FUNDING

To reflect on OUTA’s journey and its funding model since inception in early 2012

HOW WE ARE FUNDED

To explain OUTA's journey and its funding since inception in early 2012, we reflect below on how OUTA was funded.  

Over the seven year period from inception in March 2012 to February 2019, OUTA’s donors generated an income of just under R131 million, which is broken down into two distinct periods that define the organisations work and support.




Period 1:  Four years from March 2013 to Feb 2016:  eTolls Litigation Period. 

Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA)

Initially OUTA focused purely on halting or reversing the Gauteng etoll decision, which took place over the first three years between the period of  March 2012 and February 2016. This was when the organisation was known as the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA). 

During the first year of intensive litigation (March 2012 to Feb 2013), OUTA was largely funded by big business organisations and galvanised the interests of five business organisations (SAVRALA, RMI, SATSA, QASA, and SANCU), who agreed to drive and fund the litigation cases that unfolded. Of the R5,6m raised in the first year, 80% was funded by big business and 20% from individuals. By December 2012, Government had placed pressure on OUTA’s big business funders to stop backing OUTA, which in turn left the organisation relatively dry with a massive legal bill to settle. 


Period 2:  3 Years from March 2017 to Feb 2019:  Broader mandate - general state corruption. 

Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA)

The second period began March 2016 until Feb 2019 and reflects the organisation’s work under its new name (The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse – retaining the OUTA acronym), with a broader mandate to tackle Government’s wasteful and corrupt expenditure, whilst continuing to challenge the e-toll policy saga.  During this period, big business was not inclinded to support a civil action movement that was challenging Government policy and corruption, requiring that OUTA needed to become more relevant to the ordinary citizen and smaller bsinesses who believed strongly in its work.  

This fundamental shift produced a dramatic increase in revenue, driven somewhat by OUTA’s decision to support those who were summonsed for non-payment of eTolls along with the need for OUTA to broaden its work into another projects (116 in three years), related to corruption and maladministration in Government.


In order to serve it's purpose a vision has to be a shared vision - Warren G Benns 

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