1. Why did TNHF develop the Community Impact Model?

From its inception, TNHF has been committed to supporting local youth empowerment programs in South Africa and providing college scholarships for ambitious township youth. But in 2009, the TNHF team realized that a more deliberate and holistic model was necessary to directly empower township youth to reduce poverty in their own communities. 

A substantial amount of academic research was done, and alongside collaboration with South African partners and international development experts, the TNHF Community Impact Model was created to fit the specific needs of the Cape Flats townships.  

While college educations are proven to have a substantial impact in pulling people out of poverty, when coupled with community service, mentoring, financial literacy, and reinvestment, the possibility for social change increases exponentially. 

Furthermore, These Numbers Have Faces saw an important need to think about long term sustainability. The Community Impact Model promotes sustainability with our South African students, partners, and the organization as a whole.

2. What is the ethos behind the Community Impact Model?

These Numbers Have Faces believes there is a stark difference between aid and development when it comes to sustainable community transformation. Aid is given away for free, but development costs something to the recipient. Our understanding of this fundamental difference has guided us in the development of our Community Impact Model.

The Community Impact Model promotes interdependency in the best way possible by establishing a tight-knit support network of South African students and community leaders who wish to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and injustice in their townships.

3. How are students chosen to participate in the program?

Our students are nominated and evaluated by township community leaders and go through an extensive application process.

If you would like to see the TNHF Scholarship Application Form and Community Impact Model Letter of Commitment feel free to send us an email and we will be more than happy to share it with you.

4. Why is financial literacy so important?

Financial literacy is a crucial step to economic advancement in all cultures. For many underprivileged communities, learning how to wisely manage, save, and give money is a key to economic success.

Learn more from our global partner Operation Hope.

5. Tell me more about the financial reinvestment. How do students give the money?

TNHF scholars are expected to give back to their communities. One of the best ways to do this is to help other students like themselves attend university and recieve a scholarship. Upon graduation and employment, students are matched with a new student to reinvest finanically in their education. TNHF students will pay back one year of their university tuition to a student coming up behind them. It is our hope that students will not see this simply as a program requirement, but rather as an opporuntity to invest in the life of a young scholar in their community.

We want to be very clear - students will not be writing checks out to These Numbers Have Faces and mailing them to America. After graduation, students will begin giving to a South African based fund set up to collect donations for student scholarships. 

6. How do you plan on program expansion if your students are only investing the equivilent of one year's tuition? What's the sustainable strategy for this?

The first steps toward sustainability and expansion include active student participation in the Community Impact Model and the hiring of staff that are Cape Town residents.