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Philosophy

Why is MAD different and complementary to other charitable organizations?

Other charities quite rightly seek to tackle widespread issues of poverty, education and health. They have the enormous challenge of ‘raising the floor’ and providing a better environment in their chosen field for the many.

MAD seeks to complement this by ‘raising the ceiling’ through the development of a select cadre of high performance individuals who in themselves a) present role models that inspire others and b) support each other in the future and give back to others.

Business organizations and sporting teams have long recognized the importance of nurturing top talent and believed in the idea of a ‘tipping point’, a small but vital minority of top performers who can create a powerful force for positive change.

Whilst educational funding is at the heart of MAD and indeed where it started, the support the beneficiaries receive is:

• Holistic – all the activities necessary to develop a well rounded high performance individual are offered. In general terms they are made to feel part of a special community through regular interaction with other MAD members and beneficiaries and in specific terms non-academic activities such as life skills, music and sport are supported. Each student will receive career advice and work experience. Travel bursaries and international placements are also offered.
  
• Personal – each student receives one on one mentoring, they are known personally as individuals by at least one of the senior team at MAD and their individual results and needs are therefore carefully and continually reviewed.
• Flexible – the support each student receives has to be tailored to their individual needs (for example in the early stages some may need extra help with study techniques and language to compensate for the backgrounds from which they have come). Over time the way in which MAD selects, supports and monitors the beneficiaries has and will continue to evolve.
• Values - However, at the heart of MAD there are a set of values – a belief, mission, philosophy that is meaningful - that both the members and beneficiaries adhere to.
  

Principles

How does MAD work?

Before going on to explain the specific processes and modus operandi of MAD it is important to start with the principles that underlie this. There are 6 key words that summarize these underlying principles:

• Integrity – the reputation and integrity of MAD is precious and will not be compromised. Charitable organizations in South Africa have not always enjoyed the best reputation and it is vital in terms of attracting the long term sustainable funding, the right caliber of members and the continued support of the chairman, Francois Pienaar, that the reputation for excellence and the highest financial probity is never compromised – even if this means progressing more slowly.
  
• Sustainable – MAD is dealing with long term development and therefore it must be able to deliver on any commitments it makes, in the long term. Funding and all the activities must therefore be sustainable. We cannot at any point withdraw support from a student because we have failed to deliver on our plans.
• Selective – MAD is highly selective and rigorous in terms of the beneficiaries, the MAD members and the activities it undertakes. MAD is a focused, niche organization.
  
• Personal – the involvement of the members is personal, they give their time not just to support the work and management of MAD through their individual skills but also to get involved with the children through mentoring and/or active participation in the activities with them. MAD will always grow in such a way that it maintains this personal element, so that every individual child is known personally by at least one senior member of the MAD team and sees them regularly.
  
• Different – MAD is different to other charities and this differentiation carries through to the way it tackles everything it does. MAD always looks for fresh solutions to problems.
  
• Fun – MAD was formed through the friendship and relationships of a small group. As it has expanded this has been maintained and it is a vital component that underpins the other principles. Because it is fun people stay involved, they make it personal, they enjoy tackling challenges etc. Fun and friendship is not just a nice by-product of this enterprise it is actually what makes it work.