For fiscal year 2018, we are budgeting 80% of our expenditures to be used for program expenses. The remaining 20% will be split between administrative/management expenses and for fundraising expenses.

Administrative/management expenses are used to ensure that we are effective in managing the funds entrusted to us, and include the following types of expenses: accounting personnel, leadership time, professional development of staff, external auditors, legal counsel, government registration expenses (we have to register in every state in the Union), credit card fees for processing donations, bank fees, database maintenance and office expenses.

Fundraising expenses generate the income needed to do the work that we set out to do. These include the cost of direct mail appeals and communication, marketing projects, donor relations personnel, and email communication systems. Last year, every dollar invested into Lifewater fundraising efforts resulted in $10 of donation for the organization. This ratio is best in class.

While we understand that sentiment, this simply is not what Lifewater does. The good news is that there are organizations that give directly to the world’s most economically disadvantaged. Organizations like GiveDirectly and others simply take your donation and pass it to people in need. Some experts believe that this works very well, though the information is early and not wholly conclusive.

Other experts, however, believe that providing safe water to the world’s rural poor is the most cost-effective way to alleviate poverty. That is what we do! We have professional staff that receive fair and reasonable wages for their work. Treating staff at all levels well is critical to reduce burnout and increase retention. Take a moment to meet our team and see who is planning, monitoring, evaluating to ensure that your investment will make a lasting difference.

$0. All members of Lifewater International’s Board of Directors serve voluntarily, and travel to meetings at their own expense, including lodging. They believe in our mission so much that they are willing to invest their own time, talent, and treasure to help serve more people, more effectively.

We spend less than 1% of our total budget on printing. We are able to do this because of strategic corporate partnerships that we have with printing and paper vendors who donate a significant portion of their goods and services to Lifewater in an effort to keep our costs down.

Furthermore, we believe that we have the tremendous responsibility to represent the vulnerable children and families that we serve in a positive and dignifying manner. This takes intentionality on our part, from the design of materials, the messaging we share, and even the paper that we use to tell their story in a compelling and truthful manner. If your company is interested in helping us decrease our overhead expenses by donating goods or services to Lifewater, please contact us.