National Lottery to announce beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) will be announced at an indaba in the East Rand on Thursday (26 November 2015).

Twenty four beneficiaries are set to receive good news at a three-day indaba at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekhuruleni‚ the commission said in a statement on Tuesday.

The winner of this year’s Beneficiary Awards will also be announced at the gathering.

The NLC receives about 15 000 applications for funding from across all sectors every year‚ with requests in the region of R40 billion‚ said Thabang Charlotte Mampane‚ Commissioner of the NLC.

The NLC’s annual budget for funding is around R2 billion.

Arts‚ Culture and National Heritage applications get 23% of this money‚ Charities 47%‚ Sport and Recreation 28% and Miscellaneous Purposes organisations 2%.

“Non-compliance to application requirements‚” Mampane said‚ “remains the number one reason for applications being declined.”

New regulations under the amended Lotteries Act provide for differentiated grants - with the aim of making access to funds simpler for NGOs.

Since 2000‚ the lottery has allocated more than R18 billion to non-profit organisations doing essential work in the various sectors

Two of the beneficiaries were named in the NLC statement: Prosperity Nursery Preschool and the Africana Research Library.

Prosperity Nursery Preschool in Mmatlhwaele Village‚ outside Hammanskraal‚ educates 59 children‚ all younger than seven.

Paulina Mushi‚ who runs the school‚ says she applied for funding of about R1.1 million in 2012 and received the first payment in 2013‚ followed by another in 2014.

Africana Research Library in Kimberley houses thousands of items of historical importance to the region and its place in Africa‚ including manuscripts‚ maps‚ photographs and archaeological documents.

Head of Africana Research Library Shirley James says the library applied for around R1 million in funding in 2009 and received the amount requested in 2010. A second application‚ for just over R4 million‚ was made in 2014 and an amount of around R800 000 was paid to the library earlier this year.

TMG Digital.