Frequently Asked Questions

Accountability & Aid in Afghanistan:
Ensuring Donor Dollars Are Used Effectively & Transparently

Our organization’s success comes from the dedication and skills of everyday Canadians. It’s not about one or two “heroes” – it’s about the efforts of our diverse supporters and volunteers from all across the country. We’re united in the belief that human rights are universal, and that we all share in the responsibility for fighting for rights to be realized for the women and girls of Afghanistan. Every effort does make a difference – not only for the people of Afghanistan, but also for those of us involved here in Canada.

The following resource helps to explain how we, as a volunteer-based charity, are able to undertake responsible, sustainable and well-managed development programming in the challenging environment of Afghanistan.

1.     What has CW4WAfghan accomplished in Afghanistan?
2.     How do I know that my donation will go directly to the projects in Afghanistan?
3.     How do I know that the organization is legitimate?
4.     Can you issue Income Tax Receipts?
5.     Has there been any improvement in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban?
6.     There are so many worthy charities.  Why might I choose to support CW4WAfghan?
7.     What are the sources of funding for the organization?

1.    What has CW4WAfghan accomplished in Afghanistan?

We’re dedicated to human rights. 

Through our long-term commitment and effective education projects, CW4WAfghan has been able to improve the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls in Afghanistan. It is, however, the Afghans themselves who have accomplished the real ground-breaking change in their country: the millions of girls who head off to school every morning, or widows learning to read for the first time, the thousands Afghan teachers who go to work every day, or the 29 young, healthy girls living at the orphanage we support who have limitless dreams for their futures. We, as Canadians, are proud of all the contributions we have made—our time, talents, resources, and funds—towards these remarkable accomplishments.

We have 13 chapters and 800 members. We have established a fabulous network of 800 Canadian members and thirteen volunteer community-based chapters all across Canada. Thanks to the hard work of our members, we have raised $3,500,000 to support women and girls in Afghanistan since 1996, and those funds come mainly from individual Canadian donors.

2.    How do I know that my donation will go directly to the projects in Afghanistan?

We’re accountable. Afghanistan presents a complex and challenging environment in which to manage development projects. It’s true that corruption and waste can be rampant, and business opportunism often tries to pass for genuine charitable objectives. That’s why we’ve worked hard since our establishment in 1996 to constantly evolve a system of accountability. We use numerous policies, checks and tools to ensure financial accountability including the prevention of fraud, results for investment, sustainability of projects, and quality control. We closely monitor all projects, work with our partners to strengthen their capacity in areas such as good governance and project management, and we enforce a zero tolerance policy for financial mismanagement. We are audited annually and our financial statements are publicly viewable on our website. Our Project Management Team, including our Country Director in Kabul and our Financial Officer in Canada regularly monitor expenditures, receipts and reporting.

We’re small and therefore nimble. The small budgets of our projects make projects manageable and allow us maximum control over their outcomes. We enjoy close collaborative relationships with our Afghan partner organizations and we have an accurate picture of the evolution of our projects on a daily basis. Our Project Management Team applies their collective expertise in project management, budgeting and sustainable planning, and works closely with our team of Afghan field staff who manage our Kabul Office. Both Canadian and Afghan team members contribute to monitoring and evaluation activities, regularly collecting data as projects are implemented. The modest budgets of our projects help ensure resources are stretched to maximum effect, leaving little room for waste.

We’re long-term. We select our partners carefully and then commit to supporting them for many years. We have worked with many of our current partners for more than 10 years. These long-term relationships mean that we can build on results from one year to the next, continuously improving our methods and impact, and documenting our lessons learned. We can work with our partners to improve their capacity to run excellent projects and to meet new needs as they emerge. We understand and listen to our partners, who in turn understand the communities where they work, and we rely on mutual trust as the basis of these sustained relationships.

We’re volunteers. As a small, grassroots organization, we are committed to sending donations to Afghanistan. We are volunteer-based, and we have no employees in our Canadian operations. Our Projects Director and Finance Officer are under part-time contract on a fee for service basis, and these costs are not paid from tax-receipted donations. Our by-laws and other policies strictly prohibit conflicts of interest among staff, contractors and board members in Afghanistan, as in Canada.

We do this work not for financial gain or credit, but because we are deeply committed to the human right to education and to standing by the women and girls as Afghanistan as they seek to empower themselves. We are ordinary people from all walks of life who give our skills and time to a common purpose.

We have low administrative and operational costs. We are unique in that 100% of donations made to CW4WAfghan go directly to the projects in Afghanistan. We derive minimal support for administrative and operational costs from institutional or corporate sources so that we are able to apply all donations to the projects in Afghanistan. These include, for instance, 10% of book royalties from the sale of 'The Breadwinner' book series by award-winning author Deb Ellis. We also rely on in-kind support to cover some of our minimal administrative expenses. If donors choose to contribute using CanadaHelps.org, that website charges 4% for their service. In any instance where we are seeking funds for administrative expenses, this is clearly communicated in the solicitation. Our administrative costs are significantly lower than the average break-down of other charities and we aim to continue to work on this basis for the foreseeable future.

3.     How do I know that the organization is legitimate?

We are a registered Canadian charity. CW4WAfghan is operating in good standing with the federal government (Canada Revenue Agency #887718203RR0001). We are also registered as a limited liability non-profit corporation through Industry Canada. We are audited annually and publicly disclose our audited annual statements. You can peruse this website to see our financial records as well as tracking of all donations from fundraising events held across the country. Revenue Canada enforces rigid standards around the accountability of registered charities. In Afghanistan, we are a registered international non-governmental organization with the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance, to whom we submit detailed financial and project reports every six months in Kabul. The Ministry of Economy also monitors our projects in the field.

4.     Can you issue Income Tax Receipts?

We provide tax receipts. We provide CRA approved income tax receipts automatically for all donations of $30 or more. For donations under $30, we are happy to provide tax receipts upon request. As indicated above, our organization is run entirely by volunteers. Because the return is very minimal on small sums of money in terms of tax returns, and in order to save stationery and postage expenses associated with mailing receipts, we send income tax receipts for smaller amounts only upon request.

5.     Has there been any improvement in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban? Am I throwing my money away?

We have lots of ‘good news stories’. Through our work as a non-profit organization with a long history working in Afghanistan, we see many positive improvements in Afghanistan on a regular basis through our project work. We are very proud to see the incredible impact from our efforts through the 15 education projects we are supporting in any given year, and how this long-term commitment has provided tangible and meaningful support to Afghan women and their families. All projects are fully documented on our website (HOW WE HELP) and in our regular newsletters (RESOURCES).

Afghanistan continues to struggle with enormous challenges, and the media tends to focus on substantially on those challenges. However, a more balanced report would celebrate such gains as the following:

•    A new constitution and a democratically elected parliament are an early foundation for democratic process;
•    Greater percentage of Afghan MPs are women than in Canada’s parliament; and the Afghan parliament is increasingly effective and efficient in passing legislation and serving as a check on the executive;
•    3 out of 4 children have been immunized against childhood disease;
•    8 in 10 Afghans now have access to basic medical services;
•    10 universities are operational;
•    7 national television stations and a lively media sector are serving as an important check on the government;
•    The maternal mortality rate has decreased significantly since 2002;
•    The construction of numerous major highways, tunnels, bridges and road systems, such as the new highway from Kabul to Kandahar;
•    Major infrastructure development and repairs;
•    A reforming justice system;
•    Dramatically increased size and capacity of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police and progress in training the security sector;
•    Significant progress in demining throughout the country
•    Over 7 million children are enrolled in the school system, including 2.5 million girls;
•    Women are visible in public life in many parts of the country and increasingly active in the political, economic and cultural spheres
•    Micro-credit and entrepreneurship support assistance is widely available to women and thousands of women have started businesses of all sizes and in diverse industries.

6.     There are so many worthy charities.  Why might I choose to support Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan?

We believe in the power of education. If you do too, we may be a good match for your support through our shared goals to make social change and create peace through education. We are a group of Canadians working together to support human rights for Afghan women and girls. Our projects are all education-focused and we have a solid track record of results: we have contributed to quality education for more than 50,000 students each year, and since 2008 have graduated over 1,800 teachers. We pay teachers' salaries, support adult literacy programs, and women's community and learning centres. We document these results carefully to be able to measure the change we seek. We’re confident that to make lasting social change the best place to invest is in education, and specifically in the empowerment of girls and women and facilitating their access to literacy and educational opportunities. We know this from a wealth of scholarly research that proves it, and from having witnessed change every day on the ground in our projects as lives are profoundly transformed by the power of literacy. Decades of international development policy and practice have proven that when women and girls have an education, the whole society benefits.

7. What are the sources of funding for the organization?

Involving communities across Canada through Breaking Bread Donations: Donations to CW4WAfghan each month come mainly from individual donors through our Breaking Bread fundraising initiative. Canadians participating in this fundraising project will host a dinner in their home or community, and strive to raise between $750 and $1500 to help pay teachers salaries and education resources for the projects we support. A full list of every event held since June 2002 (over 950!) and the amount received for each dinner (averaging $750) is on our web site under WHAT WE DO and donors are able to confirm their donations have been received.

Sustaining our projects with help from our Monthly Donors and General Donations: Individual Canadian donors have set up a monthly donation or donate each year by cheque or online through CanadaHelps.com on a regular basis to help sustain our programmes in Afghanistan.

Matching Canadian donations through Government Funding: We have received funding ($500,000) from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for our two-year teacher training project: Excel-erate (2008-2010). Full details are on our website under HOW WE HELP. This funding matches 3:1 our contribution to the project of $150,000. CIDA has also supported several public engagement activities for CW4WAfghan members in Canada. Funds have also been provided ($66,000) from the Government of Alberta’s Community Spirit Initiative for one project supporting library and literacy activities in Kabul.

Author, Deb Ellis “The Breadwinner” Book Royalties: The royalties from "The Breadwinner" and "Parvana's Journey" have been allocated to our projects supporting education in Afghanistan. An incredible amount of over $850,000 has been received since 2000 thanks to this generous commitment from Deborah Ellis. A portion (10%) of these royalties is approved to use towards our operating and administration expenses. This allows us to continue to allocate 100% of individual donations to our projects without deducting operating or administration expenses.