Where The (Your!) Money Has Gone This Year
I (Northern Mountain Sport) have been a member of 1% for the planet since 2007. This simply means that I pledge to give 1% of my turnover, not profit to environmental charity. I've always appreciated the simplicity of this contract. No fancy accountants, tax dodges etc. Just a straightforward, meaningful commitment to the environment.
I have to admit however that I wavered this year. Increasingly, some charities are thinly disguised corporations which eventually, if they are successful exist mainy to secure their own continuing existence. How this fits in with environmental sustainability is sometimes cloudy and I found myself at odds with the organisation I traditionaly donated to. The straw that broke the back was a request to fund a speaker at their AGM who had, and you should wait for this, actually CLIMBED EVEREST. So, my (or to be more accurate your) money would not have gone directly to a 'grassrooots organisation' but to an individual who maintains their lifestyle by corporate speaking (about walking uphill for a while). This is before you even consider the long haul flights, the deforestation and general environmental destruction of the Khumbu etc.
So I set about searching for a suitable alternative, and was dismayed to discover it was pretty hard to find a genuine grassroots cause. The good news however is that I think I did, and that's where the money's gone this year. I got in contact with Trade Plus Aid. Take a whizz round their website and you'll get the picture.
What really set me on fire however was the human factor. The cash this year has helped an individual, with quantifiable results. I hope those of you that have booked this last year approve.
And here's where it went:
"When we receive a donation to assist us with our work I prefer to keep people informed as to where the funds go as opposed to just going “into the pot”
With your permission I would like to allocate your donation to assist our environmental officer. He is a young guy who does so much for the programme we are working on way beyond the wage we can afford to pay him.
He has an absolute commitment to the environment and is in South Africa so he can further his studies part time
His name is Mazolo Dube and his home is Harare in Zimbabwe. He and his family could really benefit from your kind donation"
"Further to my mail of a few moments ago..
He could really use help with the purchasing of study material.... I am looking for some 2nd hand books for him but they are still really expensive.
Could we use the funds for his books"?
Matthew Hayden
Dear Tim
Thank you for the offer in assisting me with the purchase of text books to further my studies. I am a Zimbabwean guy aged 29 currently employed by Trade Plus Aid as an environmental officer . I graduated with a Bsc Environmental management from Zimbabwe and have worked; as a research assistant for an environmental project in the informal settlements of Harare, and as a land officer under the Zimbabwean Ministry of Lands. I joined Trade Plus Aid late 2009, and my experience with the organisation has been very fulfilling in terms of my professional ambitions. As part of this fulfilment, the organisation is helping me realise my ambition as a professional environmental officer by paying for my Honorary degree studies. I am studying for a Bsc Honours in Environmental management (part-time) with UNISA for the duration of 2 years.
Besides the TPA programme, i am a member of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) – Southern and Eastern Africa Region. I am also involved in voluntary advocacy under Greenpeace Africa based in Johannesburg.
Trade Plus Aid, as a not for profit organisation has made a sacrifice under tight budget conditions to sponsor my studies. I feel honoured by the commitment made by Trade Plus Aid in advancing my professional carrier, and your donation will go a long way in consolidating this commitment.
Kind Regards
Mazolo Dube
I'd be genuinely interested in hearing clients views on this (feel free to post comments)?
1% for the...
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