Donors focus more on projects

The donors of the aid organisation human aktiv are making more targeted donations. This is reflected in the recently published financial report for 2019 by the institution of the New Apostolic Church Southern Germany.

Last year, human aktiv raised about 1.15 million euros in donations. A good 55 per cent was donated to specific projects. The year before it was only 42 per cent. Unrestricted donations still accounted for the larger half. In total, about 80,000 euros more in donations were recorded in 2019 compared to 2018.

Expenditure for emergency aid increases

More than 430,000 euros went to foreign aid, that is, projects outside of Germany. This amount is 160,000 more than last year and is mainly due to disaster relief: emergency relief for the victims of Cyclone Idai in south-eastern Africa to the tune of 50,000 euros. Famine relief, 60,000 euros, went to Southern Sudan and was twice as high as the year before.

With almost 93,000 euros, the money for school and well construction in West Africa almost doubled. Continued funding was provided for health education in Guinea, the Water is Life projects in West Africa, education projects in Kenya and Latin America, the Hungry+Needy food aid project for West Africa, the school project in Ethiopia, well construction projects in Cameroon, and the orphanage in Cameroon.

Constantly active in Germany too

The total amount spent for humanitarian aid in Germany was only slightly below the previous year at 542,000 euros. The funds for children’s and youth recreation activities as well as charity events, which are usually paid out on application, were down.

A good half of the budget was spent on so-called spontaneous aid, with which the District Church of Southern Germany supports a wide variety of organisations as required. The annual funding priority Family Relief Services was close behind. Five-digit sums were also donated for a food bank campaign, for children’s and youth camps, for charity events, and for meals for the poor.

Still young, but already a tradition

In 2019, administrative costs doubled compared to the year before. However, this is solely due to the participation in the International Youth Convention. Otherwise, human aktiv has remained true to its objective of putting as much money as possible from donations into projects and was able to keep its ordinary share of administrative costs to under one per cent.

This is only the second financial report of the aid organisation, by the way. Until 2017 the humanitarian activities of the District Church were carried out under the umbrella of the charity Missionswerk, which was established in 1993 under the name Neuapostolisches Hilfswerk (New Apostolic Charity). The main objective of the charity then was the building of Church structures in the countries cared for by the Church, such as West and East Africa. This accounted for more than 80 per cent of the expenditures.

The New Apostolic Church is now legally recognised in most of the countries it is active so that the relief organisation can now concentrate on the humanitarian part of its tasks. To this end, the organisation has not only given itself the new name “human aktiv”, but also a new constitution.

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