FAQs about Village Aid
How many employees do you have?
We have 5 full time staff:
- Co-Director/African Programme Manager (The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Cameroon)
- Co-Director/African Programme Manager (Ghana and Nigeria)
- Education Manager
- Fundraising and Communications Officer
- Finance and Administration Officer
1 part time staff:
- Education Programme Administrator
How much money do you spend on Management and Administration?
Village Aid aims to keep all Management and Administration costs down to 10%.
How much money goes to Africa each year?
Approximately £400,000 (this figure varies year on year depending on new grants and domestic fundraising)
Where does the money come from?
From grant making trusts such as Comic Relief, the Big Lottery, DFID, Baring Foundation, EU Commission, Diana Princess of Wales Memorial fund.
We also have a dedicated supporter network of donors who give on a monthly or yearly basis. Their money allows us to plan for the future.
Why do charities take admin charges – what is it for, why do they need it?
Compared to others, Village Aid is a small, lean charity. With low overheads and a small team of dedicated staff, admin charges are kept to a minimum. However, to serve our donors and our partners we need offices. We pay rent, electricity, gas, phone bills and council tax. To work we need computers, printers and stationery. To keep our regular and potential donors informed we need literature (bulletins and annual reports) and a functioning website.
All these things cost money, but they allow us to write effective proposals to the grant making trusts, they allow us to raise extra funds from businesses and from holding events. Without spending this money, we can’t continue to help people in West Africa.
Why Village Aid?
Apart from the many reasons that you can read about in the rest of the website – our work and aims, you should support Village Aid because:
- We are the largest International Development Charity in Derbyshire
- We have a structure in place which allows for us to support projects covering a number of countries and communities at any one time.
- We believe in sustainable support – long term solutions which our partner organisations continue after our project funding (usually 3 years) ends.
- Our finances and our partners’ finances are audited on a yearly basis.
- We have a board of specialist trustees who take an active interest in our work and ensure effective governance.
- As a registered charity we can claim Gift Aid (28% tax relief) on donations.
- We are regulated by the Charity Commission – much of which regards good practise, sound management and accountability.
Do you have a question that you think should be on this list? Why not let us by getting in touch.