The City of Cape Town has a well-established grant-in-aid policy, but this is the first time that the Social Development and Early Childhood Development Directorate is disbursing funds. The policy allows for funding to be made available to external organisations to help deliver services that fall within the City’s area of responsibility, thus creating an enabling environment for community development and partnerships.

"Our directorate is only a few years old and so until now our focus has been on getting our internal policies, process and programmes up and running. We are now in a better position to build partnerships with community organisations working in the social development sector for the benefit of our residents and I am excited about the possibilities that this grant-in-aid funding presents," said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Social Development and Early Childhood Development, councillor Suzette Little.

Community organisations working in the areas of early childhood development, street people, substance abuse, youth development, vulnerable groups and poverty alleviation will be able to apply for funding for developmental projects. The minimum amount per project is R100 000 and the applications would need to include a detailed description of the project and a business plan with detailed breakdown of the project costs. Organisations must also be able to provide documentation like registration certificates, tax clearance certificates and copies of municipal rates and service accounts where applicable.

"It’s an arduous process, but we are bound by legislation to do proper checks and balances and to ensure that the funds are spent wisely. The beneficiaries will also have to provide regular feedback on their spending as part of that chain of accountability. I am excited about the prospect of empowering organisations to help us change the social fabric in our communities where the need is greatest. I have said it before: government cannot tackle the many issues that need fixing on its own. These grants are but one example of how we can build partnerships for positive change and I would like to encourage community organisations to grab this opportunity and get those applications to us," Little.

Application forms are available at the Social Development and Early Childhood Development Directorate’s District Offices:

  • 1st Floor of the Belpark Building in Voortrekker Road in Bellville;
  • 1st Floor of the Scottsdene Housing Office on the corner of La Boheme Road and Eoan Avenue in Scottsdene;
  • SHAWCO Building on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Main Road in Retreat;
  • Athlone Stadium (east side) on  Cross Boulevard – off Klipfontein Road in Athlone;
  • 7th Floor of the Standard Bank Buildin on Hertzog Boulevard in Cape Town; and
  • Thusong Centre on the corner of Kilimanjaro and AZ Berman Drive in Tafelsig in Mitchells Plain.


For more information, contact Patty Des Fountain on +27 21 417 0141 or  at [email protected] or Fatima Davids on +27 21 417 4086 or [email protected].