A large part of our ongoing income is from donations from many supporters, individuals, corporations, support groups, dedicated fundraisers and others. We receive donations from many parts of the world including South Africa, North America, Europe and Australia. Some of these donations are once-off, such as bequests and gifts; others are monthly, yearly or intermittent contributions. Some of the donations are very substantial; others are small amounts, but come from limited resources, and we are most grateful for all of them. (The reason that we do not publish the names the hundreds of benefactors here is that it would take a lot of time to administer and we are scared some would remain unacknowledged in a not-frequent-enough update.)

Each and every donation is used for Baphumelele and NO moneys are paid to Trustees, Administrators, Volunteers, Fundraisers, or Organisors of any description whatsoever. The child caregivers at Baphumelele receive a small salary (which is still below the general accepted minimum income, but we are moving in the right direction) after having worked for years as unpaid volunteers.

Over the years many donors requested that their funds be used for a specific purpose or use, which initially was easy to achieve. However, with time and growth, we do find that, for instance, we have plenty of donations to buy medicine and none for diapers (this is a fictitious example, but it serves the purpose). None of the people donating money for medicine knew about the shortage of diapers, and none of them wished us to be short of the one and over supplied of the other.

We have a dedicated and qualified volunteer accountant who helps management with organizing and streamlining funds and supplies and who is in an ideal position to judge which way the available funds should be applied and what will be needed in future months. This is a function that the significant growth of Baphumelele has necessitated and it has resulted in much better financial planning and forcasting, with both short-term and long-term strategic plans for the Home formalized and adopted.

However, management understands the desire of donors wanting to designate funds and for that reason we have established four categories from which one can choose:

1. Housekeeping purse

Donations will be used for expenses to meet day-to-day running costs of operating the Children's Home. Examples include expenses such as electricity, gas, food, diapers, clothing and medicines.

2. Buildings & Equipment

We have an ongoing need for new buildings, renovation and maintenance of existing buildings as well as furniture and equipment for use in these buildings.

3. Staff advancement

Funds will cover employment costs, staff training and development, unemployment insurance and staff welfare.

4. Education

Money will be used for school fees, books, school supplies, school uniforms and other educational related costs.

Child Sponsorship

For those who want to sponsor the Children's Home for the cost equal to what is needed to keep a child, the amount is R2,500 per year. This is a very average amount as costs vary between the different age groups, but it is an indication of how much money is needed per child after allowing for the government grants we receive. Donations received through the sponsorship scheme are used to fund each of the categories discussed above.Please contact the sponsorship coordinator. for more details on this option

All donations may be transferred into our bank account, however, please contact us to give us your name and your choice of support (if any), so that we may confirm receipt and allocate it accordingly.