Donating differently to African nonprofits
Donating directly to an African nonprofit. It is possible as from 7th August 2020, through the website of iMPACT direct. Moreover, the nonprofits will set the goals on where to spend the money on, as well as share unedited and unfiltered updates at the website. This is how generously made donations become faster, cheaper and more effective.
And that is unusual, according to Inemarie Dekker, initiator of iMPACT direct: “As an individual donor from the Netherlands, I can only choose to donate through a Dutch NGO or a small private initiative.” Years have gone by with public debates discussing the value of development cooperation. In the meantime, those who still want to contribute to the country where one’s family origins or those who still want to contribute to a better or just world, keeps searching for the best way to do that.
That is why iMPACT direct wants to provide an alternative for both individual donors and African non-profits. “I wanted to donate directly to an African NGO,” Inemarie explains. “The idea evolved when a colleague of mine in Bolgatanga (Ghana) asked me to donate to his project to buy soap for families who couldn’t afford it. That was at the start of the COVID-pandemic. And the start of iMPACT direct.”
Donating directly to Africa
First of all, two experts from Ghana and Kenya each selected two great and reliable non-profits in their respective countries. These are: ACEC, Cerath Development Organisation (CDO), Affecto Foundation and International Peace Initiatives (IPI).
At the website of iMPACT direct, you can make a donation to a non-profit of your choice. Or you choose to split a donation in fourth so that every non-profit will receive part of the donation made. We will transfer 95% of all donations directly to the NGOs. The remaining five percent will be used to cover the costs.
In comparison, through western NGOs on average 45 to 60 percent goes to the intended beneficiaries. And from the budget of the Ministry of Development Cooperation, a meagre one percent will get to non-profits in developing countries!
African non-profits will set the goals
Once donations are transferred, the four organisations decide to which goals they spend the money on. For instance, in Ghana Cerath promotes energy-saving stoves, those female fishmongers use to smoke fish. It prevents post-harvest losses, increases food security, cause less damage to the climate and improves the income of the fishmongers.
And in Kenya, IPI started as a project to support HIV-positive women and to take care of their children, in the sad event they passed away, because of the disease. Currently, the organisations have grown into one with multiple initiatives, whereby people step by step find their own solutions. Or like founder and director Dr Karambu says: ‘We have become the hope we were looking for!’
At iMPACT direct we believe that setting the goals on-site, makes the outcome of a donation more effective. The non-profits on the spot obviously know better what the needs are. Or as one of the respondents in our first pre-research stressed: “Africans know better what is good for them.” And although it is a widely shared idea within the development sector, in practice, it is hardly done.
Unedited and unfiltered updates
Finally, the four non-profits present themselves at iMPACT direct’s website and publish updates and reports at the site. These updates will be unedited and unfiltered.
For now, four non-profits in Ghana and Kenya join this very first campaign of iMPACT direct, which runs from 7 August up to 17 October. We hope to raise at least €40,000 across Europe. At 18 October we transfer 95% of all donations — in bulk in order to save on costs — to the four nonprofits.
iMPACT direct was built without a budget and with only voluntary force. We want to learn from our first campaign, so we can adapt and serve even more donors and more nonprofits in more African countries.
Want to donate yourself? It is simply done by pushing the donation button at www.impactdirect.eu .
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This press release was initially published at 7 August 2020.
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About iMPACT direct
iMPACT direct wants to provide an alternative for both donors and African non-profits. We help donors and African NGOs to directly find each other — and in that way we support great African-led projects! And as we grow, we grow our contribution to a strengthened civil society in Africa, starting with Ghana and Kenya and to more equal collaboration in the development sector.
About Inemarie Dekker
Inemarie has years of experience working on social solutions, together with African experts in Ghana, Uganda and Zimbabwe, but mostly from the Netherlands. As a consultant she worked for several development aid organisations. In those years she became convinced that systemic change is needed to realise equal collaboration between Europe and Africa. Working on iMPACT direct means contributing to that.
About Richard Yeboah
Richard is director of a consultancy agency in Ghana. Besides, he founded multiple companies with a social goal and he supports starting entrepreneurs. Before, he was working from Amsterdam, and since the last years from Accra.
About Isaac Waithaka
Isaac is a social entrepreneur in Kenya. He farms his own land, and at the same time is owner of several companies. In his work he wants to improve lives of Kenyans who are less well-off.
(See website for longer bios).
