectiveness of the data and insight skills presented. This activity will contribute to the determination of the value judgement regarding the performance level and attainment of defined objectives for Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households.

The findings from this Impact Monitoring and Evaluation will help to figure out what has been achieved through this work and give us some flavour about the future direction of Skills Development month.

As part of this Impact Monitoring and Evaluation exercise, we would like to ask to those who have been working with us throughout the last four weeks to share with us their feelings and thoughts about these three areas:

(a) The overall “Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households”

(b) Any of the data storytelling and communication skills they have been interested in or used in the context of running their household

You can share your feelings, thoughts, takeaways, insights and outsights with us by:

∝ Phoning

∝ Texting

∝ E-mailing

∝ Completing the contact form with your feelings and thoughts.

• • Learning Development and Action Plan for Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households

As part of keeping the culture of continuous learning and professional development within CENFACS, we are examining what the running of Skills Development and Skills Focus have brought and indicated to us. We are particularly looking at the learning and development priorities and initiatives. In this exercise, we are considering the action points and plan we may need to make in order to improve or better change the way in which we deliver our services and work with users.

For those who have been following the running of the Skills Development Month with us, this is the time or opportunity they can add their inputs to our learning and development experience so that we can know the skills gap that need to be filled up in 2025 and beyond. They can as well have their own action plans on how they would like to take forward the contents of Skills Development month. And if they have a plan and want us to look at it, we are willing to do so.

The plan could be on the above-mentioned data storytelling and communication skills presented throughout this month. In particular, we can look at how any household making our community wants to make a plan for them or would like CENFACS to work with them on their chosen area of data skills set.

For those who have some difficulties in drawing such a plan, we can for instance suggest them to undertake their own data monitoring.

• • Monitoring Your Data

To do your own data monitoring, you need to understand what is about.

According to ‘splunk.com’ (8),

“Data monitoring is observing and tracking data to verify whether it is accurate, quality-ensured, and integrated. Doing so can help you identify and address issues, make better decisions, and maintain the reliability of data-driven processes”.

You can monitor your household data to detect anomalies and trends.

Have an issue to raise regarding the monitoring of your household data and want to share with CENFACS, please get in touch.

Have an action plan for your skills development and want CENFACS to look at it, please do not hesitate to contact us.

To add your input to our exercise on learning, development and action plan; just contact CENFACS.

• Activity of the Festive Season: How to Make Your Triple-Value-Initiative Activity Raise Money for Good Causes

You can help CENFACS raise funds it needs for its noble and beautiful causes while you are undertaking your Triple Value Activity or All Year-Round Project. How can you do it?

If you are Running or Organising a Run Activity to Reduce Poverty in 2024, you can dress like a Santa and raise money depending on the challenge (e.g., running laps or distances) and ask people around you to donate accordingly.

Each person can donate to join in and/or others can sponsor each person running. You can organise a virtual or in-person run.

There are steps one needs to follow in order to make their Santa Campaign successful. Amongst the steps, we can mention the following:

plan your Santa Campaign, gather your Santa outfit, choose fundraising activities, promote the campaign, collect donation, engage with the community and invite it to donate through this engagement, and thank donors.

If you are Playing the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief, you can organise a festive tournament and ask participants and your audiences to the tournament to donate.

For instance, you can proceed with the following steps:

plan the in-person or online tournament with the theme of Playing CENFACS League for Poverty Relief, secure a venue (with location, date and time), gather participants by inviting them to register with a fee as fundraising contribution, promote the event, organise the logistics, fundraise, engage the audiences, and thank and follow up participants.

If you are Voting your 2024 African Poverty Relief Manager, you can set up a knowledge challenge in the form of Questions-Answers to find out your 2024 African Poverty Relief and Development Manager. You can ask people who would like to attend or participate or watch the challenge to donate.

As an illustration, you can follow these steps:

define the purpose the knowledge-based challenge, plan the challenge, choose venue and date, recruit participants, promote the event, organise the logistics, fundraise, carry out the challenge, select your deserving 2024 African Poverty Relief Manager by assessing candidates and announcing the winner, thank and follow up participants.

With some inspiration, the above shows that it is possible to raise funds for CENFACS’ noble and beautiful causes while applying any of the three Triple Value Initiatives (or All Year-Round Projects).

However, before embarking on raising funds via Triple Value Initiatives, you need to discuss the matter with CENFACS so that together with you we can plan How to Make your Triple-Value-Initiative Activity Raise Money for Good Causes.

To discuss the possibility of raising funds for good causes via Triple Value Initiatives (or All Year-Round Projects), please contact CENFACS.

Message in English-French (Message en Anglais-Français)

• CENFACS be.Africa Forum E-discusses Billionism and Poverty in Africa

Like any region of the world, Africa has billionaires. In the January 2024 Issue of Forbes (9), the latter noted that

“The 20 billionaires on the 2024 Forbes list of Africa’s Richest are worth a combined $82.4 billion. That is up $900 million from last year’s $81.5 billion”.

But, Africa does not only have billionaires; it is also the region of the world with a high number of people living in extreme poverty. According ‘statista.com’ (10),

“In 2024, around 429 million people in Africa were living in extreme poverty with the poverty threshold at 2.15 US dollars a day”.

Having a number so high of people living in poverty can raise some questions on what can be done to reduce this number. It can as well question who can help or where aid can come from to lift this number out poverty.

If the focus is put on who can help, obviously the responsibility of reducing or ending poverty in Africa falls on every African, whether poor or rich, man or woman. In the expression ‘every Africa’, there is also African billionaires. And in our e-discussion about ‘Billionism and Poverty in Africa‘, we are looking at the impact that African billionaires could exercise on poverty and poverty reduction in Africa.

However, one would be wrong to think that African billionaires are not interested in poverty in Africa. Likewise, it may be unwise to limit the responsibility of reducing or ending poverty in Africa by the help of Africa’s billionaires.

In our e-discussion, we are looking at the contribution that African billionaires are making to reduce and or end poverty in Africa. This e-discussion is not about criticising African billionaires. It is about to evaluate what they have done or not done, and explore ways in which Africans can work with their billionaires so that they can help Africa to further reduce, even end poverty in Africa.

Those who may be interested in this discussion can join our poverty reduction pundits and/or contribute by contacting CENFACS be.Africa Forum, which is a forum for discussion on poverty reduction and sustainable development issues in Africa and which acts on behalf of its members by making proposals or ideas for actions for a better Africa.

To contact CENFACS about this discussion, please use our usual contact information on this website.

• Le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS e-discute de Milliardisme et Pauvreté en Afrique

Comme toutes les régions du monde, l’Afrique a des milliardaires. Dans l’édition de janvier 2024 de Forbes (9), ce dernier notait que

«Les 20 milliardaires figurant sur la liste Forbes 2024 des plus riches d’Afrique valent à eux seuls 82,4 milliards de dollars. Il s’agit d’une augmentation de 900 millions de dollars par rapport aux 81,5 milliards de dollars de l’année dernière».

Mais l’Afrique n’a pas seulement des milliardaires; c’est aussi la région du monde où le nombre de personnes vivant dans l’extrême pauvreté est élevé. Selon statista.com (10),

«En 2024, environ 429 millions de personnes en Afrique vivaient dans l’extrême pauvreté, le seuil de pauvreté étant de 2,15 dollars américains par jour».

Le fait qu’il y ait un nombre aussi élevé de personnes vivant dans la pauvreté peut soulever des questions sur ce qui peut être fait pour réduire ce nombre. On peut aussi se demander qui peut aider ou d’où peut provenir l’aide pour sortir ce nombre de personnes de la pauvreté.

Si l’on met l’accent sur qui peut aider, il est évident que la responsabilité de réduire ou d’éliminer la pauvreté en Afrique incombe à chaque Africain, qu’il soit pauvre ou riche, homme ou femme. Dans l’expression «chaque Africain», il y a aussi les milliardaires africains. Et dans notre discussion en ligne sur «Le Milliardisme et la Pauvreté en Afrique», nous nous penchons sur l’impact que les milliardaires africains pourraient exercer sur la pauvreté et la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique.

Cependant, on aurait tort de penser que les milliardaires africains ne s’intéressent pas à la pauvreté en Afrique. De même, il peut être imprudent de limiter la responsabilité de réduire ou d’éliminer la pauvreté en Afrique avec l’aide des milliardaires africains.

Dans notre discussion en ligne, nous examinons la contribution des milliardaires africains à la réduction ou à l’élimination de la pauvreté en Afrique. Cette discussion en ligne n’a pas pour but de critiquer les milliardaires africains. Il s’agit d’évaluer ce qu’ils ont fait ou n’ont pas fait, et d’explorer les moyens par lesquels les Africain(e)s peuvent travailler avec leurs milliardaires afin qu’ils puissent aider l’Afrique à réduire davantage, voire à mettre fin à la pauvreté en Afrique.

Ceux ou celles qui pourraient être intéressé(e)s par cette discussion peuvent se joindre à nos experts en réduction de la pauvreté et/ou contribuer en contactant le ‘me.Afrique’ du CENFACS (ou le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS), qui est un forum de discussion sur les questions de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement durable en Afrique et qui agit au nom de ses membres en faisant des propositions ou des idées d’actions pour une Afrique meilleure.

Pour contacter le CENFACS au sujet de cette discussion, veuillez utiliser nos coordonnées habituelles sur ce site Web.

Main Development

• Making Donations with Festive Shopping

How to support CENFACS without directly giving cash while shopping

Two items cover the contents of this Main Development and CENFACS Festive Shopping and Donations Project, items which are:

∝ Festive season as an opportunity to do something against poverty

∝ 8-themed ways of donating as a result of your shopping.

Let us summarily look at them.

• • Festive Season as an Opportunity to Do Something against Poverty

Every occasion or season is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships. The festive season, which is a great time to share precious moments with your loved ones, is also a period to spread a little extra of that happiness to those who do not have.

We understand that many people including our supporters continue to seriously suffer from the lingering effects of multiple crises of the last four years and are still trying to navigate their way to fully recover from them. However, for people who are already living in poverty, these effects are even intolerable and unbearable for them. There is a reason to support these poor people during this festive season. One of the many ways of supporting them could be with no-direct cash donations through your festive shopping or by making donations not directly with cash while shopping.

• • 8-themed Ways of Making Donations Not Directly with Cash while Shopping

CENFACS needs donations from your festive shopping, in particular we need no-direct cash donations, to support those in need. Some festive shoppers who could donate no-direct cash may not understand what it means. This is why it is better we explain the following:

∝ What do we mean by making donations not directly with cash?

∝ Types of donations not directly with cash we are talking about and asking for.

• • • Brief explanation of donations not directly with cash

A donation made not directly with cash (or no-direct cash donation) is an amount given as a gift and which is not a direct transfer of cash, cheque, or a debit or credit card. No-direct cash donations should not be confused with in-kind donations.

In the context of Festive Shopping, the donor gives money indirectly through their shopping activities. No-direct cash donation linked to shopping is therefore about turning festive shopping or any other type of shopping into donations. If there is no shopping, there is no-direct cash donation linked to the shopping.

What are those types of donations that are the result of one’s shopping drive?

• • • Types of donations not directly with cash when shopping

There are two types of no-direct cash donations when shopping, which are:

a) No-direct cash donations when shopping at CENFACS Zero-waste e-shop

b) No-direct cash donations via shopping at other shops/stores.

Let us look at each of them.

• • • • Indirectly donate when you shop at CENFACS Zero-waste e-shop at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

• • • • • SHOPPING or DONATING GOODS at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store

You can give your unwanted and unneeded goods or pre-loved items to CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty. You can buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more.

You can do something different this Festive Season by SHOPPING or DONATING GOODS at CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Store. You can even make this e-store better.

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

√ DONATE unwanted pre-loved GOODS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store during the festive period and beyond

√ SHOP at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief during the festive period and beyond.

Your SHOPPING action and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to the Upkeep of the Nature and to reduce poverty.

CENFACS Zero-waste e-Shop is open for both online festive purchase and goods donations.

Festive shoppers can help raise free funds for CENFACS‘ noble and beautiful cause every time they shop at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store.

Please do not hesitate to donate goods or purchase what is available at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store.

Many ordinary people and families are struggling to make ends meet at this challenging time as the economy is still not yet fully recovered from the cost-of-living crisis. Many of them do not know how they are going to make ends meet; let alone how they will meet their festive expenses as prices and bills are still higher compared to their real disposable incomes. They need help. We need support as well to help them come out poverty and hardships.

Amongst the goods to donate, we are asking net-zero goods as well.

• • • • • Donation of NET-ZERO GOODS this Festive Season

You can donate carbon neutral or net zero greenhouse gas emissions goods to help reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and poverty, while creating an opportunity to save non-renewable natural resources. This type of donation can boost the circular economy and improve the upkeep of the nature.

CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Store needs your support for Festive SHOPPING and DONATIONS.

To donate or purchase goods, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

• • • • 8-themed ways of indirectly donating when you shop with other stores/shops

You can help CENFACS raise funds through your festive shopping to other shops and stores, whether online or in-person. You can do it via the 8-themed tools mentioned below.

The 8-themed ways of turning your shopping into donations to CENFACS in the lead up to the year-end include those listed below.

1) Raise free funds for CENFACS with your online shopping

For instance, you can sign up at platforms like Give as You Live, select CENFACS as the charity you want to support, shop online and a percentage of your spending will be donated to CENFACS at no extra cost to you.

2) Choose CENFACS as a donation recipient of some of the profits raised from online shopping

To give an idea, you can choose a platform and sign up with the platform designed to facilitate donations via shopping, select CENFACS as your favourite charity, shop online, track donations and spread the word.

3) Donate your unwanted and unused points and cashback to CENFACS as your chosen charity from your loyalty shopping rewards or good causes’ gift cards

To illustrate, you can review your accounts with credit cards, loyalty programmes, and cashback sites, research donation options, select convert points into monetary donations, choose donation option (i.e., credit card rewards to donate, loyalty programmes and cashback websites).

4) Pass to CENFACS no-direct cash won from shopping surveys; cash you do not require or want

In fact, you can choose reliable survey sites, complete surveys to accumulate earnings, convert rewards or earned-points into cash or gift cards, select CENFACS, donate directly and donate gift cards.

5) Name CENFACS as your favourite deserving cause if it happens that you have the opportunity to click the online option “donate cashback to charities”

Selecting CENFACS as your favourite cause can help ensure that your contributions make helpful difference in the lives of those in need.

6) Give away to CENFACS any vouchers received or earned from your shopping; vouchers you do not need or want

In practical terms, it means that you can check voucher validity, contact CENFACS with your vouchers and check with CENFACS if your voucher has been accepted. You can donate your voucher online or in-person. You can as well spread the word and track your donation.

7) Hand out to CENFACS any proceeds from unwanted or unneeded prize draw or award from your shopping

To hand them out, you need to verify the award, choose and contact CENFACS, transfer the proceeds, give to CENFACS the proof of the prize to process the donation and get a receipt.

8) Donate any unwanted excess points of your loyalty card from online shopping apps that may support good causes.

For example, you can check the loyalty programme you have in mind, choose CENFACS if you think that CENFACS’ mission resonates with you, donate online and CENFACS will confirm the donation via email.

However, turning shopping into donations does not mean one cannot donate cash. Of course, they can. If you choose to directly donate cash, CENFACS will happily accept your cash donations.

You can use and or get informed about a variety of ways that many stores and shops offer to support charities through customers’ shopping, particularly during the festive period. You can use them to support CENFACS‘ noble cause of poverty reduction via your shopping action without directly giving money.

As long as your no-direct cash donations fall within our gift acceptance agreement or criteria, there should not be a problem. CENFACS will acknowledge and thank you for your no-direct cash contributions to its mission and causes.

Please remember CENFACS when you do your Festive Shopping.

To sum up, you can both indirectly donate when you shop at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store and with other stores/shops.

To indirectly donate to CENFACS through CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Shop, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

To indirectly donate to CENFACS via your shopping activity to other shops and stores, please check or ask them if they have any scheme that support charities. Sometimes, they may propose you it themselves at their counters.

Thank you for considering our ask for no-direct cash donations via your festive shopping activities.

For any queries and/or enquiries about CENFACS’ Festive Shopping and Donations Project, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

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• References

(1) https://www.coursera.org/gb/article/project-plan (accessed in November 2023)

(2) https://www.projectmanager.com/guides/project-scheduling (accessed in November 2024)

(3) https://www.unicef.org/esa/press-releases/unicef-alarmed-continued-attacks-education-conflict-zones-africa (accessed in October 2024)

(4) https://simplystakeholder.com/the-importance-of-stakeholders/ (accessed in November 2024)

(5) https://www.tsw.co.uk/blog/leadership-and-management/stakeholder-management-skills/ (accessed in November 2024)

(6) https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2022/10/26/15-effective-tips-for-improving-communication-with-stakeholders/# (accessed in November 2024)

(7) https://lazarinastoy.com/ultimate-guide-to-data-storytelling-for-marketing-and-data-consultants/ (accessed in November 2024)

(8) https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/learn/data-monitoring,html# (accessed in November 2023)

(9) https://www.forbes.com/lists/africa-billionaires/ (accessed in November 2024)

(10) https://www.statista.com/statistics/1228533/number-of-people-living-below-the-extreme-poverty-line-in-africa/ (accessed in November 2024)

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• Help CENFACS Keep the Poverty Relief Work Going This Year

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.

One could also consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Additionally, we would like to inform you that planned gifting is always an option for giving at CENFACS. Likewise, CENFACS accepts matching gifts from companies running a gift-matching programme.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE AND BEAUTIFUL CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO: Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2024 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Making Donations with Festive Shopping