As the nominations for the 2014 Inyathelo Philanthropy Awards come in, perhaps now is a good time to reflect on the opportunities they present to the awardees and to South African civil society.

Inyathelo's Get Resourceful Session on Governance Structures and Practices! featured a live Q&A session via Twitter (#GetResourceful) to make our Governance experts available to people who were not able to attend the session. Two threads quickly stood out in the Q&A: the Code of Governance and the role of a governing board. The resulting conversation produced a useful FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on NPO governance in South Africa. Edited highlights are transcribed below.

Every month (from April to December), Inyathelo will highlight one of the Ten Elements of Advancement.  On tap for May is Financial Management!

You are invited to join our monthly get-togethers in the Inyathelo Resource Centre where we share resources, experience and expertise on the Ten Elements of Advancement.

On Tuesday 15 April, Inyathelo hosted the first of its free monthly "Get Resourceful" sessions at the Inyathelo Resource Centre in Woodstock. This month’s topic, “Governance Structures and Practices!”

Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement invites all new and seasoned practitioners working in the non-profit sector as well as those in higher education institutions for two days of Advancement and fundraising learning. The content will be aimed at growing capacity and fine-tuning knowledge to attract resources.

During this election season it seems that governance is in the news, albeit in the context of government corruption and mismanagement. Sadly, the reputations of non-profit organisations often ride the coattails of the governmental sector in these negative public perceptions.

This election season Inyathelo was privileged to host an unusual political event. Representatives from South Africa’s three largest political parties met at Inyathelo's Woodstock offices to debate “the continuing role of civil society in South Africa twenty years after our first democratic election.”

• View the debte on YouTube 

You are invited to join our monthly get-togethers in the Inyathelo Resource Centre where we share resources, experience and expertise on the Ten Elements of Advancement. Inyathelo defines Advancement as the systematic and integrated approach to building and managing external relationships with key constituencies and stakeholders in order to attract support.