Children and young adults in South Africa's townships need a fair chance to develop personally and succeed in life if South Africa’s fledgling democracy is to survive and flourish. While the end of apartheid removed most of the legal barriers to personal development, opportunities to learn and obtain meaningful employment remain sorely lacking among those previously disadvantaged under the apartheid regime.  South Africa -- with its strong constitution, political stability and economic potential -- remains Africa’s greatest hope for the democratic development and economic revival of the continent.

SAEP has, from its foundation in 1994, worked to develop environmental awareness in South Africa; helping youth and their communities address the issues of environmental degradation in the urban environment and the natural environment. In addition to its role in the environmental sector, SAEP currently operates four major educational programmes in the Cape Flats townships of Cape Town, involving early childhood development, high school support and enrichment, a youth development ("bridging year") program and a tertiary support programme for promising township high school matriculants.

Volunteers can be involved in any area of SAEP, but there is currently the greatest demand for fundraising and institutional development volunteers. All volunteers, however, are welcome to participate in different parts of the organization outside of their main focus and can take part in the extracirricular activities such as hikes, festivals, etc.

The South African Education and Environment Project (SAEP) seeks a full-time volunteer Fundraising and Institutional Development Officer to provide support to SAEP’s Fundraising Department. Start dates and duration are flexible, but preference is given to volunteers who are able stay for a period of 6 months or more.

Responsibilities include:

- Supporting institutional needs by working closely with the Director of Institutional Development
- Fundraising strategy development
- Researching potential grants
- Proposal writing, including the composition of necessary reports and financial documents
- Generating and maintaining public relations/communications materials, such as newsletters, brochures and reports
- Assisting in the gathering of information from SAEP project and program directors with respect to recent project developments and future activities, for use in the writing of proposals, reports and promotional materials.
- Researching and developing innovative fundraising strategies and outlets
- Planning and coordination of fundraising events
- Maintenance of online media such as the SAEP website, Twitter and Facebook
- Maintenance of SAEP’s fundraising database, DonorOne

Qualifications:

-Excellent written and verbal communication skills
-Minimum of Bachelor’s degree
-Strong organizational skills
-Knowledge of Microsoft office suite
-Experience in grant-writing and working with non-profits preferred

The volunteer will attain all necessary letters regarding the facilitation for visa acquisition from the Director of SAEP. All SAEP volunteers receive a volunteer handbook prior to arrival, and an SAEP staff member will help volunteers arrange housing if necessary. An SAEP staff member will pick up the volunteer at the Cape Town international airport upon arrival to the project site.