Girls and Boys Town Integrated Biennial Report April 2018 – March 2020

6 Girls & Boys Town South Africa Integrated Biennial Report 2018/2020 GBTSA has maintained its ethical culture, professionalism and good governance structures and continued to strive for practices driven by integrity and quality service to all beneficiaries over our 62 years of operation. At the same time, we have transformed our services in terms of their extent and impact, the manner in which we work to strengthen families and enable young people to flourish, and our sharing of the lessons we have learnt throughout the child and youth care field. During the reporting period we were constantly challenged to maintain these values in the face of changing legislation and deteriorating socio-economic conditions. Our children and families struggled to manage their individual mental health, as we faced rising costs and fundraising difficulties in an already-strained economy. In addition, we had to plan to address unexpected, costly infrastructure challenges posed by our deteriorating heritage residential buildings – particularly on our Tongaat campus in KwaZulu-Natal. All these difficulties were significant and called for a resilient response. But nothing compared to the enormity of the COVID-19 epidemic which impacted directly on South Africa towards the end of this reporting period. The magnitude of this crisis in terms of the physical, mental and social health of communities and the economy of the country is incalculable. It is too early to judge how the broader climate will play out for an organisation like GBTSA. Certainly, there has been a lot said about the manner in which the COVID-19 epidemic has laid bare the deep socio-economic divisions in our country and there are signs of a willingness to help heal these wounds. But the financial resources to do so might be more constrained than we imagine. Whatever the case, the foundation that GBTSA has laid – not only during this reporting period but over many decades – would position it as a sound partner for any social investor who has been moved by the injustices revealed during this time of crisis. Lee Loynes Chief Executive Officer MESSAGE FROM the Chief Executive Officer GBTSA’S FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES ❂ Ensure sustainable fundraising. ❂ Expand ways of increasing fundraising/income. ❂ Increase our footprint to reach younger donors. ❂ Extend the value-added partnership of our Research Division with UJ. ❂ Improve our relationships and collaborations with media houses. ❂ Leverage our bequest/leave-a-legacy appeal as another way of donating. ❂ Build and consolidate a model for cost-saving and sustainability. ❂ Establish and promote GBTSA’s best practices in child and youth care. ❂ Monitor and maintain good financial governance. ❂ Establish effective staff recognition and performance management systems.