The Red Feather Legacy

Since as far back as the 1930s, Community Chests, the world over, have adopted the red feather as a symbol of service to the community. In more recent times, the red feather has come to symbolize service to the community,at an extraordinary level. We hereby invite you to become one of those who also bears the symbol of the red feather for your extraordinaryservice to our community by becoming a member of our Red Feather Legacy Project.

As a member of the RFL Project, you will be one of a select number of people who will be honoured as a champion and recognized for your extraordinary charitable spirit.
A plaque, in your desired name will be placed on the RFL Wall of Honours, which is updated each time a contribution is made to the RFL Project or when a RFL Member attains a new level of honour.

To become a member of the RFL Project, you are encouraged to donate a minimum of R10 000 (either once off or in monthly instalments). This philanthropic gift will be invested – never to be touched. Only the return on the investment will be used towards the operational running of the Community Chest.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our RFL Project members who have generously made philanthropic gifts towards this amazing project. Special thanks to the generous artists who have come aboard to support our Red Feather Legacy Project with donations of paintings.

How the PMB & District Community Chest works  

The PMB & District Community Chest has been in service to our community for the past 62 years. In this time, we earned and maintained the support and trust of our donor partners because of the simple practice of 100% donated = 100% distributed.

In order to achieve this, the Community Chest must secure its own day-to-day operational costs separately from that which is given by charitable citizens of Pietermaritzburg and District through our various fundraising initiatives such as corporate giving; employeegiving; charity golf/marathon days; etc.

Donations given specifically to the Community Chest itself are, unless otherwise stipulated, invested and only the return-on-investment portion is used to cover the operational costs of the Community Chest.Donations given specifically to the Community Chest itself are, unless otherwise stipulated, invested and only the return-on-investment portion is used to cover the operational costs of the Community Chest

To date, the PMB & District Community Chest has never actively solicited financial support for its own operations but has relied on the unsolicited goodwill of community members who, mainly  through bequests, have enabled an organic accretion of reserve funds from which the Community Chest has sustained its operations, year after year.

However, 60 years later, times have changed dramatically. The advent of a democratic South Africa brought with it both blessings and new challenges. The services of the Community Chest are thus required even more than ever before.  Addressing key issues such as education, health, employment and family and social relations remain critical to repairing and maintaining the social fabric of our Community.  If the Community Chest is to continue to serve our community for another 58 years, then starting today, we must proactively begin to shore up our endowment funds, which wisely invested, will enable us to continue to inspire all of us in Pietermaritzburg and the District to enhance our community life and restore hope, even in the face of widening despair

The proposition

The PMB & District Community Chest is offering you a unique philanthropic opportunity to serve our community at an extraordinary level by joining its Red Feather Legacy (RFL) project.

As a member of the RFL, you will be one of a select number of people in our District who will be honoured as a champion of the PMB & District Community Chest and recognized for your extraordinary charitable spirit.

Membership of the RFL

Membership of the RFL, either as an individual or in the name of your family, is achieved through a once-off, irrevocable, non-transferable gift of ten thousand rand (R10,000.00). Your philanthropic gift will be invested - never to be touched.

The return on investment from the RFL donations is what will be used, in part, to help off-set the day-to-day operational costs of the Community Chest while the remainder will be reinvested with the original sum to further grow the Community Chest’s endowment and strengthen the Community Chest’s longevity. In other words, your contribution to the RFL will become a gift that keeps giving! In turn, the Community Chest can continue to fundraise in support of its impact partners (other NPOs and CBOs) who work directly in the community at grassroots level. All of this though, will only become a reality if someone like you is willing to join hands with the Pietermaritzburg & District Community Chest in support of its Red Feather Legacy project.

The Section 18A tax benefit

The Pietermaritzburg & District Community Chest is accredited as a Section 18A not-for-profit organisation.

Your donation to the RFL project will automatically qualify you for a Section 18A tax certificate which can be used to reduce your income tax. An individual may donate up to 5% of their annual income and derive a tax rebate.

The option of going the extra mile

As a member of the RFL, there is a further opportunity to deepen your commitment to the vision and mission of the PMB & District Community Chest. You can build upon the initial gift you made when first becoming a RFL member.

On an annual basis, the RFL project will be audited. Each RFL member will receive a copy of the Annual (audit) Report. In the report members will be acknowledged on an “Honours Roll” for their initial and added support. The following honours will apply

RF (Red Feather) R10,000+

RF_b (Red Feather Bronze) R15,000+

RF_s (Red Feather Silver) R25,000+

RF_g (Red Feather Gold) R50,000+

RF_p (Red Feather Platinum) R75,000+

RF_d (Red Feather Diamond) R100,000 +

RF_bd (Red Feather Bronze & Diamond) R150,000+

RF_sd (Red Feather Silver & Diamond) R250,000 +

RF_gd (Red Feather Gold & Diamond) R500,000+

RF_pd (Red Feather Platinum & Diamond) R1 million + 

The RFL Certificate and Wall of Honour

In addition to acknowledging your generous gift towards the perpetuity of the Community Chest in the RFL Annual Report, the Community Chest will issue you with a membership certificate and mount a plaque on the RFL Wall of Honour located on the facade of our offices at 12 Stranack Street, Pietermaritzburg.

The Wall of Honour will be updated each time a contribution is made to the RFL project or when a RFL member attains a new level of honour.

Do you wish to join?

The payment of your membership contribution as well as any future payments, can be arranged to suit your preferences.

Option 1: once-off, single contribution (R10,000+)

Option 2: debit order (min. of R1,000+ x 10 months)

Option 3: annual, once-off contribution (R10,000+)

We at the Community Chest will be happy to assist you design an option that would best suit your requirements.

Please contact us on 033-3941031 for assistance and any queries regarding the Red Feather Legacy of the PMB & District Community Chest.

Robert Louis Stevenson summed it up best in saying, "Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."

We look forward to welcoming you as a Red Feather Legacy partner of the Community Chest.