Every year we are asked, in one form or another, the same question by our supporters: where does my money actually go? It is a fair question, and one that a lot of charities answer badly.
This piece traces one pound — a small monthly gift, gift-aided, from a supporter in Bristol — from the moment it leaves her bank account to the moment it becomes part of a child's education in one of our partner communities in Kenya.
The Pound Leaves Bristol
On the first of the month, £10 leaves our supporter's account by direct debit. Because she has ticked the Gift Aid box, HM Revenue and Customs will, in due course, add £2.50, bringing the effective donation to £12.50. This claim is made quarterly.
Of that £12.50, on average across our accounts, £11 will reach a project and £1.50 will cover the cost of running the charity — audit, safeguarding, insurance, banking, and the small central team that keeps everything else honest. That is a project ratio of 88%, and it is audited annually by an independent firm.
The Journey to the Field
The £11 that reaches project work does not fly directly to Kenya. It joins a pooled fund that we transfer to our in-country entity every month by regulated bank transfer. Currency conversion is done at the mid-market rate through a specialist provider, avoiding the typical two to three percent that a high street bank would take.
In-country, funds are held in an audited local bank account. Every disbursement is signed off by two Kenyan trustees and reconciled monthly. This is not glamorous, but it is the difference between a charity you can trust and a charity you should not.
The Pound Meets the Child
In this particular case, the pound became part of a scholarship payment. The scholarship covered a term's fees, a uniform, three textbooks, a pair of shoes, and a contribution to the school's lunch programme.
The recipient is a fifteen-year-old girl named Wanjiru, the first in her family to attend secondary school. She wants to be a nurse. Her end-of-term report card, which arrived last month, placed her third in a class of forty-two.
Behind every impact number there is a name, and behind every name there is a family who chose to trust a stranger with their child's future. We do not take that lightly.
Why Long-Term Giving Beats One-Off Gifts
One-off gifts are enormously valuable, especially in emergencies. But it is the monthly giver — the person who commits £10 or £25 or £100 a month, year after year — who allows us to plan. And planning, in this work, is everything. To understand what that planning looks like on the ground, read how we build communities that outlast our involvement, or see our field guide for donors thinking about funding rural schools.
- A monthly gift lets us commit multi-year scholarships with confidence.
- It lets us hire teachers on multi-year contracts instead of term-by-term.
- It lets us reserve funds for maintenance a decade ahead.
- It lets us say no to donations that would push us away from our mission.
What You Can Do Next
If you would like to set up a monthly gift, or to see our full audited accounts, the donation page and the impact report have everything you need. If you would like to talk to a human before you give, our contact page connects you directly with the team. You might also consider volunteering as another way to contribute beyond a financial gift.
Every pound is traceable. Every child is known. That is the promise, and we intend to keep it.
Questions readers ask about this piece.
In our most recent audited accounts, 88% of income went directly to project delivery. The remaining 12% covered governance, audit, safeguarding, and central administration.