Looking to start an overseas charity

October 4, 2008 5:33 PM

My friend is looking to begin a charity benefiting children in Africa. We live in the U.S. And we have no idea what we're doing. Any tips from someone who would know how to begin?

A friend of mine has been talking about starting a charity that would provide new/used running shoes to underprivileged children (and probably adults as well) in a yet-to-be-named African nation.

I told him I want to help him but I think we'd be in way over our heads to try and take this overseas. The plan, in greater detail:

We're both college students, and he (the friend) wants to start collecting running shoes from students and businesses around town. That part we have a pretty solid plan for, it's everything that comes after that has us confused. How does one go about taking these shoes and getting them to the recipients? For now let's just say we're looking at Kenya--should we get in touch with some schools, or maybe a pre-existing charity group that could help us get in contact with some people over there? Are there any programs through the UN that we should look at?

What about the overwhelming legal issues?

He wants to operate as an independent entity which would rule out getting involved with any other similar groups.

Is this feasible?

posted by pandemic to society & culture (7 comments total)

This wikiHow might give you a few insights into starting the charity up. From my personal experience in a different country, there sure is a lot of legal stuff and paper work that you need to get right, so you might want to consider a lawyer, depending on US requirements and your own expertise.

The real challange sounds like it will be getting the shoes over there and finding a way to distribute them properly. Maybe contacting charities that have a similar line of work and trying to gather some information from them? I'm not sure how you'd distribute the shoes independently in an African nation, but contacting schools directly isn't a bad idea. But you still need to get the shoes over there, to the school somehow, and distributed properly once there. If you don't establish someone in the African nation of your choice to work for you and coordinate this, I'm not sure if it could be done unless you personally deliver the shoes. Either way you're going to need some money/capital.

Sure sounds like a lot of work, but very worthwhile.
posted by atmosphere at 6:16 PM on October 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Often when people ask "how do I start this NGO" the answer is -- instead, help an existing NGO if you want to make things easier on yourself.

Especially now-a-days, as people are often skeptical about charitable donations. They have good reason to -- and here is something to think about -- how are you going to ENSURE that these shoes get to their proper new owners? If you're not on the ground, you really don't. This happens at all levels. I was in a bazaar in Armenia a month ago and saw a huge pile of Chaco brand sandals for sale that had "for charitable donation" printed on the inside and the sole. I'd expect that Chaco would have tried to have some oversight, but nope.... and don't even ask me how many orphanages and children's charities I know of that turn around and sell their donated goods. I also worked at a sporting goods company for a number of years and the process of donating massive amounts of the coats, snowpants, and sneakers was actually quite a pain. The company needed a lot of paperwork done to show the government what they did with the donations (overstock, samples, etc.) and account for the lost revenue. In the end, it wasn't cost-effective to donate the outerwear or shoes to domestic or international charities. People were bummed out, but the company having to pay a lot of money to donate just didn't make sense. My significant other works at a different outerwear company currently, one that is a lot more philanthropic, but they found the same thing - donation costs too much.

But, with that being said, here are some questions you need to figure out:

In-country:
- How are you going to ensure that the shoes get to people that really need them?
- How are you going to get the shoes to the location? Ocean or air freight? What about once you're going beyond the capitol city? This could be a huge cost that you're not considering. Also, tariffs for shoes are nuts! (For example, to bring shoes without laces into the U.S. is more expensive than shoes with laces.)
- Do people in the city/country/region actually need/want the shoes?
- Are you going to register as a NGO in-country? What is the cost to do this?

In U.S.:
- Are you going to allow people to write off these donations?
- Are you taking away donations from another local charity that does have a distribution chain and demonstrated need? (i.e. is the local Boys and Girls' Club in major need of sneakers too?)
- Are you going to register as a non-profit in the U.S.? Do you have the funds to do this?
- Do you plan to do this as full-time work?

Sorry to be a downer, but maybe looking into something small that you could do (finding 1 or 2 Peace Corps volunteers that can distribute a small number of shoes for you) would be a better use of your time.
posted by k8t at 6:32 PM on October 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

This might work well if your friend had:

A) A previously un-tapped source of free running shoes which you could 're-purpose' by sending them to Africa.

or

B) A known African school/orphanage/charity which has specifically asked you to send them old shoes.

Without one of those elements, his venture could at best, siphon donors and attention from better-planned aid programs; at worst, have negative effects on the economy of the place you're trying to help.

We live in the U.S. And we have no idea what we're doing.

You seem to have an inkling that this could be a problem; it may be a bigger problem than you realise. Developing countries are complex, and their problems are multi-layered. There's a tendency in the developed world to think that "doing something" is better than "doing nothing". I'm sorry to tell you this, but intervening in a country you admit you know nothing about can actually do more harm than good.

Good charities base their programs around expressed needs and form a deep understanding of the local culture. They support the development of local economies and encourage local people to get involved and determine the direction of the program.

Organising small shipments of physical goods (especially old stuff you don't actually want) is a really good way to feel warm and fuzzy about helping the poor. It's not necessarily the best way to help the poor. You could destroy the market for locally made shoes, for example.

And of course, every time a new charity is incorporated, (especially one which duplicates work already being done), a new set of startup and administration costs sucks more money out of the wider donor pool.

My advice: talk to people who do aid work. Talk to local immigrant communities. Talk to organisations already working in the field. Learn from their experience and know that being a college student with a good heart and a desire to help does not make you an expert in other people's needs.

If your friend is adamant about helping Africa with shoes, keep talking to people until you have found a specific school/orphanage/charity in Africa which is asking for shoes. Seriously: let them decide what they need, then offer it wholeheartedly. Sorry to be such a killjoy.
posted by [ixia] at 6:59 PM on October 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

I'd suggest that you heed [ixia]'s reply.

That said, if you and your friend want to find connections to people doing aid work in Africa, you should see if you can track down someone who spent time there recently in the Peace Corps. In my experience, a lot of them go to Africa, many stay connected after returning to the US, and many know people who are still there, or have gone on to NGO that have a presence there.
posted by Good Brain at 8:21 PM on October 4, 2008

If your friend is adamant about helping Africa with shoes, keep talking to people until you have found a specific school/orphanage/charity in Africa which is asking for shoes. Seriously: let them decide what they need, then offer it wholeheartedly.

I couldn't agree more.

Really, the best approach would be to not put the cart in front of the horse, which is what you are doing. You have found a hammer (shoes!) and are looking for unshod nails to hit with it. Instead, you should find a place (not simply a country, but an orphanage or an NGO in a neighborhood in a town in a country), or a cause (landmines, AIDS orphans, or literacy, for example), or a successful organization (US- or overseas-based) that you want to support.

Then, when you have a place/cause/organization, you can give them the support that they actually need. It probably won't be shoes, but who knows? Your hearts are in the right place, but I think you need to decide whether you are doing this to make yourselves feel better (in which case shipping some used shoes over is a great idea) or to actually make something better (in which case used shoes are likely the last thing actually needed). There is a place for both, but I hope you decide to err on the side of effectiveness rather than feel-goodness.
posted by Forktine at 8:33 PM on October 4, 2008

Set up a charity for children in America. They are going to need it in the coming years.
posted by judge.mentok.the.mindtaker at 8:30 AM on October 5, 2008

Chinese goods including shoes are all over Africa and far cheaper than shoes from US. Used shoes from the US will be greatly appreciated in local areas or villages but you will need to have somebody in place to distribute the shoes. You will also have to consider the cost of transportation and maybe custom duties in the African country. You might not have to pay any custom duties if you are working with a local NGO in Africa.

It is definitely i great idea, don't get discouraged!
posted by Dino Nino at 6:52 AM on October 6, 2008 [1 favorite]