Thank you @galenkp and we do indeed have a solid plan.
Self generation should be one of the survival plans for most charities.
Quality skills training can fill this gap to wit. In 2001 we started with nothing, no income and we all worked for free. Donations of goods streamed in and Papillon's name was established in trust, as we delivered the goods to needy families for free.
The following year we listened to the community's needs and I wrote an English language protect. I contacted a major university and they agreed to partner in the empowerment effort with us. Our mistake was to offer the courses for free, as class attendances was a great problem. So we established a fee, 10% of the of the market fee and it was such a big success, that after 5 years we had enough to buy the property that papillon was working in.
Papillon also ran other income generating projects such as PC basic training and any others that the community leaders required. 20% of each project was free for those that did not have the means to pay the small fees.
I mention this in the hope that others that are considering to start a non-profit should have a self generation plan in place. It must have 2 focusses namely; qualty, accredited community empowerment and minimum costs.
I could write books about our experiences, both good and bad, but suffice it to say that charity work is a calling (NOT A JOB) and not for the faint hearted.
Wow, that's really great, in fact on a small scale we medical students have done it with the support of small locals but it's not enough to carry it out freely, there always comes a time when it's out of our hands to be able to help. A book would be of great help coming from such a wide experience.
Oh I know that helpless feeling very well, as we often experience it. Even now, as we are not a rich charity and I am the only that gets a small stipend from it.
We do have some big and very well off charity's here and they pay all of their staff market relayed salaries. But we don't do that.
Maybe one day a book will appear.
Blessings and !WINE
I can imagine there have been many ups and downs along the way and I'm sure it's not an easy journey, although is rewarding as you have said previously. It must take constant effort right? I mean you'd always have some aspect to work on, to hone and develop,. It's a credit to you that you've been at it so long and so successfully.
Thank you Galen and one can only attribute that to learning the lessons in life. You know exactly what I am talking about, as you have also conquered all of your ups and downs. The issue is never to fear a problem and rather to regard it as a challenge. The solving of some problems require sacrifices, but in the end it always works out. I am talking here about your recent move in order to solve a bigger problem. As long as love and care are involved in the solving stage it will always work out.
Credit is not always an issue, as the satisfaction of success is so much better.