Christian Aid We believe in life before death
Raise an extra £5 million this Christian Aid Week [13-19 May]
The UK Department for International Development [DFID] also known as UK Aid, has agreed to match the first £5 million raised by supporters, pound for pound, this Christian Aid Week. DFID is an department of the British Government delivering UK aid around the world through partner organisations like Christian Aid.
If you were a collector what questions might you be asked about this match-funding?
1. How has Christian Aid accessed this matched funding from the British Government?
On 30 June 2011 the Department for International Development [DFID] launched a fund called UK Aid Match. This fund will match, pound for pound, public donations to appeals made by not-for-profit organisations for development activities focused on poverty reduction in developing countries.
Christian Aid applied to this fund and has been successful in receiving match funding for a proportion of the Christian Aid Week 2012 income.
2. How much money will be match-funded?
The first £5 million donated to Christian Aid Week 2012 will be matched by the Government pound for pound, so that we can help more people in communities like Gbap in Sierra Leone, to work their way out of poverty.
The donations which will be matched are those which come in and are processed first. In previous years we have reached the £5 million mark by the first week of July. Therefore we will be encouraging communities to send their donations as quickly as possible if they wish the donations to be matched.
3. Will gift aid income be match funded?
UK Aid Match will not match fund any Gift Aid added to public donations, since this would effectively be matching a contribution made from another part of the UK Government [HM Treasury] not from the individual donor.
4. How and where will the money be used?
The £5 million will be used to support the work of our partners around the world, such as the Methodist church of Sierra Leone, as they help some of the world’s poorest communities to find their own solutions to poverty. The seven country programmes that will receive the additional funding are in Burma, DRC, Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Zambia.
5. Will accepting this UK government funding restrict Christian Aid’s ability to campaigh in the UK?
Soliciting funds from the British Government in no way influences our ability to speak out if and when we disagree with the policies and actions of this government.
You can find out more about DFID’s priorities and vision by visiting www.dfid.gov.uk/What-we-do/ and more about the work of Christian Aid at www.christianaid.org.uk
Christian Aid at Hampstead Parish Church
The children will be making a banner which they’ll take out into Hampstead High Street on Saturday 19th [suitably chaperoned, of course] for a brief demonstration of their support of Christian Aid. On Sunday 20th there will be a Cake Sale in the Crypt over coffee. Please make a cake for us to sell. Fairtrade ingredients will be on sale at the Traidcraft stall on 6th May.
Christian Aid
Judy East