Donné Nicol is the Chief Executive Officer of Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, which works to improve education, promote skills development and develop small and medium Black business through its partner entities, Adopt-a-School Foundation, Kagiso Shanduka Trust, Cyril Ramaphosa Education Trust and Black Umbrellas.
Donné has been leading the Foundation since its establishment as Shanduka Foundation in 2004. Throughout this period, she has been instrumental in driving the organisation’s strategic focus and mission through model building and collaborations with like-minded organisations.
She was Executive Assistant to President Cyril Ramaphosa for eleven years during which she was instrumental in setting up the Adopt-a-School Foundation and acted as Executive Director for its first year of operation. While assisting President Ramaphosa in his capacity as ANC Secretary General she facilitated the establishment of Cyril Ramaphosa Education Trust to provide financial support to disadvantaged tertiary education students.
She was also a coordinator for the ANC National Executive Committee and National Working Committee. Special tasks included the planning and management of the ANC National Conference in 1994 and the administrative coordination of the ANC list process in 1994.
Prior to joining the ANC Secretary General’s office, Donné served as Deputy Secretary of the ANC Border region, which was later amalgamated into the Eastern Cape. In this capacity she represented the ANC on the Regional Alliance Secretariat and numerous other committees.
She is a Trustee of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, Cyril Ramaphosa Education Trust, Kagiso Shanduka Trust, the Alexander Forbes Community Trust, Mabindu Business Development Trust, the Nikela Trust and the Constitution Hill Trust. She is a board member of the Adopt-a-School Foundation, Pulida Energy and Black Umbrellas.