As a volunteer worker for a small nonprofit, one finds oneself in some interesting roles.  There is a need to be somewhat of a “Jack of all Trades,” and this is how I, an art teacher (with some banking experience way back when), became the treasurer and fundraiser for Naomi’s Joy.  

 

You need money to run an organization.  Premises, admin, petrol, and bookkeeping, are just some of the monthly expenses, and that is before you have even considered spending money on your passion or cause.  In our case, our “cause” is vulnerable children.  

 

We are a support organization for families who look after vulnerable babies until they can be adopted.  It costs these families around R1300 – R2000 per month to look after a baby, depending on the specific need.  But if there are any special needs it could be much more.  For example, we currently have a baby in care with an allergy to something in the formula.  She needs a hypoallergenic formula that costs between R1500 and R2000 per month.  Add to that nappies, wipes, clothes, and any other monthly expenses that babies need, and it becomes very expensive to care for a baby.  “But what about the government grant?” some would ask.  Would it surprise you to learn that most families don’t see a cent of that grant and if they do it is long after the baby has left their care?  

 

Another factor is that mommies who look after babies can’t work full time, so there is the element of loss of income as well.  Many of our moms have to do part-time work in order to provide for the babies they are caring for.  And one mommy even shared about the hard choice between something one of her “own” children needed, and something her temporary safe care baby needed.  There are sacrifices to be made for this “cause”.  Many of our mommies have said that they would happily take more than one baby if only they had some financial support.

 

One of the main goals of our organization is to subsidize “our” babies.  When we had our shop in Fish Hoek we could provide resources for the babies, including cots, prams, clothes, toys, etc, and in the early days, we could provide a subsidy as well.  But, sadly, Covid hit and it became operationally too expensive to keep our doors open, and while we still maintain a small Resource Centre, we would love to be able to once again provide a subsidy for our babies.

 

This brings me to the reason for this blog.  How does one fundraise with integrity?  Have you ever seen an advert where the malnourished child sits looking sadly at the camera, with the obligatory fly sitting on his or her face?  What about the story of how this baby or that child was found abandoned in this or that situation?  How mommy used drugs or daddy was abusive, etc, etc?  Friends, this is not fundraising with integrity, this is manipulation, and the stories surrounding these babies are theirs and theirs alone to tell.  Many people have suggested using pictures of the babies to garner sympathy.  This illegal practice is often used by organizations to raise funds.  We will not be an organization that exploits children for money.  We will not be sharing our babies’ stories or pictures with the public.  We will not be manipulating our donors.  

 

So where does that leave us?  Well to be honest I don’t know.  But we are passionate enough about our “cause” to keep trying.

 

How can you help?

  1. Consider ordering from the Naomi’s Joy online store.
  2. Consider a once-off or monthly donation to our bank account:

               FNB 625 094 538 75

  1. Consider a Birthday Donation – instead of receiving gifts do a collection to donate.
  2. Like and share our Facebook and Instagram posts
  3. Donate to our Resource Centre (see our website for details on what to donate – naomisjoy.co.za)
  4. Pray for our babies, our families, and our volunteers

 

To all of you who have donated your baby goods, finances, and time, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  It takes a village to raise a child, and we couldn’t do it without your help.