GiveLight Operational Model Overview
History and Background
Since its inception up to year 8, GiveLight USA was run solely by dedicated and passionate volunteers. We had pro bono services from a lawyer, a webmaster, marketing, strategy development, and other critical skills to launch a Social Enterprise. This saved at least $1 million in overhead costs during the critical stage and formative years, with 100% of donations going toward our orphans.
As we grew globally, it was imperative that we run the organization professionally and with the highest level of commitment. It was impossible to achieve this without a staff and an office. Even so we still heavily rely on hundreds of volunteers to run our events and manage multiple projects. We can not for example give access to volunteers to our growing donor database, no matter how trustworthy they are in order to protect their privacy. We are innovative in our approach and our volunteers stay with the organization for years. Many of them including our board members have been involved for over 10 years and are making significant impacts through their time, expertise, and/or financial contributions.
2021 Overhead Analysis
Our 990 form is available online and you can view it via Guidestar. Although we started hiring after year 8 of operation, we were still able to mobilize a large number f volunteers to plan and run our events. As a result, we remain one of the leanest and most efficient organizations as we spent 7% on salary and overhead in 2021. We have never sent any marketing materials out to solicit donations or do any paid advertisements. This was a strategic choice as we rely on word of mouth and our supporters to be our best ambassadors. Our work is also supported by 80+ companies through employee matching grants which helps offset some overhead costs.
Our goal is to keep our overhead cost low but we want to also invest in building a solid infrastructure by bringing top talents to grow and scale GiveLight. We have set up an endowment fund to generate income to cover our operational expenses while ensuring the long-term financial health of our institution. If you are interested in finding out more about our endowment, please contact finance@givelight.org
Contributions
| $2,338,394 | As % of Contributions |
Management and General Expenses | $166,877 | 7% |
Fundraising Expenses | $51,907 | 2% |
Programs Expenses | $616,147 | 26% |
Total Expenses | $835,031 | 36% |
* Program expenses include direct expenses for the children including food, clothing, medical and education etc.