Hi! As you are aware I am living in Uganda, working as a volunteer for Five Talents, a Christian Micro-Enterprises Development Institution which aims to ‘fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives’. I am hopeful that you are visiting this page because you are considering making a donation, and so I would like to explain why we need your money, and what we would like to do with it.

Introducing Five Talents

Five Talents Uganda (FTU) is affiliated to Five Talents International (FTI), based in Virginia, USA, and it was created by merging FTI’s Ugandan programmes in the three Dioceses of Kigezi, South Rwenzori and Namirembe. FTU was originally registered as a Non Government Organization on February 18th, 2006, and incorporated thereafter as a Company Limited by Guarantee on May 17th, 2006. Five Talents UK was also established in 2006, as the UK based fundraising arm of Five Talents. Tom Sanderson, who is the sole employee of this organisation, spent five years in Uganda and therefore also plays an important role in the coordination of FTU’s activities.

Why we need funding

We envisage that by the end of 2007 FTU will generate enough income from our loan products to be financially sustainable, but until then our operating expenses are funded by FTI. Under pressure to maintain tight control of our costs, we are under-resourced in certain areas. For example, our Namirembe branch has just one aging PC, with a monitor which is temperamental and bad for the eyesight, and which in the UK would long since have been replaced. We have a shortage of motorcycles, the prime means by which our loan officers visit clients. This means they occasionally use slower forms of public transport, or that they don’t visit so often, the consequences of which generally mean lower disbursement and repayment rates, and therefore less effective use of the funds at our disposal.

How we can use your donations

We can use your donations in two main ways:

1) As loan funds, such that the monies directly support our clients in setting up and running small enterprises and in providing employment opportunities
2) For capital expenditure, equipping the staff in the Head Office and in the branches with the resources required to enable them to perform their roles effectively.

It is my view that an investment now in some essential equipment and transport will help ensure that future donations to loan funds will be more effectively employed, and we are therefore now seeking £15,000 for such purposes. At the end of 2006 we made an assessment of the additional resources required across FTU, and these include 5 PCs and 5 motorbikes. It is likely that any further monies raised would contribute to the loan funds.

The full amount of any donations you make will be passed on to FTU via Five Talents UK. Any Gift Aid benefit less the fees charged by Justgiving will be kept by Five Talents UK to support the work done by Tom Sanderson in administering, fundraising and supporting the various operations, including those in Uganda.

If you would like further details before making a decision to donate, please do contact me by email or phone. It is our intention to improve the transparency of our operations and performance over the course of this year, and we would like donors to know how, where and how effectively their donations have been used.

To conclude…

Here are some reasons why you might like to pledge some money;

1)      It’s January, and you haven’t yet considered who should be the lucky recipient(s) of your intended charitable contributions for 2007

2)      A little money in goes a long way. A new desktop PC costs just £200, for example, excluding software.

3)      We are a small organisation in need, rather than a large one with sizeable reserves.

4)      Giving via Justgiving is tax-efficient

5)      Giving is fun!

Many thanks for your support.

Simon Lee.