Annual Report Stichting Vrienden kijken samen verder & Friends for Life Foundation

Transcription

1 Annual Report 2013 Stichting Vrienden kijken samen verder & Friends for Life Foundation

2 Details organizations: The Netherlands Name: Vrienden kijken samen verder Location: The Hague Legal entity: Stichting Kenya Name: Friends for Life Foundation Location: Ukunda, Kenya Legal entity: NGO

3 1. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND AIMS AND OBJECTIVES STRATEGY AND POLICY MAIN ACTIVITIES ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 9 2. COMMUNICATION POLICY GENERAL FOCUS AREAS AND ACHIEVEMENTS ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE NETHERLANDS ACHIEVEMENTS IN KENYA FOCUS AREAS IN ACTIVITIES BUDGET FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINANCIAL OVERVIEW JUSTIFICATION EXPENSES RATIO EXPENSES AND REVENUES RESERVES AND FUNDS VOLUNTEER POLICY SALARY AND FEES BOARD STATEMENT MONITORING ACTIVITIES MONITORING ACTIVITIES MEETINGS AND INTERNAL REPORTING 24

4 1. Organization Background Friends for Life foundation was founded in 2002 as a result of a long term project in which several primary and secondary schools in Kwale district in Kenya were build. The founder, Lammert Braaksma, concluded that a lot of organisations and foundations were busy building primary and secondary schools in that time, without knowing the long term effects of the education that children received. After some research he concluded that many children still were not able to determine their own future and achieve the goals they had in mind. This was especially true for girls. After finishing secondary school, girls in urban areas were still not able to find a job because of a lack of specialised education at a higher level. Girls in rural areas were often forced to marry at a young age or required to work on the land of their parents. To give these girls a chance to really shape their own lives, Mr. Braaksma decided that the focus of the foundation should shift to scholarships for students to provide a sustainable program. Mr. Braaksma designed a student-for-a-student construction in which students sponsor another student after graduation. The increased awareness of responsibility of students regarding the next generation and developing their country was and still is one of the most important benefits of this approach. Fundraising activities were initiated and professionalised in order to find sponsors willing to contribute to the goals of the foundation. In the Netherlands a Stichting was founded under the name Vrienden kijken samen verder,with it s main goal to raise funds for a Kenyan Foundation which has the official status of an NGO. The Kenyan Foundation takes care of all the activities and administration related to the students and the scholarships.

5 1.1 Aims and objectives The aim of Friends for Life Foundation is to contribute to sustainable development within Kwale County by sponsoring scholarships for as many students as possible in the county that have a lack of financial means, assuming the following criteria: Commitment of each student to sponsor another student after graduation. Commitment of the student to find employment in Kenya and perform activities in favor of Kwale County. Objectives of the foundation: Provide an opportunity for youth from poor backgrounds to study, graduate and find a job within Kwale County or, when necessary, beyond. Establish student awareness of the responsibility they have regarding their generation as well as the next generation and the improvement of the economic situation within their county (Kwale) in particular. Develop a broader awareness of students regarding social-environmental subjects. Build up a strong and solid network of students, graduates, educational institutes, future employers and other stakeholders. 1.2 Strategy and policy Friends for Life Foundation restructured its strategy and policy in 2012 thoroughly, especially in the Kenyan foundation, and defined a new way of working for the future. In 2013 this new way of working was fine-tuned and expansion of the number of students was possible within this new-implemented strategy and policy. The strategy and policy principles will remain important in the coming years, but the focus within these principles will change slightly over the years: Standardization and transparency Standard procedures have been defined and implemented in the organization. A standard process has been defined for all steps from application until graduation. Financial transparency has been improved by

6 formulating a financial procedure guide. Implementation and fine-tuning of these procedures will be the focus in Transparency is also an important subject in order to be awarded for the quality marks issued to NGO s that meet strict criteria. Creating commitment and controlling methods Commitment of students grew in the past year. Students updates come in on more regular basis and more and more students offer doing voluntary work and assistance on different levels. Because we focus also more and more on the graduated students and the guidance towards a job, students remain more often in touch with us and hand in their CV, update us on their job application activities and ask us to assist them. The focus in Kenya in 2014 will be on the professionalization of controlling methods in the form of a supporting administrative system in order to keep track of students response to their commitments (handing in reports, result lists, CV, repayment etc.). Continuation and sustainability In order to ensure a continuous and sustainable system in the future for Friends for Life Foundation, several activities have been initiated in the past years. These activities will remain important and will be expanded and improved where possible: o Job coaching So far, we have been coaching and supporting students on their way to find a job on request. This was mainly a one-to-one coaching and only if the student indicated to have difficulties to approach the labour market. In the coming year we would like to professionalize the job coaching and organize (mandatory) trainings and workshops for those students in the final year of study. We are currently looking for a partnership with a professional organisation to cooperate with in this field. o Repayment Repayment of the scholarship is mandatory for all of our students. Because of a higher commitment of students in the last year, we

7 expect a higher repayment rate in the coming years. In 2014 we will discuss the specific repayment criteria again in order to align the repayment more with the student and his or her background (e.g. type and years of study, salary etc.). o FFL Network In 2013 the Friends for Life network has been expanded among several organisations within Kenya and the Netherlands. Building up a network takes years of investing time and energy. We started with approaching several Dutch organisations that operate (also) in Kenya. By working together with internships and traineeships we can build up a relationship. In 2014 several students will do an internship or traineeship within this new network and the focus will be mainly on monitoring those students in particular and assessing satisfaction of the network partners in order to build trust and opportunities for the next year. 1.3 Main activities The specific objective of the stichting Vrienden kijken samen verder is to fundraise financial means in order to support the Friends for Life Foundation in Kenya. In order to meet this objective, the following activities have been carried out in 2013: Setting up partnerships with new sponsors and donors Approaching potential sponsors and donors Writing proposals and applications in order to receive funds Maintaining and following up on current sponsors and donors (writing halfyear reports) Developing and contributing to PR and Marketing activities (developing new website and social media plan) Starting up the application for a CBF certificate Carrying out and expanding project Water for Kenya Communicating and aligning structure with the Kenyan Foundation

8 Friends for Life Foundation receives the funds through the Stichting Vrienden kijken samen verder in order to meet the specific objective within the foundation: issuing scholarship and guide students throughout their studies. The following activities have been carried out in the past year: Managing and coordinating the day to day students process : o Reporting on student progress and writing student updates for sponsors o Handling the daily student requests o Visiting students and universities in order to monitor progress, write student reports and maintain contact within universities o Guiding students throughout their studies and prepare them for the labour market o Issuing tuition fees to educational institutes and allowances to students Fine-tuning new implemented (core) processes, procedures and standard forms Continuing the unbundling of (financial) processes between Friends for Life Limited and Friends for Life Foundation Expanding network among local organisations, educational institutes, cooperating parties and other stakeholders Developing and contributing to PR and Marketing activities Guiding volunteers (Dutch and Kenyan volunteers in Kenya) and setting up a draft volunteer policy Contributing to proposal writing and applications in the Netherlands Improving (financial) administration

9 1.4 Organizational structure Friends For Life Foundation, a separate Kenyan entity with a separate financial administration, currently receives its funds through fundraising-activities in The Netherlands. A Dutch Foundation (Stichting) was incorporated, located in The Hague, de Stichting Vrienden Kijken Samen Verder, also known as de Stichting Friends For Life. The Stichting coordinates all fundraising-activities and is the founding partner of the Kenyan foundation. The board members of the Kenyan foundation remained in position in 2013 and are as follows: Lammert R.E. Braaksma - Chairman Kees (C.) Punt - Treasurer Lucy Waweru - Secretary The 'Stichting' in the Netherlands went through several changes in The chairman, Lammert Braaksma was substituted by a new chairman in march In November 2013 a new secretary was appointed. Aldo Verbruggen - Chairman Kees (C.) Punt - Treasurer Simone Spakman- Secretary The board in the Netherlands acts as monitoring body for the Stichting and the Friends for Life Foundation. The board members do not have any relevant secondary activities currently. Since august 2013 one employee is fulltime employed as an account manager/ fundraiser in the Netherlands and as a manager of the Foundation in Kenya. In Kenya one local employee was part-time employed in 2013 and responsible for coordinating activities within the foundation. This person carries out all student visits,

10 communicates with the students, carries out administrative tasks and informs the board in the Netherlands regarding progress and financial matters. On a regular basis students in the program carry out administrative tasks for the Kenyan Foundation during their holidays or as part of an attachment. 2. Communication policy In 2013 a communication policy was defined, including specific principles to underline the way we want to communicate internally and externally. The same communication principles remained valid in 2013 in order to work together efficiently and achieve the best results from our efforts and activities: Internal communication is open and direct, but confidential when necessary. Internal communication in the Netherlands takes place on a regular basis (between board and fundraiser/ volunteers) and ad hoc when necessary. Communication between the Netherlands and Kenya takes place regularly on different levels (board of both organisation as well as employees/ volunteers on operational level). All information communicated to stakeholders should be correct, complete and transparent. All information and communication towards stakeholders should be in the same format, using the same tools and materials. Crucial stakeholders such as sponsors and donors receive regular communication from Friends for Life (push) as well as additional communication on demand (pull). All information and communication related to PR and marketing activities (such as interviews, columns etc.) should be correct (using actual correct figures) and agreed with the board in the Netherlands or in Kenya. All information and documentation published should be communicated to all

11 board members, employees and volunteers internally (e.g. internal (financial) procedure guides). Exposure by donors and sponsors of Friends for Life s logo/ brand is possible but should be agreed between parties before implementation. 3. General focus areas and achievements 2013 The professionalization in 2012 bared its fruits in 2013 as the way of working and processes were now clear and therefore several new initiatives could be started. One of the important changes in the Netherlands in 2013 was the renewal of several members within the board. The new chairman of the board, mr. A Verbruggen brought in new ideas, initiatives and a valuable network. Founder and former chairman mr. Braaksma was however still active and valuable for the Stichting in Additionally. He also remained active as chairman in the Kenyan Foundation in the year The new chairman brought up the importance of aiming for a mark from Centraal Bureau Fondsenwerving (CBF) ; an institution that focuses on promotion of the responsible raising and disbursement of funds in the Netherlands. The CBF mainly assesses fundraising institutions according to a strict set of criteria. If the institution meets the criteria, it will be rewarded with a mark. This mark is a valuable asset when fundraising in the Netherlands. The year 2013 also brought up the importance of a professional website and social media policy. Although there was not yet a launch of a new website and implementation of social media plan, several activities have been carried out to be able to achieve this in the first quarter of In Kenya it took more time than expected to receive the official NGO status, which was applied for already a long time ago in Finally, in august 2013 the certificate was awarded to us. The NGO status is required in order to legally carry out our activities in Kenya and brings for instance advantages regarding work permit application and government support. It was also a good starting point for expansion of our network and sponsors in Kenya.

12 In the last quarter of 2013 we welcomed a Dutch volunteer in Kenya for three months. The volunteer mainly focused on expansion of our network, developed a traineeship concept and assisted in the daily administration, communication with students and hometown visits. 3.1 Achievements in The Netherlands Several objectives formulated in 2012 have been achieved in 2013 in the Netherlands: Finalisation renewal board All three positions within the board (chairman, secretary and treasurer) were about to undergo a change. Preparation was done in 2012 and in the first quarter of 2013 a new chairman (Aldo Verbruggen) was welcomed as well as a new secretary (Eefje van Vlimmeren). The treasurer (Kees Punt) announced that he would at least commit himself to his role for another year. In the last quarter of 2013, the secretary resigned again within agreement with the rest of the board and Ms. Simone Spakman was welcomed to the team in as a secretary. Obtain CBF certificate The CBF certificate application is it completely finalized but, but steps have been made. We expect to round off this procedure in the first quarter of The delay was mainly caused by the fact that the secretary of the board was also a manager within the organization and this was not allowed according to the criteria of CBF. A new secretary was elected and the procedure of application proceeded. Describing and implementing improved financial processes In 2013 the complete financial process has been analysed and described. In 2014 the approval and implementation will take place. The proces concern all activities of incoming financial management (mainly in the Netherlands) to outgoing financial management (mainly in Kenya). Marketing, PR and communication o New corporate identity In 2013 a new corporate identity was designed by a graphic designer

13 as a donation to the foundation. The corporate identity reflects now in all stationary of the foundation, including presentations, signatures and business cards. o Development social media plan As a donation, consultancy organisation Price Water House Coopers offered to write a social media plan for our foundation. In 2014 a new website will be built and the social media will be aligned based on the social media plan, the new website and the new corporate identity. 3.2 Achievements in Kenya The following achievements can be defined in the Foundation in Kenya: Finalisation unbundling of Foundation and Limited Company In 2013 all (financial) processes that were still connected to and bundled with the processes of the Friends for Life Limited were unbundled. The only connection the Friends for Life Foundation still had with the Friends for Life Limited at the end of 2013 were the shared facilities (sharing offices-, human resources and administration). Achievement of SMART goals In 2012 several SMART goals for 2013 were defined which can be evaluated as follows: o Increase number of students paid by external means The number of students has increased with 15 students. The expenses of all these students have been covered by external means because a few new sponsors committed to sponsor our program. o Minimalize number of students dropping out of the program There was only one student that dropped out of the program in This is only a small percentage of the total number of students and we will try to keep this as low as it is in the coming year. o Increase repayments after graduation

14 The repayment rate of 2013 has been increased compared to The total repayment of 2012 was almost 220,000/= kes. The total repayment in 2013 was almost 350,000/= kes. Connection with labour market In 2013 we analyzed the possibilities of working together with local parties on the area of setting up a professional job coaching/ training program. One party in particular is interesting, Junior Achievement Kenya. Together, we developed a proposal for cooperation. However, the Junior Achievement Kenya is not able to contribute financially to such a project and therefore we need to find a donor in order to get started. Expansion of (local) networking activities In 2013, several new organisations have been added to our network. With the help of a Dutch volunteer the network has been expanded and the first students are now being introduced to these organisations to see if there is a match for an internship, traineeship or job. 4. Focus areas in 2014 Now that the organisation has become more stable and better organised, it is time to intensify the focus on the incoming financial means. On the one hand this means that fundraising activities will be expanded in the Netherlands but also a stricter control mechanism will be implemented regarding repayments. Additionally, the job coaching and training programme will be further developed and implemented in Activities 2014 Some activities that were already initiated in 2013, will be finalised in Also new activities will be initiated. The following main activities will be carried out in the Netherlands: Finalisation of CBF certificate application All the preparations have been done in 2013 in order to obtain the CBF certificate. We expect to receive the certificate in the first quarter of 2014.

15 Boost in fundraising activities Fundraising activities will not only be restricted to writing proposals to new and existing sponsors or donors but in 2014 more and more fundraising connected to existing activities such as running- and biking events will be carried out. If necessary, the Stichting will set up it s own events. It is also possible that fundraising will get a new dimension as there are several options to outsource fundraising on a no cure no pay agreement. Outsourcing project Water for Kenya. In 2013 the Stichting parted from the project leader in charge of this project. Because there was no immediate solution for continuation of this role, the founder took over these tasks temporarily. In 2014 either a new project leader will be employed or the project will be outsourced. The Stichting has a strong preference for the last option. Professionalising social media In 2013 a lot of discussions and preparation took place regarding a new, professional website and other social media such as facebook, twitter and LinkedIn. Although a lot has been done, the professional website and social media we desire did not yet come to a successful launch. In 2014 this will change. A new, professional website will be launched in the first quarter of 2014 and a plan will be implemented regarding the remaining social media applications. In Kenya the following activities will have our main focus in 2014: Physical movement to Mombasa In the first quarter of 2013 the foundation will move its office to Mombasa. The cooperation with Friends for Life Limited has come to an end and we will proceed completely independent. By moving to Mombasa we will be closer to the students and the University where a large group of students are studying, Technical University Mombasa. Continuation of professionalization of job coaching program In 2013 a lot of research has been done and job coaching has taken place on a small level. In 2014 we want to continue the professionalization of this

16 part of the facilities we offer to our students. Expansion of cooperation with universities and deans In 2013 the first steps have been taken to formalise the cooperation with

17 Technical University Mombasa. We have valuable relationships with the deans of several universities. In 2014 we want to intensify this even more and see if we can work together in a more formalised way with the other universities as well. Expansion of local network An important subject remains in 2014 the expansion of the local network. Although there have been several local organisations included in our network in 2013, we need to keep connecting and interacting with these organisation in order to benefit from a cooperation on the long term. Additionally, more opportunities for cooperation will be searched for in Achieve SMART goals In 2013 several SMART goals have been identified and a lot of these goals have been achieved. For 2014 new SMART goals have been defined: o Total external funds > o Increase the number of students studying with 30 new students o Percentage of students that find a job within 6 months after graduation: 75% o Dropout of students: less than 5% o Repayment rate of students within one year after graduation: more than 50% o Students delivering progress reports and result slips complete and in time: >95%

18 4.2 Budget 2014 REVENUES BUDGETED Charitable gift annuities Water jug project Revenues Commission 15% (4.350) small donations/ funds Annual events Revenu Expenses (2.500) Companies Small activities/ projects Private donations School activities 0 Total EXPENDITURES Personnel - overhead, employees compensation expenses by donations board Other costs (17.000) Office Accountancy Expenses for activities Expenses NGO Kenya 0 PR/ Marketing and communication Social Media/ website General expenses 970 Interest/transaction costs 500 Miscelaneous Total remaining costs Total expenses (22.050) Total to spend on students

19 5. Financial statement 5.1 Financial overview Balance sheet as at 31 december 2013 Assets 31 december december 2012 Current assets Receivables Cash at Bank Total assets Liabilities Equity Buffer equity Reserve Long term debt Short term debt Total liabilities

20 Profit and loss account at Income fundraising Direct costs fundraising Net income Salaries and wages Administration and management costs Total operating costs Interest paid Total financial income and expenses Mutation reserve Objective expenses Kenia Extraordinary income Profit for the year Justification expenses The realized fundraising amounts did not differ significantly compared to the budget of Also the expenses almost reflected the same amount of that on the budget. The board budgeted an amount to spend on the objectives in Kenya of ,-. Finally, almost ,- was spend on the objectives in Kenya. The difference, together with the remaining differences within the budget, in total ,- was added to the mutation reserve. In 2014, the board expects a (net) income of ,-. The expenses are budgeted as ,- in order to spend around ,- on the beneficiaries (the students) in Kenya.

21 5.3 Ratio expenses and revenues Objective expenses as a percentage of total income: 73,4 Direct costs fundraising as a percentage of income fundraising: 1,9 5.4 Reserves and funds During the years 2005 until the end of 2009 the foundation was basically solely funded by the capital of the founder, Mr. Braaksma. It was their intention to achieve a Perpetuum Mobile model, on a funding that was based on 4 principal-- expectations: Thecapitalbroughtinbythefounderwasthefoundationtostarton If the students were to receive a scholarship, they were obliged to returntheir scholarship on behalf of fellow-- students, to the FFL-- foundation. The objective of the Friends for Life Limited (dealing with Micro-- finances), was intentionally to be distributing a 20%-- 25% of its net-- Capital-- gain per year, out of the Founders shares The foundation was to be sponsored in order to facilitate the increasing amount of students, by European (or Global) institutions, especially when the student- - sponsorship's were not catching up accordingly 20 Stichting Vrienden kijken samen verder -- Friends For Life Foundation ANNUAL REPORT The donations by the founder decreased in 2011 and 2012 and the focus for building up funds and reserves was more and more on the Perpetuum Mobile principle of

22 repayments of loans. In 2012 all students were obliged to sign a student agreement in which the students sign to repay their loans after graduation. The number of students repaying has gone up during the year as a consequence of this. Additionally, the efforts of the fundraiser bore fruits as a large number of students were covered now by external sponsors instead of by the financial means of the founder. In 2013, the repayment of students that graduated through the program gradually increased. These incoming funds create a buffer in order to be able to accept a minimum number of students every year without having to find the sponsor first that will cover the complete tuition fee of a new student. In this way continuity will grow and dependency of external sponsors decreases. In 2014, the focus will even be more on the repayment of graduated students in order to build up a larger reserve fund. 5.5 Volunteer policy In 2013 we continued our partnership with the NGO Voluntary Services Overseas as one of the volunteers that started in Kenya in 2012 remained a volunteer until July VSO changed their focus in this year and decreased the number of partners in Kenya, consequently stopping the partnership from august At the end of 2013 a volunteer joined our organisation from October till December and lived during that time in Kenya, working for the Foundation. She mainly focused on expansion of the network among local organisations. The volunteer did not receive any salary, only a refund of the expenses related to the work she carried out for the Foundation. Accommodation and a work place were facilitated by the Foundation as well. In 2013 a volunteer policy with clear starting points for all types of volunteers has been defined and will be finalised in In this policy not only the starting points for volunteers from the Netherlands working in Kenya are defined but also for Dutch

23 volunteers in the Netherlands and Kenyan volunteers in Kenya. All year round several Kenyan volunteers worked for the foundation. These volunteers were in all cases students in our program that wanted to spend their leisure time by learning at our organisation. Once the volunteer policy has been approved the Stichting can start to recruit new volunteers in the Netherlands to contribute either in the Netherlands or in Kenya. 5.6 Salary and fees board Members of the board do not receive any renumeration for their tasks. The Stichting employs one staff member (account manager/ fundraiser) with a part-time contract. The same employee is employed part-time (manager foundation) at the Foundation and this employee works in the Netherlands as well as in Kenya. The Foundation employed in 2013 one employee (student coordinator) with a part-time contract from May till December In January 2014 the contract of this employee was changed into a full-time contract. 6. Statement monitoring activities 6.1 Monitoring activities 2013 The board in the Netherlands monitored the activities in the Netherlands in 2013 mainly by formal and informal meetings with all board members and the (account) manager of the Stichting and Foundation. Because there is one employee in the role of (account) manager working in Kenya as well as in the Netherlands the board is able to keep track on the activities performed in both countries through this employee. The (account) manager reports on the proceedings within the Stichting (maintenance of current and new sponsor contracts, obtaining CBF certificate etc.) and within the Foundation (physical movement, financial administration etc.).

24 On a daily basis, the manager of the Foundation communicates through skype with the local employee in order to make sure the guidelines and procedures are followed as agreed and steps are taken to achieve the next goals determined. 6.2 Meetings and internal reporting On a regular basis meetings take place. Official board meetings take place at least three times a year and additionally informal meetings take place in order to assess and evaluate the progress, changes and new initiatives. On a regular basis also meetings take place between the board members of the Stichting and the foundation. Every year an annual report is written including financial overviews of the prior year. Additionally, the (account) manager reports to the board members regularly with short updates and overviews. The policy and strategic headlines are included in a separate report that was finalised in 2012 and remains valid for the coming years. Every year, new goals are defined for the coming year. The internal processes as well as the financial processes have been approved by the board and are the leading documents for the daily way of working.