How can I make a donation to WaterAid?

1. I would like to give WaterAid a regular donation. How do I set this up?

To set up a regular gift by direct debit, simply visit our donate page.

Giving a regular gift is a great way to support our work as it means that we can plan our future work overseas safe in the knowledge that we have the funds to reach our commitments. Your regular gift really can make a huge difference, helping us to bring clean water, sanitation and hygiene education to some of the world's poorest people.

2. I would like to fund a specific project, is this possible?

In general we prefer not to link donations to a specified item such as a well or pump. The administration costs involved in directing funds in this way are quite high, and we feel it is important that as much as the donation as possible is directed to our overseas work, and not tied up in administration. We much prefer to direct funds to our work in general; a resource of unallocated money allows us to respond quickly when situations change, as well as giving us the security to plan future projects.

We also work very closely with communities to encourage a sense of ownership in their projects so that they manage and maintain them long into the future. This is crucial to the long-term sustainability of our work.

It is, however, possible for some donations to be linked to an area of our work. Donations of $12,000 or over can be linked to a project in one of the countries where we work. Once the donation has been linked, we can provide updates showing how the money has been used.

3. How much of my donation is used to support your water, sanitation and hygiene work?

As a charity, we have a duty to keep our administration, fundraising and publicity costs as low as possible. In 2004/5 WaterAid's total expenditure was $62.4 million. Of this money, $14.4 million (23%) was spent on administration and $48 million (77%) was spent on fundraising and publicity.

For more details, read our annual report and accounts, published in October every year on the international website.

To find out more about WaterAid Australia's finances, read the annual report on our organisation page. 

4. How do you ensure my money is spent properly overseas?

We have a rigorous system of monitoring and supporting our country offices and partners implementing our project work. Financial reports are sent to London monthly and these are checked by the Finance department. We also have dedicated Partner Monitoring Finance Officers in most countries who check the finances of the partner organisations, and all our offices have well qualified and trained finance staff.

In addition to this we have an internal audit function which carries out comprehensive audits for the country programmes and reports findings to the Audit Committee. Regular follow up is then made of the action points agreed. Each country programme has an annual external audit by an independent firm of accountants and the Head Office is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.