Eight year old Florrie Legge from Wombourne near Wolverhampton is taking on a 20 mile bike ride to raise money for Children on the Edge on Saturday 12th June. She hopes to raise an incredible £1500. ​

Charity running costs or ‘administration’ costs have been given a lot of negative attention of late, with the implication being that many charities convince kind hearted people to part with their hard earned pounds and pennies, only to pocket most of it for their own UK staff, fundraising systems and glitzy offices.

We really don’t want our current or potential donors worried about this kind of thing. We want you to know that the utmost amount of your donation goes to the great cause that has moved you to give in the first place, but we also need to debunk a few myths about ‘running costs’.

Running costs and administration have been demonised somewhat, when in real terms, charitable organisations need professionalism, best practice and effective management structures just as much as any organisation in the private or public sector. As a charity that values each child as individual and believes that every person should be treated with dignity, our first priority cannot be spending the very least we can on running costs, it has to be providing the very best we can.

This means we won’t skimp on areas like research, planning, delivery, safeguarding, data protection, monitoring and evaluation. We’ll use staff who are up to the task, and work as efficiently as possible. It means we focus on ensuring a regular income, to guarantee stability for those we work for and are able to deliver programmes safely and smoothly.

That said.. we ensure that this part of the cost is as streamlined as possible. We can’t line donation tins with fairy dust that instantly transforms your fiver into the realisation of children’s rights around the world, but we can do the following:

• Work with local partners, local staff and local suppliers rather than flying in people and resources;
• Have the majority of our staff on part time contracts, keep wages modest and get help from our fantastic team of volunteers where-ever we can;
• Invest in genuine relationships with our donors, keeping them informed about where their money is going in the way they prefer, rather than sending them glossy chunks of the rainforest every month;
• Refrain from using expensive (and annoying) cold calling or ‘face to face’ fundraising agencies (chuggers); 
• Avoid huge mail outs with random gifts in them (if you desperately want a floral notelet or a fluffy sticker with googly eyes on it, sorry);
• Just as we value each child as an individual, we value our amazing supporters. You are not robots to be queued in an impersonal ‘donor journey strategy’. If you decide to give us a regular donation, we also won’t write and ask you to ‘up it’. That’s rude.
•  Our office is clean, bright and comfortable, not fancy. Anything that looks wildly expensive has been given to us by someone awesome. When lockdown is over, come and see for yourself, we’ll push the boat out and make you a cup of tea.
  
  

We’re hugely grateful to all our donors and supporters and want to remain approachable and transparent with our actions. Our Annual Report is available on our website and you can see more about how we spend your money here. 

We are always happy to answer any questions you might have about this subject and keen to know your preferences about how much or how little you prefer to be contacted. Just keep in touch. 

Thank you.

This July, Facebook’s lack of action in addressing hate speech has been under increasing global scrutiny as big businesses have boycotted advertising on the platform. 

​In response to this moment, Children on the Edge are joining forces with 36 other UK charities to challenge social networks to become safer and more inclusive environments. This has included the release of a joint statement and the formation of a working group to review these concerns for the sector and bring recommendations of potential change.

We’re incredibly grateful to our Run for Refugees runners, who have recently raised thousands for our work with some of the most marginalised children in the world. 
 
Our 20-strong team took part in the Chichester Half Marathon event on October 6th, with different runners taking on the full marathon, the relay, ten miler and the nordic walk. Getting sponsored by friends and family for their efforts, together they have now raised over £5,000.

Lucy Hobden said, "I have always wanted to do a half marathon and the Chichester Half seemed like a great first one for me to do. Great atmosphere before and after the race. Was also such a beautiful run at the top of the hill. Children on the Edge is a great charity that goes beyond others by going to places that other charities don't". 

​Not all our runners could make it to Chichester for the Half Marathon Event, but Kim Ozano did not let this deter her from fundraising! Feeling passionate about the challenges faced by refugee families, she decided to create her own alternative challenge of running a marathon a week for a month, raising over £450.