Author Cindy Norcott shares practical tips for charities in her third book

Entrepreneur, successful businessperson and founder and chairperson of the Robin Hood Foundation, Cindy Norcott, has just launched her third book.

Entitled the Weight of Hope, it is her first book about the Robin Hood Foundation.  Also the legacy and gift that she will leave for those following in her footsteps as she hands over the reins of an organization that she has successfully headed up for more than 20 years.

“To mark the occasion, I thought I’d write this little book about what I’ve learned. It is a practical, hands-on kind of book that others who do this sort of work will find inspiring,” Norcott explains.

Weight of Hope includes a chapter on the history of the Robin Hood Foundation which Norcott started shortly after her second daughter was born. Realising how quickly her baby was outgrowing her wardrobe of babygro’s having hardly worn them; she felt that she could help clothe little ones from poor households. That birthed the Love the Babies project which grew to include creating “Gogo bags” for the elderly, hosting entrepreneurial conferences, building creches, hosting parties at schools for disabled children, launching projects for animals and more.

Words of advice

“This is the sort of book that someone who wants to start a charity should read first. I think the most useful chapter covers mistakes made and lessons learnt. I’ve interviewed many other charity founders about the problems that we have all encountered. There’s also a chapter on how to do fundraising. A lot of people do it wrong or don’t know where to start.  And then they wonder why people don’t support them,” Norcott continues.

Another very practical chapter deals with handling volunteers – how to attract them, manage them, motivate, retain, and reward them.  

Having been put under a great deal of pressure during the KZN floods, the KZN looting and even the Covid-19 pandemic, Norcott visits another major challenge that she has encountered – burnout:

“Burnout is synonymous with people in this space, so I talk about boundaries. I provide self-care tips, so people know how to look after their own souls while trying to help everyone else. I discuss the mistakes we all make, including so-called white saviour syndrome. It’s a very real thing. Some people come in almost like colonialists with a hero or rescuer complex. They decide what they are going to do for a community without engaging them and asking. I have made this mistake. You look back and think: my intentions were so good, but I was so immature. I may have been disrespectful and disempowerin

More than a best seller

Additional advice includes using people from within communities and hiring local contractors. In short, it is about working with people rather than for them, she notes.ore than a bestseller

Through highlighting the multifaceted projects run by this highly successful organisation, Weight of Hope shows that thereare many things that can be done to help others in what Norcott describes as a desperate space of dreadful inequality and endemic poverty.

“This book is very much a call to action, to do something. For example, you can’t just set aside 67 minutes on Mandela Day and think you have done your bit. As South Africans, so much more is expected of us. If you are lucky enough to be one of the haves, even if you feel you don’t have a lot, there is a certain responsibility to make a difference, to support something,” she explains.

She advises that those wishing to reach out be intentional, starting out with something about which they passionate – “that thing that makes your heart sore”.

She continues: “Investigate the founder, investigate the chairperson, ask questions. I’ve never earned one cent from this work in 20 years and people like the fact that I’m giving as well. It’s not like I’m doing it so I can get a cushy job. I have a business. People are happy to donate because I am donating.”

Norcott is also adamant that giving doesn’t stop with money.  Give your time, insights and professional skills they also make a difference: “I feel that everyone in South Africa should practice ‘mateship’. It’s an Australian term which I’ve put in the book where everyone does something because it’s just part of society’s DNA.”

Cindy’s goal in writing this book is not about just selling copies, but rather equipping people who are making a difference or who are wanting to make a difference.

“I’m just gift wrapping all those beautiful nuggets that I’ve learned along the way and paying it forward. This has been a passion project. Over the years, so many people have reached out to me for help. I’ve mentored many of them and spoken at events about what we’ve done that’s different. Somehow Robin Hood has been a remarkable success when it comes to the scope and scale of the projects that we’ve run with such joy. People have asked for our recipe. That made me think that there’s a book in this for others – and that’s another way of giving back,” she concludes.

The Weight of Hope is available at R250 per copy plus VAT from Cindy Norcott and you can email her at cindy@proappoint.co.za or visit her website – www.cindynorcott.co.za  She will donate R50 per copy bought to the Robin Hood Foundation, so it is literally the book that keeps on giving.  She is hoping to donate R100 000 back to the Foundation from book sales in 2026.  In Durban books are also available at the following shops Here are the confirmed outlets for now –

Willow Boutiques in La Lucia and Windemere Centre,  Loop Boutiques in Glenore centre and in Hilton, Stanley’s Stationers in Westville ,Adele Catherine in Kloof, Camp Orchards in Hillcrest and Indigo Fields in the Midlands.