It’s important to recognize a growing trend among charities: acting as collection agents rather than directly implementing projects themselves. While this approach may appear efficient on paper—and such organizations can be effective—it is essential to distinguish them from charities that actually do the work. When a charity collects funds only to outsource the execution to “partners on the ground” (other charities), your donation often passes through two sets of staff, two sets of administrative expenses, and two sets of office costs.
At Shoe4Africa, every donation goes directly into executing our projects in Africa. We do not pay other charities to carry out our mission—we do the work ourselves.
In recent years, an increasing number of highly-rated charities have adopted a model of collecting funds and outsourcing their work, which can make their financials and administrative efficiency look deceptively lean. Unfortunately, organizations like Charity Navigator and GuideStar have yet to differentiate between charities that directly execute their mission and those that rely heavily on outsourcing. A key indicator to watch for: the term “partners on the ground.”
At Shoe4Africa, we are deeply committed to ensuring every dollar donated works to its fullest potential—without being diluted by unnecessary layers of expense. That commitment is why it took us over 21 years to invest in promotional materials and nearly 20 years before we paid a single salary. We don’t allocate funds for a social media team, a cutting-edge website, or other frills because our priority has always been to channel every possible dollar into our mission: saving and improving lives in Africa. Today we continue to have only one salaried staff member.
The people we serve often live on less than a dollar a day. That stark reality drives us to cut every possible expense, ensuring your donation has maximum impact where it’s needed most.
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.
NB: As of 2017 we are not rated on Charity Navigator as “This organization is not eligible to be rated by Charity Navigator because it does not meet our criteria of having at least $1 million in revenues” link
However, we are platinum rating, the highest, on Guidestar.org