TINA THIART

Well-known women’s rights activist and non-profit fundraising guru, Tina Thiart, is an April Fool’s baby, born on 1 April 1956 – but her achievements are nothing to laugh at. She has worked for more than 20 years as a catalyst for social change and gender equality, aiming to build better communities in South Africa.

A self-confessed multi-tasker and network queen, Thiart runs a consultancy helping women’s funds, community groups and NGOs develop innovative fundraising strategies and sustainable development plans with the end goal of building strong organisations to bring about effective change.

As a child, growing up “on the wrong side of the street”, with three sisters and a brother, in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, Thiart was painfully aware that equality was more a privilege than a right, with gender inequality equally entrenched in social fabric of what she describes as a “factory town”. Discrimination of every kind between classes, colour and culture was rife – and it irked her.

She was strongly influenced by her grandmother. “When she wanted a job done, she’d only ask once and then pick up the hammer and do it herself. So also always generated her own money,” says Thiart. So in an era when women stayed at home or had limited career options Thiart, always an adventurer at heart, was the first in her family to go to University, obtaining a BA in education at the Nelson Mandela University.

Ultimately Thiart found the world of teaching, where the men’s opinions held more sway and earned them more income despite having the same qualifications, intolerable. But, in speaking out against this inequality she found her obvious talent – and passion – in marketing and advocacy.

She moved to KwaZulu-Natal when her SANDF navy captain husband was transferred to Durban and took on the role of Director of KZN Athletics. Thiart launched the Tastic Rice Cross Country Initiative travelling around the province to identify talented young athletes and advocate for their inclusion in athletics events – effectively exposing these young athletes and their communities to many new experiences and opportunities.

When her husband, Thienus, was transferred to Simons Town Thiart joined the Women’s Hope Education and Training (WHEAT) Trust filing various marketing and fundraising roles, and then went on to become executive director of the International Network of Women’s Funds. She still consults for the WHEAT Trust (www.wheattrust.co.za), which invests in education, training and capacity building to develop leaders and to empower women to uplift themselves and their communities.

A hard worker and an avid golfer, Thiart is also the secretary of the World Wide Initiative for Grantmakers Support, and the chairperson of Woman’sNet and board member of the African Women’s Development Fund (South Africa). She works with the Southern African Community Grantmakers Leadership Forum and is the liaison officer of Grant.net, a network for corporate social investment managers and grant makers.

This year, she helped raise R1.2-million as part of WHEAT’s 1000 Women United Against Domestic Violence and Abuse Campaign in Cape Town. Thiart also launched the 1,000 Women campaign in Johannesburg, and will be launching the campaign in Durban on 20^th November just prior to the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign –  a United Nations initiative held annually between November 25, the international day of no violence against women) and 10 December (international human rights day).

“Women and girls are not safe in their own homes. They can’t walk the streets at night and have little access to resources,” says Thiart who believes campaigns like 1000 Women and 16 Days of Activism increases people’s awareness and encourages people to speak out against gender-based violence in a society where people have historically condoned the behaviour by turning a blind eye.

The WHEAT Trust provides resources to women to stand up against violence and Thiart and her colleagues will be attending various events in the communities during the 16-day awareness campaign.

Thiart plans to grow the 1 000 Women campaign – she wans to increase WHEAT’s Facebook supporters to 10 000 supporters and have 5 000 women attend the 1000 women events in 2015. She also wants to increase the number of women’s organisations supported by the WHEAT Women’s Fund from 1 200 to 2000.

Having had family and friends affected by cancer, Thiart also plans to mobilise resources to help build the Cancer Buddies initiative, which provides support to cancer survivors and people living with cancer.

However, our tireless campaigner’s dream is start a fundraising academy to train and support fundraisers in the NGO sector who, at this stage, have very little support and no real accredited training. She has most of the details ironed out and just needs “a University or further education training centre to embrace this idea and provide us with the SETA accreditation to make this come true,” says Thiart.