KAS has a fund of wonderful ‘army’ of knitters/crocheters/weavers who consistently respond to the monthly challenges and provide an incredible variety of squares,hats and goodies for the parentless children of South Africa. As a charity, we are rich in good hearted contributors who keep the Forum vibrant and fun – KAS members are a tremendous asset for any organization, and, without doubt, we are pioneering a process for others to follow.
However, we are extremely cash poor! Sandy and the family have run the organization on an absolute shoe-string budget and have stretched monetary donations as far as possible. You will agree that they and their contributions have made the Website and Forum extremely professional, and, it has become a great source of inspiration for many of us. Indeed, it has generated a patchwork of friendship across the globe like no other.
Sandy has only ever been able to take limited expenses to cover materials, web costs etc., and the majority of funds are used in the South African end of the operation. In early December Sandy made a broad-based appeal focusing on the long term aspirations of KAS.
Although Sandy mentioned Lindiwe and Wandile who have worked with passion and commitment for KAS since its inception. Ronda has asked us to appeal for additional support so a bonus can be provided for Lindiwe and Wandile. These two ladies have proved to be great assets who work ceaselessly on our behalf for a mere pittance – it is the equivalent of $20 which is provided for the day of blanket opening once a week. The sum is a token based purely on what KAS can afford.
The rest of the week Lindiwe and Wandile organize distributions and sewing groups without any kind of payment. Whilst they can eat, there is nothing spare for any form of comfort.
I think you’ll agree that they have earned our respect (love in its working clothes!) and deserve our support in the reward & recognition department!
Members can either donate a regular monthly sum through the homepage on the website. If, unsure that you can make such a commitment then one-off donations are also gratefully accepted! Being self-employed I’m never sure what I have spare at the end of the month so I try to make a regular payment, but the amount fluctuates according the quantity of brown envelopes with windows that arrive………
To donate, click on K-A-S on the Forum menu bar which takes you to the website front page. Scroll down and you find the Donate Icon. It is possible to use VISA, Mastercard etc direct, but once set-up, a PayPal Account is very useful as you don’t have to keep entering details. At the moment PayPal only takes amounts in US dollars, so before you enter the sum it is a good idea to check the current rate of exchange. Once you have decided on a figure you can afford and it is accepted, PayPal converts it to the currency of your own country. A thank-you receipt can be downloaded from Sandy, and later, PayPal will e-mail a confirmation note with the details.
Long term, we will be sharing the needs of the organization so that it can grow and develop. However, right now our focus is on providing extra monetary support for Lindiwe and Wandile, as without their consistent, infectious and tireless support KAS South Africa would not function nearly so well. They are so utterly committed to KAS.
This report is the first feature on KAS Finance & Funding. We’ll be reporting regularly on this subject so that members can see what is being achieved and what is needed to keep expanding operations. Ideally, it would be really lovely if we could achieve a level of donations that would enable Sandy to be paid a small stipend so that she can spend more time at the helm of KAS and steer us towards achieving our aims and goals.
Replies
I had an idea, and I wonder if it would be practical... Could we have some kind of 'shopping list' of things that KASCare needs to purchase or pay for over the next few months, structured in a way where individuals on the forum or elsewhere could 'buy' them by donating the required amount? Something like:
Shopping list for the next 3 months:
Car fuel for 5 blanket distributions: $15 (3 required)
Package opening salary for Lindiwe and Wandile: $30 (14 required)
Web site and forum hosting: $90 (1 required)
and so on and so forth...
Log into the Paypal home page using your email address, then go to "My Account", then "Profile". Under the "Financial Information" heading there's a link called "My Pre-approved Payments". If you click on that, it should list all of your automatic payments, along with the date they are set to expire.
I'm quite looking forward to reading these! Much like the wish lists, I find it's both challenging and motivating to see the end goals of KAS broken down into small, achievable chunks. Then it's extra exciting to see those chunks succeed!
Getting a sense of what money to achieve particular goals helps break down that terrifyingly big "KAS needs money" thought into small, achievable chunks. It's a bit like the charity gift cards that World Vision and Oxfam sell. You get a much greater sense of achievement to think that you have purchased, say, a goat for a family, than you do from just giving money towards a vague end goal.
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