White Rabbits ! White Rabbits ! White Rabbits !
We need all the good luck we can get this month having just put in the application to ask for exemption of our little kitchen table charity, from the Inland Revenue (HM Revenue & Customs), simply to enable us to become eligible for GIFT AID (which allows UK donors to obtain tax relief and an extra 28% on top of all monies given to AVIF).
This could be good news to our Child Sponsorship Manager, Miss Rebecca Wilson, who spent a month in Nyakorere, Kisii, W Kenya this Summer with the orphans of one our hosts.
In addition AVIF is being considered for an ONLY CONNECT Award to allow us to visit and learn from www.BESMO.Com, now associated with Hugo Russell Ltd of Park Royal, London. BESMO is considering helping us with international trade of Kisii's soapstone, the Maasai's jewellery at base camp in Oropile, and all the various groups we've contacted regarding kenyan crafts.
Since AVIF is currently too small to be registered with the UK's charity commission, requiring more Trustees than we have managing volunteers ??? we have decided to spend more time on looking for sustainable funding, the Holy Grail for charities. It is difficult to find funding when not registered but there are lots of avenues to take and lets face facts - bureaucracy will not feed the children. I also continue to offer online volunteering alongside www.NABUUR.Com so any hosts of this Summers Volunteer programme who have not sent in a project proposal to NABUUR please do so to claudia@nabuur.com.
I'd also like to wish Sharon AK (Managing Trustee in Nairobi) a successful networking trip to the US on Friday.
Flying is far easier in the virtual world, the internet makes the world very small, infact its makes worlds ! Unfortunately you need the hardware to get in so once we've upgraded graphics card for laptops?? we'll be hopefully networking virtually too with www.secondlife.com, thanks to Beth Kanter.
Back to the keyboard ....
Kindest regards
Alison Lowndes
Founder Trustee
