Throughout the last 40 years, Non-profit organisations played an important role in the downfall of apartheid and the transition to democracy. NPOs continue to contribute valuable resources, skills and expertise to the national building process in South Africa.

Through the medium of non-profit organisations, the State is able to implement important programmes that are vital to the development and well-being of the most marginalised and which require the flexibility of NPOs: for example, disaster intervention and relief; and home-based care which has taken on a critical role in relation to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. NPOs also facilitate the processes of consultation with larger communities enabling an expansion of participation that various policies and legislation seek: for example, around municipal planning processes and the development of water catchment management structures.

The LRC recognises that non-profit organisations have to comply with various rigorous demands and seeks to assist these organisations to meet some of these new legal challenges.

The LRC seeks to promote good governance and accountability within the non-profit sector in order to strengthen civil society and contribute to the socio-economic development in South Africa.

The specific objectives of this project are:

• To provide legal assistance, advice and support to NPO’s so that they may establish appropriate legal entities and register with the relevant authorities.
• To assist non-profit organizations with their establishment and registration in terms of the Nonprofit Organizations Act, No. 71 of 1997.
• To provide theoretical and practical training to law graduates, candidate attorneys and other legal professionals with regard to laws that deal with non-profit organisations.
• To promote better co-operation and co-ordination between NPO’s and the State, where possible.
• To make meaningful contributions to public policy and debates affecting the non-profit sector in terms of new legislation including in connection with developing a more progressive tax regime for NPO’s.
• To develop and disseminate resource materials for NPO’s on issues and other practical legal matters that affect CBO’s and NGO’s alike.
• To provide some insights with regard to fund-raising and the drawing up of proposals and reports.
• Conducting ‘train the trainers’ workshops to equip trainers to train rural community based organisations in matters pertaining to the establishment and running of NGOs and CBOs.
• Lobbying government for the creation of additional mechanisms to enable and facilitate the work of non-profit organizations.
• Monitoring the administration of the new provisions of the Income Tax Act and the Non-profit Organisations Act, No. 71 of 1997 which directly affect NGOs. 

Client Assistance
The project also provides specific advice and assistance to NPOs on request to the extent that it is able to do so. In some cases, such organisations are dealt with as part of the referral processes established through the Access to Justice project of the LRC.

Training workshops for NPOs
Workshops are an effective tool in providing training to non-profits in order to build capacity in the sector. Workshops have been conducted in Limpopo, Northern Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape. The workshops have been hosted in partnership with the Non-Profit Partnership, Partners With After School Care Projects (PASCAP), Cape Child and Youth Development (CACYD) and Namakwa Katolieke Ontwikkeling (NAMCO). The projects objective is to strengthen the non-profit sector by holding workshops relevant to the needs of NPOs each year, of which at least some must be organised at venues that area more easily accessed by rural community bases organisations.

Training candidate attorneys (CAs)
The project provides training for candidate attorneys on all aspects of non-profit law to complement their exposure to the realm of public interest law. Not only does it provide them with a strong background to working with non-profit law, but also attempts to encourage candidate attorney interest in this field.

Publications
The project has produced information booklets that are distributed to NPOs free of charge.

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’n Gids Tot Die Wet op Organisasies Sonder ’n Winsoogmerk (July 2005)		(126 KB)
Principles for Disciplinary Codes of Non-Profit Organisations (December 2005)		(149 KB)
Internal Financial Controls for Non-Profit Organisations (December 2005)		(156 KB)
Regsentiteite Algemeen Gebruik Deur Organisasies Sonder ‘n Winsoogmerk		(255 KB)
New Tax Law for South African Non-Profit Organisations (Updated March 2006)		(115 KB)
Recruitment of NPO Board Members (August 2006)		(141 KB)
Legal Obligations of Members of Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) Governing Bodies (October 2001)		(180 KB)
Legal Obligations of Non-Profit Organisations as Employers (December 2002)		(198 KB)
Reference Guide for Non Profit Organisations (February 2003)		(132 KB)

Advocacy work and networking
The project is actively involved in advocacy work and networking, has delivered research papers and participated in various conferences and has engaged in various processes of government which have been geared towards policy development and regulatory drafting.