How We Cover Our Expenses

Noor Relief Fund believes in transparency and accountability. Information on admin costs are readily available on the Noor Relief Fund website and in our Terms and Conditions which donors should read and accept before donating on our website.

As Noor Relief Fund is a registered charity, information on the charity expenses are included in our Annual Report, which is independently audited and lodged with the Charity Commission.

As an organisation, we are making every effort to make people aware that Noor Relief Fund has admin costs and why admin costs are a necessary expenditure for a high-performing and transparent charity.

Your donation helps us in turn to raise further funds – which means every donation you make is significantly increased in value. We believe this is money well spent because for every £1 we receive in donations around 11p goes towards raising further funds. Your donation is nearly doubled as we ensure funds are used effectively in marketing and fundraising to further our scope in helping humanity. Noor Relief Fund is registered with the Fundraising Regulator, and strives for best practice in fundraising by adhering to the Code of Fundraising Practice.

For us to make sure we deliver the aid in the correct manner usually involves fees such as money transfer abroad and paying the salaries of staff who are responsible for administering these processes. Office costs, equipment costs and governance all need to be met to facilitate this process and make sure it fully complies with Charity Commission laws as well as legal obligations. Reaching the most vulnerable in society is essential but it can mean having to access hard-to-reach areas which can be costly and time-consuming as well as sometimes dangerous.

Successful charities are able to fulfil more humanitarian work as well as reach out to donors and efficiently run their charity due to a small percentage of their costs going towards administrative fees. With your help, we would like to increase our campaigns and activities across the globe so that we can help the most vulnerable reach a position where they no longer need any form of support. Expanding our campaigns will require more investment in research, hiring professionals to implement our strategic and logistical vision, as well as the provision of crucial administrative support. The implementation of a highly secure system to keep both our donors and sponsored orphans secure, for example, costs money and is not something that should be taken lightly.

Research shows that high-performing charities actually spend more on administration than weaker charities. Analysis by Giving Evidence provides a case study on false economies: “Imagine a water charity which operates in several less developed countries to improve irrigation. If it’s run well, it will have a system for recording what works and what doesn’t in particular circumstances, and for sharing that learning between its various country offices. Now, should the costs of that system count as ‘administration’? On the one hand, the system isn’t directly helping people: it probably involves databases and conference calls, rather than pipes and water. As a result, it may well be classified as ‘administration’ in a charity’s accounts. However, the system will reduce the charity’s costs and increase its effectiveness, and therefore certainly isn’t waste. Aha – in this case, money spent on administration increases performance”

While we have many volunteers who regularly work with us, we also hire staff. Our office in London employs hard-working staff who have a passion for charity work but also need to support their families. Our staff are incredibly hard-working and often work long hours to ensure they do what’s needed to support our sponsored orphans and any of the people in the campaigns we are involved with.
In addition to this, we employ several staff in our offices throughout Iraq. Several are widows with orphaned children who are now receiving employment with a modest wage which fosters their independence and self-sufficiency.

Some organisations claim to have zero overheads. However, all organisations need to spend money on running costs. A charity needs a head office to control the organisation and to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. Even volunteers cost money: they need to be trained, coordinated and supported. Every charity needs to find some source for their running costs – if they don’t take it out of donations that they receive from the public, then they have to take it from donations received from other donors, running charity shops or from gift aid.
Claiming that 100% of every pound raised by a charity is used exclusively for charitable purposes is, according to The Guardian, “there are still some organisations that claim that 100% of every pound raised by their charity is used exclusively for charitable purposes. But this is only an illusion, made possible because other costs incurred are covered by other income sources – such as grants … the myth that charities can operate with zero overheads is utterly misleading and creates the illusion in the public’s mind – and it damages the rest of the charity sector.”