They tell you to get close to power. Book the breakfast with the deputy minister. Sit on the panel with the MEC. Collect selfies in the corridors of Parliament as if proximity were a strategy. In development, this is the first myth we learn, and the first one we should unlearn. The longer we have worked in this field, the clearer the inversion has become: the closer you move to political power, the further you drift from actual funding, integrity and impact. The state does no

Image credit: Stock photo via HubSpot (original source: Thinkstock/Shutterstock integration) The invitations arrive like promises. “Access to markets.” “Visibility to funders.” “A platform for growth.” But you already know what the room looks like before you get there. A circle of plastic chairs or cocktail tables. Branded banners collapsing slightly at the edges. A projector running a loop of logos. Small businesses, NGOs, social enterprises, all dressed in their best versio

If Section 18A only appears in your life as a receipt you hand to your accountant, you’re leaving impact on the table. Section 18A is one of the few levers in South African tax law that lets you redirect a slice of what you owe into work you actually believe in, if you use it intentionally. Context: What Section 18A actually does Section 18A of the Income Tax Act allows individuals and companies to claim a deduction for qualifying donations to approved public benefit organisa