Making Donations
“The Got Matar Community Development Group thanks the large number of people as well as foundations and trusts that have generously contributed to our educational programmes. We have done our best to make prudent and efficient use of your donations and we hope that you can share our pride in what has been achieved. With your help, the livelihood prospects of thousands of young people have been transformed and the whole community can look to a better future.”
How to Donate
Most donors prefer to make gifts to Got Matar through payments made to our partner registered charities that issue receipts that can be used be used to claim income tax rebates and – as in UK – to enable the intermediary charity to benefit from Gift Aid. The two charities are Ace Africa (UK) insert link for donations in Sterling and other currencies and, as of July 2023, KARIBU ASSOCIAZIONE ONLUS in Italy for gifts denominated in Euros, The concerned charities will retain donations and periodically transfer the accumulated funds to Kenya when these are required by GMCDG for implementing agreed priority programmes.
Please note that Associazione SONIA is no longer accepting donations for Got Matar.
Arrangements for donations by these channels are explained below.
It has become increasingly easy for individual donors to make their donations directly to Got Matar Community Development Group’s bank account in Kenya and so I suggest that you may want to explore this option.
GMCDG is also exploring possible membership of Global Giving in order to make it possible for North American donors to make tax-deductible gifts, but this is taking longer than expected to arrange.
Donate to Ace Africa
Donations in support of the educational programmes of the Got Matar Community Development Group may be made via the registered charity Ace Africa (UK): https://www.ace-africa.org
Donors are asked to pay either by cheque or bank transfer, made in the name of Ace Africa (UK). It is important to indicate that the purpose of the donation is ‘support to Got Matar education programmes’. UK tax payers should indicate whether they would wish their contribution as eligible for Gift Aid. To ensure that full information is provided, donors may wish to complete the donation form which can be downloaded here:
Download the Ace Africa form here. (pdf)Cheques
Please send a cheque payable to ‘Ace Africa’ to: Ace Africa (UK),
c/o Lockton Companies LLP,
The St Botolph Building,
138 Houndsditch,
London EC3A 7AG
Bank Transfers
CAF Bank: 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ. England
Account name: Ace Africa UK
Sort Code: 405240
Account number: 00017187
SWIFT: CAFBGB21XXX
IBAN: GB65CAFB40524000017187
Contact
[email protected]
tel. (+44) 07440122478
Donate to Karibu Associazione ONLUS
As noted on the home page, Salvatore Fabrizio (Popi) has kindly agreed for Karibu Associazione ONLUS to receive Euro denominated donations to Got Matar, and to forward them to GMCDG’s bank account with the Cooperative Bank of Kenya by foreign bank transfer (‘bonifico estero’). He will issue a receipt to the donor and share a copy of the transfer document (which includes information on his bank’s transfer fee) with both the donor and with the GMCDG Programmme Coordinator, Grace Ochieng Andiki.
Grace, in turn, will forward to the donor an e-mail receipt (prepared by the GMCDG treasurer) that indicates the applied exchange rate and
local bank handling charges. She will attach a scanned version of the receipt in an e-mail letter of thanks in which she indicates the specific purposes for which the donation will be used.
Donations may be made in the form of bank transfers, credit card allocations or cheques. In all cases, the donor should make it clear that the funds are intended to be used for Got Matar (rather than other Karibu activities).
Banking details:
Account name: Karibu Associazione ONLUS
Bank: Banca Popolare di Sondrio
IBAN: IT78K0569601609000006933X61
Bic/Swift: POSOIT2105Y
We suggest that potential donors contact Popi by email (kiborafarm@lakaribu,com) or telephone (0039 3889782864) to explore options.
Donating directly to Got Matar Community Development Group
If donors are not in need of receipts for donations for tax rebate purposes, they may find that the simplest way of donating to GMCDG is to make a direct transfer from their bank account by bank transfer or ‘bonifico estero’.
The details:
Beneficiary Account: Got Matar Community Development Group (GMCDG)
Address: PO Box39, Nyamonye, Kenya
Bank: The Cooperative Bank of Kenya Ltd Financial
Account number: 01100013704300
Swift/BIC: KCOOKENA
Purpose: Donation to Got Matar Community Development Group (add details – for example ‘to buy computers’, etc)
If using this approach, please inform Grace in advance by e-mail at: ochienggrace2[email protected] and then send her a copy of the transfer document.
The GMCDG accountant will prepare a receipt, indicating the amount sent; the exchange rate: the amount in local currency transferred into the GMCDG account, and amounts paid for local bank handling charges. Grace will forward this by e-mail to the donor, together with a letter of thanks that would indicate the specific purpose for which the donation was used.
Total Donations
The total amount of foreign donations to Got Matar between 2006 and 31st December 2022 amounts to approximately Euro 1 million (US$ 1.1 M or £860,000).
Of this, about Euro 550,000 has gone to the Secondary School with Euro 315,000 being invested in buildings and equipment and Euro 235,000 covering the initial recurrent income deficit and the bursary/scholarship programme.
Since 2012, most donations have gone into the Institute of Technology. Out of a total amount of Euro 450,000, about Euro 265,000 has been spent on buildings and equipment, while Euro 185,000 has covered the operating cost deficit.
National Funding
The Ministry of Education meets a large part of the staff costs of GM Secondary School, and is responsible for maintaining the facilities. Other operating costs are met by school fees paid by parents/guardians and, in the case of bursaries, by the Bursary Fund. The Ministry has built teachers’ houses, as foreseen in the school development plan. In 2010, the Constituency Development Fund paid for the installation of a mains electricity connection for the school, and has also financed the construction of a full-scale science laboratory, additional classroom space and an administration block, opened in 2020.
Individual Kenyan contributors have financed the purchase of a school bus. Former students of the Secondary School are now financing most of the present bursaries.
