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Questions to ask charities

Good organisations welcome these. They've usually asked themselves the same things already. Use this list on Karmanaut one day, or on any charity asking for your money today.

The need

  • Who asked for this?Did the community request it, or did someone decide on their behalf?
  • How many people will it help, and how did you count them?"Thousands" isn't a number. A headcount, a census or a school roll is.
  • What do people do today without it?And is someone else already working on this in the same place?
  • Can people actually reach it?Are the students able to get to the school? Is there a road, and does it survive the wet season?

Who's behind it

  • Who, by name, is running this project?What have they delivered before? Can we speak to anyone who worked with them?
  • Are you a registered organisation, and where?Can you share the registration number, so we can look it up ourselves?
  • Are there enough qualified people in that region?Teachers, nurses, engineers. Who are they, and are they signed up yet?
  • What's the local partner's role?Are local people in charge of decisions, or only there for the photographs?

Permits and land

  • Do you have building permits?Issued, or merely applied for? From which authority?
  • Who owns the land?Is there a title or a long lease? Could anyone dispute it?
  • Has local government agreed to its part?If they've promised salaries, power or a road, is that in writing?

The money

  • Can we see an itemised budget?A real one, with quotes. Round numbers are a sign that someone's guessing.
  • How much reaches the project, and how much goes on overheads?Some overhead is healthy. Not being able to say how much isn't.
  • Who controls the bank account?How many people have to sign off a payment?
  • What gets cut if you raise less than the goal?What if costs rise by 30%?

When things go wrong

  • What happens if the building contractor bails halfway?Is there a retention, a second contractor, or a plan for finishing the work?
  • Do you have building completion insurance provisions?And is the site itself insured against fire, flood and theft?
  • What's the most likely reason this fails?An honest team has an answer right away. "Nothing" is the wrong answer.
  • Has anything like this failed for you before?What did you change as a result?

After the ribbon-cutting

  • Who pays the running costs in year five?Salaries, repairs, electricity. Buildings are cheap compared with keeping them going.
  • Who owns and maintains it when you leave?Is there a named person or body, and have they agreed?
  • How will you know if it's working?Which numbers will you report, and how often?

Proof

  • Can you show us something you've finished?With dates and a location we can check on a map.
  • Who outside your organisation can vouch for you?A local official, a past funder, an auditor.
  • Will you publish your progress, including the bad news?Ask them to commit to dated photos, receipts and milestones.

Extra questions by type of project

Schools

What's the plan for curriculum and books? Will girls attend at the same rate as boys, and what about safe toilets? Who pays the fees, if any?

Clinics and hospitals

Where do medicines come from, and how are they kept cold? Is the clinic licensed? Where do you send a patient you can't treat?

Water

Has the water been tested? Who has the spare parts, and who is trained to fit them? How deep is the water table in a dry year?

Emergency relief

Time matters, so ask fewer questions. Are you on the ground already? Are you coordinating with local authorities? What exactly does this next delivery contain?

Warning signs and good signs

Be careful if

  • Questions get ignored, deleted or treated as an attack
  • Answers are all feeling and no facts
  • You're told it's urgent, but not why
  • Nobody can name a single person in charge
  • The budget is round numbers
  • The video cost more than the plan did

Take heart if

  • They answer fast, and show their working
  • They say "we don't know yet, here's how we'll find out"
  • They tell you what went wrong last time
  • Local people are named in decision-making roles
  • They've planned for running costs, not only for the build
  • They encourage you to check up on them

Be polite about it. Asking hard questions isn't rude, but the person answering may be on a slow connection, working in a second language, and doing their best. Judge the substance, not the polish.

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