Fund Raising Abroad

Q. The company I work for wants to form an international charity to benefit Rwanda in a number of ways: We foresee distributing money to humanitarian, microfinance, and educational programs, among others. We want to be able to accept donations from all over the world. Are there other organizations that work in so many different areas in that country? What is the best way to start establishing this program as soon as possible? And how can we find reputable umbrella organizations?

A. The best way to start working in this area as soon as possible is to donate money to an organization that is operating in Rwanda already. While it is certainly admirable to want to create a new charity, many other nongovernmental groups — such as the Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, Unicef, and multiple others — are already doing the work you have in mind, says Robert H. Frank, a fund-raising consultant in Washington who specializes in international nonprofit clients. “It is important to consider what would make your organization stand out from other international organizations already operating there. How will your organization measure up to other NGO’s that already have international name recognition and have established relationships with the government, community leaders, and people in Rwanda?”

There’s no point in doing all the hard work of setting up a multinational organization if you can support the work of a charity that’s already done the legwork, particularly in as volatile an area as Rwanda. Many organizations specifically focus on Rwanda — check them out to see if they are doing work that your company can support. Find them by searching under “Rwanda” at comprehensive listings of charities such as Idealist.org or Guidestar.org. Also take a look at InterAction, an umbrella organization for 160 international charities. The group’s Web site offers a keyword search of its members’ sites. To find out whether the organizations your search yields are reputable, see the advice to another reader’s question, above.

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