Sage Foundation programmes

People living with disabilities are excluded from career opportunities through barriers such as discrimination, bias, unequal access, and a physical workplace environment and work tools that are not accessible. Our global Sage Pathways programme breaks through these barriers and helps people living with disabilities get into or return to work. 

Specific initiatives include virtual work readiness sessions to engage people living with disabilities from different communities. These sessions encompass training in interview tips, assessment centre skills, personal branding, and returning to work with confidence. In these sessions, we have identified potential talent to bring into our business and other skills development programmes. 

We collaborate with specialist recruitment organisations and Sage Foundation charity partners to specifically target people living with disabilities for Pathways events. In South Africa, we have recruited 13 interns living with disabilities within our customer services and finance operations. This programme enabled us to reach some amazing but overlooked talent. 

“I have enjoyed my experience at Sage. My colleagues are extremely welcoming and have shown interest in who I am and where I have come from. Sage’s commitment to supporting people living with disabilities shines through every day at work. It has not only offered me a job, but also provided me with the tools and skills to excel in my career.” – Kerry Walsh, Communication Specialist, Customer Services intern 

We have also created higher awareness in our workplace about the barriers people living with disabilities face at work. We are creating an environment in which colleagues with disabilities know they are valued and supported. 

“Sage has offered deep, individual engagement and support throughout this journey. I’m really enjoying the opportunity to collaborate with wonderful colleagues in a business that is genuinely committed to inclusion. The Sage Pathways programme is an industry-changer that has opened a world of possibilities for me.” – Trevor Sephiri, Financial Operations intern 

Elricco Govindasamy, a finance business partner at Sage Africa and Middle East, is competing in seven cycle races covering more than 662 kilometres to create awareness about retinitis pigmentosa, a group of eye-related disorders that cause vision loss. The funds will be donated to Retina South Africa, a patient-led, registered non-profit with a mission of finding a cure for Retinitis Pigmentosa. 

Elricco is embarking on this epic journey as part of the Sage Foundation $5 Million challenge. To train for the races, Elricco is cycling more than 120 kilometres a week, with the aim of improving his average speed by one kilometre an hour over each race. His target through this fundraising is to raise R50,000 (about US$3,400) in 2022 for the cause. 

“Some individuals go to bed with poor eyesight and wake up partially or fully blind the next morning. I want to be one of the activists who give hope to children robbed of a sensory-filled childhood and adults who have conceded to defeat and the darkness around them.” – Elricco Govindasamy, finance business partner

South Africa’s breath-taking flora and fauna is under threat from poaching, conflict with farmers, and encroaching human development. Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation, run by wildlife lovers Paul Oxton and Carina Crayton, is fighting to save this heritage for future generations. The two founders are the only full-time employees. 

They partner with ethical wildlife rehabilitation centres to rescue injured or threatened animals. They also provide veterinary care through a network of consultant veterinarians, equip wildlife clinics nationwide, and supply consumables, capital items, and food or milk formula to these rehabilitation centres.

Crayton and Oxton do most of the finances and admin themselves, taking pride in their low overheads and careful stewardship of public money. Sage Accounting allows them to automate finances, save time, and focus on fundraising and wildlife rehabilitation rather than admin. The software – provided through the Sage Foundation NPO Success product discounting programme –makes it easy for Crayton to capture financial data from anywhere. 

She can spend her time in the field helping animals rather than in the office doing admin. She has also benefitted from the free online training courses made available to non-profits through Sage Foundation NPO Success. The training has equipped her with better insight into the specific requirements of accounting in the South African NPO sector, as well as the tools and processes that help organisations stay on top of their admin. 

“We are equally at home doing our finances as we are in the field. We conduct snare and anti-poaching patrols, clean wounds, hydrate stricken animals, and strap broken wings. We also work in urban areas where human/wildlife conflict continues to escalate – always with the main aim of returning the animals to safety and freedom. It helps that I can manage our finances on the fly.” – Carina Crayton, Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation founder 

Street Warriors UK is a community interest company working to provide much-needed services and support to homeless people in Newcastle. Managed by two unpaid directors – Christopher Smith and Caroline Wetherell – and unpaid senior manager, Darren Wetherell, it provides meals, drinks, clothing, and toiletries to vulnerable people. 

Street Warriors UK also has a welfare team that provides help and advice around housing issues, medical appointments, and benefit claims. Since it relies on volunteers and donations from the public to do its work, Street Warriors UK needs to run a tight financial ship. The organisation uses Sage Business Cloud Accounting – provided through the Sage Foundation NPO Success product discounting programme – to manage its finances. 

Street Warriors UK has also benefitted from the Accounting and Financial Statements for NPOs free training, sponsored by Sage, which focuses on accounting in the UK non-profit sector. It helps attendees to progress their understanding of accounting and financial statements, so they can better communicate financial concepts with their stakeholders. 

“Sage Business Cloud Accounting makes it easy for us to keep up to date with daily and weekly accounting procedures and keep an eye on our funding. The training was a huge help to understand how Sage’s software works and showed best practice in how to compile accounts for a community interest company. It also highlighted ways in which we could make the finance function easier for ourselves.” – Darren Wetherell, Street Warriors UK senior manager