Track My Mayor maintains a database of South African mayors’ promises to assist overstretched newsrooms in keeping track of what was promised and when promises are due. It distinguishes itself from other promise trackers in that it aims to achieve scale by helping journalists do their jobs.

For the past few months, I’ve been keeping a list of delightful and true things in the Evernote app on my phone.

Somewhere between artichoke hearts (delightful) and the weekly yoga class at my favourite coffee shop (ditto), there is this supposed truth: “You don’t have to monetise your joy.”

It speaks to one of the questions I’ve been grappling with in the first month of the jamlab Accelerator Programme.

It seems prudent to create income streams beyond donor funding. But what if pursuing sustainability takes you away from what you’re good at and what you’re excited about — in this case, increased government accountability?

When do you say “no” to something you could do for the sake of income but don’t want to?

I don’t have an answer yet, but I’m confident that I’ll get there with the help of our coach and fellow members of the cohort.

In the short time we’ve spent together, their diverse perspectives and skill sets have proven to be invaluable

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