7 QUESTIONS WE GET ASKED ABOUT DONATING OVERSEAS

We work with thousands of charities, voluntary groups and not-for-profit organisations based both in the UK and overseas. Our collaboration with worthwhile causes from around the world means we can help you support the charities that matter most to you, no matter where they’re based.

We make donating to overseas charities simple and secure so, with this mind, we’ve answered some of the most common questions we get asked about making overseas donations below.

1 WHY SHOULD I GIVE TO AN OVERSEAS CHARITY?

Many people struggle when trying to decide whether to support local charities or those based internationally. In an ideal world, it would be great to be able to donate to both, but we understand that this isn’t always possible.

Choosing a cause, either at home or abroad, is very personal and much of your decision may come down to past experience or even simple gut feeling. But if you’re still unsure, it can be worth remembering that in many cases, a donation to an overseas charity may go further than the same donation to one based in the UK. As US-based non-profit organisation GiveWell has found, due to stark inequalities of life in the developing world, it can be possible to drastically improve or even save lives with a relatively small overseas donation.

2 HOW MUCH OVERSEAS AID DOES THE UK GIVE?

As the BBC reported in April 2017, the UK has been legally required to spend 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on overseas aid since 2015, which is sometimes known as overseas development assistance (ODA). This equates to 70p towards foreign aid for every hundred pounds made in the UK.

In 2015, the amount given to overseas aid equated to £12.1 billion and at the time of publishing this article, the 2016 total is a provisional £13.3 billion (bbc.co.uk).

3 WHICH OVERSEAS CHARITIES CAN I DONATE TO?

You can donate to most overseas charities through CAF, as long as we can verify and validate them as a valid charitable project.

4 HOW CAN I DONATE MONEY OVERSEAS?

Giving money to overseas charities is straightforward through a CAF Charity Account; our secure online platform that helps you manage your charitable giving, allowing you to save money and donate directly from a convenient personal online fund.

Once you have a CAF Charity Account, you’ll need to complete an International Giving Request form for the cause you wish to support. We’ll then put the charity through our validation process for non-UK-based organisations, to make sure that your money is going to a legitimate cause. We are also a partner of Transnational Giving Europe, a network of philanthropic institutions collaborating internationally to foster charitable giving within Europe, which covers 21 countries.

After we’ve validated your chosen overseas charity, your donation will be paid to them. Please note that there are fees applicable for overseas donations made through a CAF Charity Account, and the minimum donation is £250.

5 HOW DO I KNOW MY DONATION IS GOING TO A GENUINE CHARITY?

When you donate to an international cause through CAF, you can be sure your donation will arrive safely. This is thanks to our charity validation process, which we carry out for every charitable cause we work with. If we cannot validate a charity, we won’t pass on your donation.

The validation process for non UK-based charities can take longer than that for charities based here. We perform extra checks to ensure the charity is valid, including asking them to fill in a Grant Eligibility Application (GEA), asking to see copies of audited accounts and governance documentation. Once an overseas charity has been validated, it is usually much quicker to donate to them again if you wish to.

We also revalidate our charities on a regular basis to make sure they are still working within the same criteria, so you can be confident that your gift is making a difference.

6 CAN I DONATE GOODS OVERSEAS?

Unfortunately we can’t support the donation of goods to overseas charities.

7 WHERE DO I START?

We can help you make donations in the UK and across the world.

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