Funding Goals
The Kesho Fund board selects, reviews, and approves new projects based on the following criteria:
Most projects are currently chosen non-competitively, based on the Board's existing connections in Tanzania. However, it is hoped that as our network strengthens, we can begin to review unsolicited proposals from potential new Project Leaders.
- Impact relative to cost in the area of education;
- Proven strength of local leadership;
- Potential for integration of existing local support and resources with our new support and resources.
Most projects are currently chosen non-competitively, based on the Board's existing connections in Tanzania. However, it is hoped that as our network strengthens, we can begin to review unsolicited proposals from potential new Project Leaders.
Funding Process
The Kesho Fund collects most of its donations in the form of small, recurring monthly PayPal subscriptions to individual projects. These can be as little as $1 and have historically averaged about $25-30 across all of our projects.
However, most projects cannot succeed with an arbitrary amount of funds--for this reason, the Kesho Fund Board works with our Project Leaders to establish an "Impact Threshold" for each project, at which the project can reasonably expect to be completed and below which it would not be advisable to attempt the project. A simple example of this is the funding required to construct a building--if the construction begins with too little financial support, a half-finished structure could be left out in the rain until it collapsed. The Board tries to make sure that there are projects with thresholds that range from low to high at any given time.
Once a project reaches its Impact Threshold, the donors are congratulated and the funds are disbursed to the appropriate project leader. The Board and the Project Leader then stay close in touch to make sure that the project moves forward as smoothly as possible, and donors receive regular updates. A lack of infrastructure in the areas where we work means that hiccups are not uncommon, but all projects undertaken thus far have been successful. See our Projects page for examples.
If a project were to stall far below its Impact Threshold, or the project was cancelled for any reason, the funds would be reallocated to a closely-related project at the discretion of the board, and donors would receive a clear explanation of what had occurred. This has never happened yet, but it could occur eventually.
However, most projects cannot succeed with an arbitrary amount of funds--for this reason, the Kesho Fund Board works with our Project Leaders to establish an "Impact Threshold" for each project, at which the project can reasonably expect to be completed and below which it would not be advisable to attempt the project. A simple example of this is the funding required to construct a building--if the construction begins with too little financial support, a half-finished structure could be left out in the rain until it collapsed. The Board tries to make sure that there are projects with thresholds that range from low to high at any given time.
Once a project reaches its Impact Threshold, the donors are congratulated and the funds are disbursed to the appropriate project leader. The Board and the Project Leader then stay close in touch to make sure that the project moves forward as smoothly as possible, and donors receive regular updates. A lack of infrastructure in the areas where we work means that hiccups are not uncommon, but all projects undertaken thus far have been successful. See our Projects page for examples.
If a project were to stall far below its Impact Threshold, or the project was cancelled for any reason, the funds would be reallocated to a closely-related project at the discretion of the board, and donors would receive a clear explanation of what had occurred. This has never happened yet, but it could occur eventually.
Our Overhead
At present, the Kesho Fund is able to limit our overhead to the following sources:
We recognize that increasing our overhead for expenses such as paid staff and advertising could greatly increase our impact, and we look forward to growing to a size at which those expenses will make sense for us.
- Money collection: PayPal collects 2.2% + 30 US cents from each regular donation or purchase at our web site. Live fundraising events don't normally pay this fee.
- Money transfer: Bank fees for our transfers to Tanzania and ATM withdrawals there fluctuate between 0.5-2%.
- Web hosting: Our homepage costs about $20/month through Weebly.
- Email hosting: $6 per month to Google for our single hosted account: donations@keshofund.org.
- Stipends: We reimburse our Project Leaders a combined total of around $60-$100 each month for transportation fees and other minor expenses. Paying a Project Leader to compare prices for something like textbooks or concrete at several depots around town can take some time and effort, but in the end it keeps our projects as efficient as possible.
- Miscellaneous: We occasionally face unexpected fees, such as reregistration with the government in Tanzania.
- Total: Since our founding in 2018, we have been lucky to have a Board of Directors who personally donate funds to cover the organization's full overhead costs each year. This means that 100% of funds from donors go directly to projects. As we continue to grow over time, asking the Board to cover all costs may at some point not be possible. If the Board was not covering them, our total overhead costs would be a little under 10% of total money spent each annually.
We recognize that increasing our overhead for expenses such as paid staff and advertising could greatly increase our impact, and we look forward to growing to a size at which those expenses will make sense for us.
CONTACT US: donations@keshofund.org