Our Due Diligence Process
The Process with Registered NGOs in Uganda
The Ugandan Government requires of Non-Government-Organisations (NGOs) an annual work plan which outlines measurable goals for the year. At the end of the year NGOs are required to report on what has been achieved and, if goals haven't been achieved, what were the challenges which prevented goals being achieved. They also are required to report on their sources of funding/donations and provide a sustainability plan. Internally, organisations do quarterly financial/activity reports to keep themselves accountable so that they are well prepared for the annual reporting process. All of this is required to legally operate as an NGO. This is to eliminate what are known as "brief case NGOs"/scammers.
So our process in Uganda is to ask for
Creating Direct Pathways for donations
An important principle is to create a direct pathway for money from sponsors and donors to where the money needs to be spent. For example, if an organisation requests help with an unexpected hospital bill, this should be paid directly to the hospital and that hospital needs to be contacted independent of the person or organisation which has asked for help. We will require an invoice from the hospital and we will make contact with the hospital independently from contact information provided by the organisations. Receipts for payments will be required. For payment of school fees many countries have an arrangement with a bank which enables parents or caregivers to deposit fees into the school account against the name of the child. Internationally it is necessary to make contact with the bank independently and establish an international transfer process which links in with the existing one.
Con Artists and urgency
Con artists frequently create crises requiring an urgent response. This does not mean that, wherever a person presents with an urgent situation they are a scammer. What it means is that, for one off situations, we may need to take a risk to save a life. However, it is unlikely this will be the last crisis we will deal with. So we then need to independently contact the hospital or other organisation afterwards and check that the crisis was real and the money used as stated.
Identifying false documents
Many documents, taken individually, can easily be falsified by a scammer, fraudster, or opportunistic individual. However, taken together, scammers, fraudsters, and dishonest individuals can usually be caught out because of the gaps in their information, or a lack of transparency in particular areas. So it becomes very important to pay close attention to any gaps or any sense of a lack of transparency.
The Ugandan Government requires of Non-Government-Organisations (NGOs) an annual work plan which outlines measurable goals for the year. At the end of the year NGOs are required to report on what has been achieved and, if goals haven't been achieved, what were the challenges which prevented goals being achieved. They also are required to report on their sources of funding/donations and provide a sustainability plan. Internally, organisations do quarterly financial/activity reports to keep themselves accountable so that they are well prepared for the annual reporting process. All of this is required to legally operate as an NGO. This is to eliminate what are known as "brief case NGOs"/scammers.
So our process in Uganda is to ask for
- their NGO registration number which we then check independently with the Government
- their physical address.
- their most recent annual work plan. That work plan should have all the details the Government requires. We will expect that to be satisfactory to us as well.
- their bank account and most recent financial statement.
- We will check that the account is legitimate with the bank
- six monthly internal reports.
Creating Direct Pathways for donations
An important principle is to create a direct pathway for money from sponsors and donors to where the money needs to be spent. For example, if an organisation requests help with an unexpected hospital bill, this should be paid directly to the hospital and that hospital needs to be contacted independent of the person or organisation which has asked for help. We will require an invoice from the hospital and we will make contact with the hospital independently from contact information provided by the organisations. Receipts for payments will be required. For payment of school fees many countries have an arrangement with a bank which enables parents or caregivers to deposit fees into the school account against the name of the child. Internationally it is necessary to make contact with the bank independently and establish an international transfer process which links in with the existing one.
Con Artists and urgency
Con artists frequently create crises requiring an urgent response. This does not mean that, wherever a person presents with an urgent situation they are a scammer. What it means is that, for one off situations, we may need to take a risk to save a life. However, it is unlikely this will be the last crisis we will deal with. So we then need to independently contact the hospital or other organisation afterwards and check that the crisis was real and the money used as stated.
Identifying false documents
Many documents, taken individually, can easily be falsified by a scammer, fraudster, or opportunistic individual. However, taken together, scammers, fraudsters, and dishonest individuals can usually be caught out because of the gaps in their information, or a lack of transparency in particular areas. So it becomes very important to pay close attention to any gaps or any sense of a lack of transparency.
