Young Bafana Soccer Academy is a South African non-profit organisation (NPO) that focuses on the holistic development of children in one of the Western Cape’s poorest areas. Founded in 2010, they use the power of football and education to provide children between the age of five and eighteen with a diverse set of skills they need to realise their potential in life. In this way, the organisation aims at breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and providing all beneficiaries with a goal, a direction and a change in life. Young Bafana has been developing significantly since its establishment and currently finds itself entering its next phase of growth. In this project, we have been assigned to assist the organisation in the first steps of the above-mentioned subsequent stage on a diverse set of business areas. To be more specific, the first and most substantial part of our work concentrated on the creation of a strategic fundraising strategy. This was done with a view on enabling Young Bafana to seek funding opportunities beyond their personal network in the current competitive and challenging fundraising landscape. Subsequently, as a means to increase the accountability and transparency of the non-profit to a meaningful extent, we considered the topic of impact reporting and all its practical aspects. Further, since the organisation is looking to invest in their own facilities and home-ground, an additional component was centralized around the financing aspects of their lease-versus-buy decision of land. Lastly, with an eye on fulfilling our duty as external student-consultants, a perspective on various growth strategies and alternative business models for Young Bafana was developed. First, by applying various research tools and after careful evaluation of the current collection methods in place, an exhaustive fundraising strategy was formulated. A systematic and strategic approach was continuously maintained and attention was given to Young Bafana’s needs and resources. Based on our findings, a donor segmentation into five distinct categories has been made, being corporate sponsors, individual givers, football clubs, volunteers and Young Bafana’s unique social teams-department. Our research showed that certain segments, both on a geographical and categorical level, are significantly more relevant to focus on, such as corporate sponsors in the US, individuals in Germany and volunteers all over the world. Moreover, for each critical segment, we offered practical and ready-to-use recommendations that could allow Young Bafana to externalize their funding partners and grow its pool of donors beyond their saturated personal network. The second part of this project, concentrated on impact reporting, has likewise been carried out with a constant eye for practical relevancy and implementation. Therefore, we have not only elaborated on this subject by providing insights and recommendations, we additionally created the report itself, in line with existing best practices in the non-profit environment. Thirdly, our analysis showed that, from a purely theoretical and financial point of view, buying land with a loan would be optimal. Nevertheless, after taking into consideration several side-effects and the practical feasibility of this option, we have formulated our recommendation differently. Given the decrease in liquidity that would result from the increase in fixed costs (due to the capital-intensive loan instalments), Young Bafana’s flexibility and its ability to absorb risk would be seriously endangered. Therefore, with the purpose of enabling the organisation to primarily focus on the enlargement of its impact, our advice would be to buy the land with a loan only after a fixed amount of leasing years. As a prerequisite, the latter would need to be included as a special clause in the leasing contract. Hence, the moment the non-profit’s revenue streams become stable, its main priority should be turned into buying the land and accordingly benefit from the various advantages an acquisition would implicate such as an increase in equity, full control over the asset, etc. Finally, corresponding to the current growth phase in which we have been assigned to this project, a clear and delineated growth strategy has been formulated. This represents our own, external vision on the organisation of Young Bafana that resulted from being eagerly involved with the non-profit for a period of two months. On the one hand, we looked into scenarios that were in line with the current vision and resources of Young Bafana and classified these into 3 different time frames. More specifically, on the short-term, we would introduce an alternative team or league division for which we worked out an overview of the new names, number of players per team and the role/characteristics of each new league. In the medium term, in accordance with the holistic mission of the organisation, we suggest focusing on the creation of an end-to-end experience for each beneficiary. After the construction of their own facilities, Young Bafana could aim at becoming a social hub, a place for interaction and collaboration, a place where the community feels at home. In the long-term, we considered the option of geographical expansion with the introduction of a light-version of the organisation, such that the concept could easily be replicated in other areas. On the other hand, we have explored more out-of-the box growth perspectives which would require an adaptation of the current business model of the non-profit. This resulted in the discussion of either a hybrid dual business model or the introduction of a full asset-light operational format for Young Bafana. Overall, as a common denominator in all four facets of the project, it became apparent that there exists room and opportunity for growth of the organisation. However, it is worth pointing out that in order to be successful, a significant need for structuring, monitoring and evaluation of the different business decisions within the non-profit remains. By building further upon our strategic recommendations and critically assessing their own growth vision, Young Bafana has the ability to thrive, to excel and to stand out in changing lives
