A Note on Charity Models—and Why Shoe4Africa is Different

There’s a growing trend in the nonprofit world that deserves closer attention: many charities today operate primarily as fundraising intermediaries, collecting donations and then outsourcing the actual work to “partners on the ground”—which are often other charities. On the surface, this may appear streamlined or efficient. In practice, however, it can mean your donation is diluted as it passes through two sets of staff, administrative expenses, and office overheads before reaching the intended beneficiaries.

At Shoe4Africa, we’ve always done things differently. Every dollar you give goes directly into our own programs, implemented by our own team on the ground in Africa. We don’t subcontract our mission. We live it.

In recent years, even some top-rated charities have adopted the collect-and-outsource model. This approach can make their administrative metrics appear impressively lean, but the reality is more layered. Unfortunately, evaluators like Charity Navigator and GuideStar have yet to draw clear lines between organizations that implement projects directly and those that operate more like pass-through hubs. One clue to watch for? Phrases like: “partners on the ground.”

At Shoe4Africa, we believe every dollar matters—especially when we’re working in communities where many families survive on less than a dollar a day. That’s why we’ve spent more than two decades minimizing overhead. In fact, it took over 21 years before we created any promotional materials, and nearly 20 years before we paid even a single salary. To this day, our entire organization has just one salaried staff member.

We don’t invest in glossy brochures, a full-time social media team, or a sleek headquarters. Our priority is simple: invest everything we can into building hospitals, schools, and healthy futures for children in Africa.

Because when you give to Shoe4Africa, you’re not just donating—you’re directly building the change.

Please check out our financials, 990 on the Guidestar site here (link)

We are audited by: Rios & McGarrigle LLC, Certified Public Accountants.

Any questions please contact us at team@shoe4africa.org or call 646.932.1416

S4A is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.  All donations are fully tax-deductible.  [S4A contributes money to other social organizations working in Kenya.]  You may obtain a copy of our annual financial report [and a list of the organizations to which S4A contributes] by writing to S4A.  You may also obtain a copy of our financial report by writing to New York Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, NY, NY 10271.