Children on the Edge
  • DONATE
    • Ukraine Appeal
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Karamoja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES
Picture

LATEST STORIES

Click to donate

Budgeting and best practice - A rough guide to our running costs

3/2/2021

 
Picture
MAKE A DONATION
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.

Support us

  • Give monthly Give monthly
  • Fundraise for us Fundraise for us
  • Receive our emails Receive our emails


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    RECEIVE OUR EMAILS

    Blog Categories

    All
    Ambassadors
    Bangladesh
    Burma/Myanmar
    Chichester
    Child Participation
    Child Protection Team
    Child Rights
    Child Sacrifice
    Cluster Learning
    Coronavirus
    Dalit
    Digital Education
    Early Childhood Development
    Education Loans
    Fundraising
    General
    #GetToKnowUs
    History
    Hope
    Humanitarian Relief
    India
    Kachin
    Karamoja
    Kyaka II Uganda
    Lebanon
    Postcode Lottery
    Protective Environments
    Refugees
    Rohingya
    Romania & Moldova
    Schools
    Storytellers
    The Body Shop At Home
    #ThrowbackThursday
    Uganda
    UK
    Ukraine
    Volunteer
    Women's Rights



    RSS Feed

JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Click to donate

Get Involved

Corporate Partnerships
​
​Email updates
Fundraise 
Give Monthly
Grant Giving Organisations
​The Body Shop At Home
Volunteer

aBOUT US

Who We Are
​​​How  We Spend Your Money
Latest Stories
​Our Story
​​Our Work
Accessibility  | Annual Report  | Contact Us | Jobs | Media Centre | ​Privacy Policy | Resources | ​Safeguarding | Shop | ​Strategic Partners 
For raffle ticket holders | Take Part | Rules and Prizes | Complaints | Responsible Gambling ​
Logo which says 'Registered with Fundraising Regulator'

Registered charity no. 1101441
REGISTERED COMPANY No. 4996130 

​Children on the Edge, 5 The Victoria, 25 St Pancras, Chichester,  West Sussex, PO19 7LT, UK | 01243 538530 | communications@childrenontheedge.org 
  • DONATE
    • Ukraine Appeal
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Karamoja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES