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How is my money spent? Download the "How is my money spent" PDF here Download the "Responsible Travel" PDF here Responsible Travel Introduction African Impact is dedicated to the distribution of manpower and resources to worthy programmes that would otherwise go unnoticed or unassisted. The payment you make is also necessary to support you whilst you are working on the project. Without this, volunteers would actually become a financial burden on the programme that they wish to support. Paying to volunteer is becoming increasingly common, as more people from all over the world are realizing that it is an effective way of donating your time and money to charities and small organizations overseas which need your support. It gives you, the volunteer a chance to live and work in a totally new environment, to learn a new language, new skills, meet like-minded people and experience a true cultural immersion. At the same time provides such organizations with the chance to survive well into the future. African Impact realizes that is important for you to know where your money is going, and how it is going to be spent. It is hard to give you an exact breakdown of where your money goes, as amounts vary vastly between projects. We will try and give you a general idea on how the money is broken down. It is important to remember that without African Impact, many of our project partners would be struggling to survive. The majority of projects that we support and work with do not have the skills or the resources to promote themselves within the global market place. Through African Impact they are able to be seen by the wider world, to be recognized as valuable projects and able to be supported by a steady stream of hard working volunteers at no cost to them. Lastly, as an organisation, we also need to continue to grow our organisation with a conscience so that we can be a driving force for positive social, environmental and economic development in Africa. “By far the most significant 6 weeks of my life. What a great feeling, to wake up each day excited to go to work and excited for the myriad of unpredictable events that seem to define life in Africa. The combination of a structured environment with lots of room for individual thinking and independence is perfect. I admire the goals of the project, especially the emphasis on teaching the community how to improve rather than simply handing out charity. This experience has meant more to me than I could have ever imagined – thank you!” Samantha Lavin, Age 23, USA. St Lucia Pre-School and Community Projects, South Africa, 2008. What is African Impact? We think each volunteer should have a clear understanding of African Impact and its relationship with its partners and donors. Therefore we have put forward some points to summarize African Impact African Impact is…….. A responsible and ethical travel and voluntourism company In a position to contribute to various community and conservation projects in Africa Able to carefully choose partnerships across Africa, to which they will facilitate receipt of funds and implement sustainable development initiatives Proud to have been instrumental in the establishment of The Happy Africa Foundation and continues to be one of the Foundations major supporters. Donations received from private donors and African Impact are managed and distributed on our behalf by The Happy Africa Foundation Accountable to The Happy Africa Foundation in terms of distributions of funds received from The Happy Africa Foundation Not a charity and therefore not beholden to the rules and regulations of the charities commission, nor do we have to rely on donations to survive Not legally liable to produce details of income and expenditure Able to represent project partners and advertise their needs on their behalf A company that is able to ensure communities receive volunteers at no cost to them as each volunteer is self-funded in that the project fee will cover the cost of the volunteer on the ground, as well as provide surplus funds for the projects and organization to continue to operate. “I think the program is amazing. After this experience, I think I have more of an idea what it would be like to live in Africa permanently and how the lives of the adults and children here could be improved. I think from this volunteer experience I have also learned how an organization should interact with the community it is helping. I admire the way African Impact has a constant and reliable presence in the day-today operations of the township, especially as other organizations just seem to throw money at the school, etc. in a rash and haphazard way. I am so glad I did this project. It was an amazing experience!” Katy Terrell, Age 19, USA. Cape Town Teaching and Community Project, 2008. African Impact Expenses In order to give you a better understanding of why some of your money remains with African Impact, we have listed some of the costs that the company has to manage before you get into the field and onto your project Staff Wages: currently African Impact has 8 staff in Head Office and 18 field staff who are in management positions. In addition to this African Impact hires competent drivers, translators, guides, cooks and cleaners at each project base. Professional Consultants: at times we are asked by a project to recruit professional staff to enhance the projects success, we endeavor to employ local experts in the relevant fields to consult. Office Rental: African Impact rents office space in Harare, Livingstone, Nairobi and Cape Town. Volunteer Accommodation Rental: the majority of our volunteer accommodation is rented within the town/city nearest to the projects we support Communications: we conduct informal telephone interviews with our applicant volunteers. We also need to communicate to our project managers on the ground to ensure our projects are being correctly operated and managed. Stationary and general office equipment African Impact website (this requires continuous maintenance and updating) we have invested a lot of time and money into this site and pride ourselves in being able to offer a significant amount of information that is readily available over the internet. Travel shows and GAP year fairs: selected African Impact personnel attend travel shows locally and abroad. Promotional travel and advertising: African Impact marketing personnel travel to visit agents and schools to promote our company and the projects we support. Project Development: in order to ensure that we are offering the best quality volunteer experiences, as well as giving as much as we can to the projects themselves, we invest time and money into project development. Staff site visits: all staff visit projects at least twice a year to ensure that they are running smoothly; as well as to ensure that our sales staff have in-depth knowledge of the projects they represent and have the confidence to inform our incoming and enquiring volunteers. Transport for project staff and volunteers: each project is supplied with sufficient vehicles to transport volunteers and project staff to and from projects and volunteer bases Training: some of our projects call for staff with certain skills and expertise, and in these circumstances we offer full training. Charitable Trust: African Impact acts as a delivery service provider for The Happy Africa Foundation in that all donations received are distributed to communities and conservation projects on the ground at no cost to the charity itself. African Impact staff work on a voluntary basis for The Happy Africa Foundation to make sure that funds are delivered appropriately and reporting systems are in place to ensure transparency. Project Costs Breakdown We advise that you check with the project you are placed with as the following may vary slightly between projects. Our project placements will include: All airport transfers from the nearest airport upon your arrival and departure Orientation and training All daily transfers to and from your projects during your stay Full board and lodging which includes 3 meals a day at our volunteer house Weekly laundry service during your stay 24 hour assistance and support by various African Impact staff and project managers. How do the finances work with projects? African Impact will always ask the project what they need. This is crucial, as many other organizations tell projects how much they will give them and leave them no choice. It is at the core of African Impact’s mission to be able to provide projects with both volunteers and funding. African Impact is simply the facilitator. The number of African-based community support initiatives that could accommodate, transport, feed and support volunteers in the field without external funding are few and far between. The orphanage that we support in Livingstone, for example could not be expected to support 10 volunteers whose physical assistance and care they need, but whose food and accommodation bill they could never meet. Likewise with our conservation projects, the expansion of enclosures, the feeding of the lions, the veterinary drugs and staff salaries of researchers and vets would not be able to happen without the monetary support we receive. Volunteers can, once they are on site, spend their extra money on socializing, extra travel and souvenirs; the rest is taken care of. They also know that the work they are undertaking is changing the lives of the children and their families. They can also take heart that the substantial financial help from African Impact, generated from their volunteer fees, keeps these projects existing throughout the year and will keep continuing for years to come. Our Responsible Travel Policy & Code of Good Practice It is important to realize that by adopting and applying a Responsible Travel Policy and a Code of Good Practice to all our operations not only acts as a guideline for our organization, but will allow individual donors to further understand our payment structure. African Impact endeavors to uphold a code of good practice in all its operations to ensure sustainable development and community involvement. Our Responsible Travel Policy We will design and operate our voluntourism opportunities in a way that gives the highest degree of long-term economic benefit to the host communities, whilst also maintaining and/or improving the environment We aim to use local suppliers wherever possible should we be in need of additional partners to facilitate any of our itineraries We aim to develop long-term relationships with our partners so that the economic benefit is ongoing We aim to increase the skills of our local staff through guides training, literacy programs and HIV education We aim to ensure that our type and scale of projects are appropriate to local conditions and do not overload local infrastructure We will take into consideration economic, environmental and cultural issues when looking at new projects. These negotiations are overseen by our sustainable development team We aim to minimize water and atmospheric pollution from any specific tourism development we use We aim to achieve zero litter policies everywhere We aim to work closely with all relevant local bodies and authorities to help deliver a long-term benefit for the host community Where possible we will encourage local involvement We will provide regular and ongoing training in the principles and practices of responsible tourism, both to our office staff and those employed directly or indirectly. We will encourage and train any agents and staff to gain an insight into the culture and way of life of our clients. We will attempt to integrate the ethos of responsible tourism throughout our organization. We will run our head office in a responsible manner by using fair-trade products, monitoring, and where possible reducing, our energy usage, as well as recycling Code of Good Practice Having a long-term relationship with the host community. Program outputs must be determined by and with the community, for example, via a needs analysis, collective consultative meeting. Having a shared vision with the community/project on the role played by volunteers. Volunteer’s assistance must be monitored and balanced at all times. Volunteers' skills/interests/hobbies must be matched to the program needs. Volunteers must be provided with a written Task Description outlining project duration, resources, supervision, reporting structures and final objectives/ measurable outcomes. Volunteers should transfer skills to the community. Volunteers should be orientated effectively prior to arrival and on the program. Volunteers should be self-funding so as not to burden the host community. Volunteers should be effectively managed on the ground by program coordinators, to ensure community and volunteer gets value from placement. Volunteers should abide by a written code of conduct. Volunteer programs must carry the appropriate permits, licenses and insurances. African Impact must adhere to basic legal requirements of their specific sector of the industry and laws of country of operation. Volunteer programs must have a structure/system for monitoring feedback and de-briefings with the volunteer. Volunteers should be advised what form of post volunteering support the program can offer with regards to continued communications, fundraising, awareness issues. Volunteer programs must have a process for reporting back to the community that allows for community participation. Sustainable Development It is of the utmost importance to African Impact to ensure that our projects are secure and funded well into the future. We don’t believe in supporting programs for the short-term. We believe in firm and long term relationships with the communities we support. Their input and involvement is invaluable to the sustainability of these projects and partnerships. African Impact has a reporting system in place whereby developmental progresses as well as pitfalls are communicated regularly from Project Managers to Head Office. This ensures that policies, correct lines of communication and guidelines are adhered to at all times throughout our organization and between project partnerships. Conclusion We hope this document has answered all your queries about finance and explained the real benefit of your up and coming placement with us. We are proud to be able to support and represent our project partners – we look forward to having you on the project! Frequently Asked Questions about Finances Why do you spend my money on sending staff on visits to the projects? Staff site visits are one of the most important aspects of African Impact’s operational procedures. Research has proven that, if staff have visited a site, volunteers are better informed prior to departure, and are given a more realistic view of life on the project and therefore have a better time. Giving staff the opportunity to see what life on a project is like is crucial to ensure that they remain enthusiastic and that they can demonstrate the up-to-date reality to potential volunteers. The visits also keep our relationship with our field staff very much alive and helps to ensure that not only are the volunteers getting a good service, but also that what they are doing for the good of the project is effective. Why do you charge money for me to do something I could have just gone and done myself? We are not stopping adventurous people from searching for volunteer projects on their own. They DO exist. However, we are trying to do the following: 1. Ensure that volunteers are supporting valuable and worthwhile projects 2. Ensure that volunteers are not simply supporting projects which have enough funding already to build their own websites and do their own advertising 3. Give volunteers peace of mind with the knowledge that African Impact has assessed, visited and supports the project they are joining 4. Provide volunteers with a comprehensive pre-departure service and a 24-hour support system while in the field and a follow up on their return. Why is African Impact not a charity? The advantage of not having charity status is that we are not beholden to the rules and regulations of the charities commission, or do we have to rely on donations to survive. Aspects of our Responsible Travel Policies have been fundamental to the success of our project partners. Although African Impact itself is not a charity, we do support a Charitable Trust. The Happy Africa Foundation provides additional support to organizations and individuals recognized by African Impact as being worthy of support. The mission of The Happy Africa Foundation is to empower the African people through the support of community and conservation based initiatives that operate at grass roots level. Please see www.happyafricafoundation.org for more information. Can I fundraise? Yes, with prior planning and hard work you can raise all the money for your expedition or project. African Impact has prepared a fundraising guide, which is a great source of ideas and advice on how and where to get the money! Please let us know if you would like us to send you a copy of this fundraising guide. Once you have secured your placement with us we will be able to supply you with a supporting cover letter which states you are due to join us. “My true feelings are that I am still in awe of what I have experienced over the last two weeks and it wont hit me until I am home how amazing and special this experience has been. I have learnt a lot and now have a hunger to learn and do more. I want to help in anyway I can to promote what the project is achieving.” Claire Mann, age 41, UK. Kenya Medical and Community Project, 2008. “The whole experience was absolutely incredible. It was uplifting, rewarding, challenging, grounding, heart-breaking and soul- destroying in equal measure. To see the absolute joy on the faces of the children when we arrived to spend time with them, or their excitement at being given some new clothes, a piece of chocolate cake or the opportunity to do something creative, was incredible. This is why I WILL do it again and why I would encourage anyone who is thinking about doing this sort of thing to stop thinking about it, and go and do it.” Stuart Neath, UK. Mozambique Pre-School and Orphan Care Project, 2007. 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