Question 1

How many children does African Children Haven serve?

In 2016, our projects benefitted 700 children. This includes kids who received school lunches, scholarship students and girls who were kept safe from genital cutting and childhood marriage.

Question 2

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What’s the focus of your work?

Our mission is to help African children lead healthier, more productive lives. To achieve that goal we provide funding for projects that support orphans and girls, ensure that kids receive an education and make sure that they’re well cared for and secure.

Question 3

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How else do you help?

Helping children is the main thrust of our work, but we also help the organizations we work with to operate more efficiently. This means working with them to get their message out to donors, helping them to raise money and manage their funds more efficiently.

Question 4

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In which countries do you work?

We currently work in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania, but in the past we also provided support to a small number of projects in Malawi and Uganda.

Question 5

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How do you determine which projects to support?

We use several criteria. Firstly, we focus on projects that are community-based and are run by local people. We also try to select projects that are small and are unlikely to receive support from large international donors. The most important criteria, however, is that the project is closely associated with a colleague or friend, someone we know who will work with the project on the ground as a volunteer and supervise the use of our funds.

Question 6

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Why do you support teachers?

Our mission is to support children, but we’ve found that it’s just as important to support their teachers. The schools that we help finance are desperately poor, but provide vital services to their pupils that are often unavailable in local communities. At the heart of their work are teachers, hard-working folks who sacrifice much to serve their students. What we do by paying salaries and providing health care is inject a bit of stability and help make sure that good teachers stay in their classrooms and do what they do best – teach students.

Question 7

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Who supervises your projects?

We engage local volunteers, people who are known to us and are not employed by the projects, to supervise activities on the ground and ensure that our funds are well spent. Each of these individuals have first-hand knowledge of the project and live nearby to provide oversight.

Question 8

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How do you monitor a project?

The projects are required to submit periodic reports and provide statements that our funds were used for the purpose they were intended. In addition, our local volunteers work directly with the projects and are there to provide assistance and oversight.

Question 9

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Do you conduct an annual audit?

Yes.

Question 10

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Do you file a Form 990 with the IRS?

Yes.

Question 11

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What is your annual budget?

Our budget in 2016 was $125,000.

Question 12

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What percentage of your funds go to finance programs for kids?

90 cents out of every dollar we receive goes directly to projects that help children.

Question 13

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Is African Childrens Haven a registered non-profit?

Yes. Click here for a copy of our IRS 501 C3 designation letter

Question 14

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Who is your largest donor?

Historically, our largest source of funding has been Aid for Africa, a non-profit associated with the CFC, the Coordinated Federal Campaign of US government employees. Please consult our Form 990 for details about our funding.

Question 15

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Can I give anonymously?

Yes.

Question 16

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How do you select your board?

Board members are selected for their expertise and for their commitment to African children. There are no formal requirements for board membership, but we try to maintain gender balance and attract individuals who bring knowledge to the board in different areas.