FUNDING FACTS

NONE OF THE VALUABLE WORK WE DO, WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY OF DONORS. By far the majority of our funding comes from the generosity of giant-hearted donors who recognise, with us, the desperate need to support Primary School education in South Africa.  

Both Foundations and Individuals provided 100% of our funding for the first 4 years, but since then our own initiatives have increased each year as we seek to involve our immediate community in bringing in fundraising efforts which we – or they – have initiated.

As most of our donors wish to remain anonymous, we respect their wishes on public media.  All donors receive acknowledgement of their donations, cash receipts when relevant, and personal letters of thanks. We are able to issue 18A Tax Certificates to South African tax payers for submission to SARS.  UK donors are able to use the payment portal Stewardship, which processes ‘Gift Aid’ claims for the small charge of 3%, and resulting in our benefitting from an additional 22% on relevant donations paid in the UK.

Our very first offer of funding came from a Family Trust, who offered to cover the R6500.00 we budgeted for our Gr 1 pilot Breakfast Club project at Good Hope Seminary Junior School.  Personal friends soon came in with further gifts, and before we knew it, we’d extended Breakfast Club throughout that school, and in 2019 moved to St Mary’s too.  Funding the Smart Club first became possible when an individual felt led to make a substantial donation from an inheritance they had received.  Smart Club also has sufficient funding at present to operate at both schools.

Per capita, Smart Club understandably requires more funding that Breakfast Club does. We serve breakfast to far more children per day than we treat through Smart Club, but we buy food in bulk, receiving a charity discount for our e’pap purchases.  Smart Club support requires use of professional, specialist services and children are often supported on a 1 to 1 basis.  Specific learning difficulties are never quick fix situations.  Occupational and Speech Therapy often require years of work in order to make a lasting difference to a child.  The results are joyful and liberating and worth every cent!

Local businesses, churches, schools, Family Foundations and individuals from many countries including Australia, Canada, Switzerland, the UK and South Africa, have contributed over the past 10 years to allow us to grow to the place we are in today.  Donations of goods such as milk, fruit, roller towels and cleaning materials are always very welcome as they stretch our cash in the bank so much further.