happy to see all these votes for such a wonderful organization. makes me happy to be a sponsor.
couldnt help but to get into the discussion. i'd love to clarify and tell you why i sponsor multiple children...the "meat and potatoes" I think that patrick is referring to, or rather the monitor and evaluation of this organization's programs, can be seen right on the first page at the very bottom. click on charity navigator link to see a 4/4 star rating--the highest possible. other organizations that take pride and are 4/4 include the clinton foundation and save the children. for the child foundation i think this is greatly due to the organization's ability to keep its administrative and management costs under 10%...i think the exact number is 8.5%. ask around, that is an incredible number for what they do. the only organizations i know that have lower numbers are those that have been in the sector for twice as long and have gained many years of accountability--something CF is doing well for its age. off the top of my head, i know IRC is around 4-6%--another great organization. you can get these numbers for CF by clicking on their guide star report at the bottom of the same page. this provides a level of transparency that the best nonprofits love to share because they know they do great work.
in many ways, CF is a hidden gem in the sector for what it does--educate children in underdeveloped areas. not sure how anyone can be uncomfortable with that. is it because of the region that CF works in? if so, i think its particularly these regions that must be targeted now. keeping kids off the streets in these areas will allow them to focus on helping themselves down the road, rather than rely on aid. providing primary education is one of the most efficient ways of helping such communities. helping educate young girls, to ultimately gain a level of womens empowerment, is one of the greatest ways of building opportunities for community development [just ask mohammad yunus and the grameen bank org], greater gender equality, better public health, etc. if child foundation is portraying children as charity cases, then outreach programs and marketing by kiva.org, world vision, unicef are also disrespectful, and so is the majority of ngo's/npo's focused in underdeveloped communities.
in this case, both donors and those receiving the donations are on the same page--to educate the children. the only issue more important than that [under UN millennium goals] is ending poverty, but interestingly enough, they fall hand in hand and CF is doing work for that too.
in regards to food, there are many factors that are involved and too many quick decisions are being made on wall none the less. most of my development work comes from working in one of the largest townships in the world--khayelitsha--and when you begin to break down the supply chain, and how resource intensive that process is, it really doesnt matter what the content/food of the shipment is. tuna or grains, the most important task in giving food is to make sure the food goes to the people in need and not side tracked to soldiers, etc. [look up north korea's famine] in this case, it is not an issue because CF does grass roots level work and has connections with schools, one of the safest distributors.
CF, best of luck. i hope you get a "new face"/new website in this manner. for not putting donations towards fixing up the site is a noble move, and I recognize that. I hope others will help and vote for your cause. best of luck.
Peter
happy to see all these votes for such a wonderful organization. makes me happy to be a sponsor.
couldnt help but to get into the discussion. i'd love to clarify and tell you why i sponsor multiple children...the "meat and potatoes" I think that patrick is referring to, or rather the monitor and evaluation of this organization's programs, can be seen right on the first page at the very bottom. click on charity navigator link to see a 4/4 star rating--the highest possible. other organizations that take pride and are 4/4 include the clinton foundation and save the children. for the child foundation i think this is greatly due to the organization's ability to keep its administrative and management costs under 10%...i think the exact number is 8.5%. ask around, that is an incredible number for what they do. the only organizations i know that have lower numbers are those that have been in the sector for twice as long and have gained many years of accountability--something CF is doing well for its age. off the top of my head, i know IRC is around 4-6%--another great organization. you can get these numbers for CF by clicking on their guide star report at the bottom of the same page. this provides a level of transparency that the best nonprofits love to share because they know they do great work.
in many ways, CF is a hidden gem in the sector for what it does--educate children in underdeveloped areas. not sure how anyone can be uncomfortable with that. is it because of the region that CF works in? if so, i think its particularly these regions that must be targeted now. keeping kids off the streets in these areas will allow them to focus on helping themselves down the road, rather than rely on aid. providing primary education is one of the most efficient ways of helping such communities. helping educate young girls, to ultimately gain a level of womens empowerment, is one of the greatest ways of building opportunities for community development [just ask mohammad yunus and the grameen bank org], greater gender equality, better public health, etc. if child foundation is portraying children as charity cases, then outreach programs and marketing by kiva.org, world vision, unicef are also disrespectful, and so is the majority of ngo's/npo's focused in underdeveloped communities.
in this case, both donors and those receiving the donations are on the same page--to educate the children. the only issue more important than that [under UN millennium goals] is ending poverty, but interestingly enough, they fall hand in hand and CF is doing work for that too.
in regards to food, there are many factors that are involved and too many quick decisions are being made on wall none the less. most of my development work comes from working in one of the largest townships in the world--khayelitsha--and when you begin to break down the supply chain, and how resource intensive that process is, it really doesnt matter what the content/food of the shipment is. tuna or grains, the most important task in giving food is to make sure the food goes to the people in need and not side tracked to soldiers, etc. [look up north korea's famine] in this case, it is not an issue because CF does grass roots level work and has connections with schools, one of the safest distributors.
CF, best of luck. i hope you get a "new face"/new website in this manner. for not putting donations towards fixing up the site is a noble move, and I recognize that. I hope others will help and vote for your cause. best of luck.