The Fund for African Relief and Education

“Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 8a - FARE directors maintain regular contact via email regarding all disbursements and decisions. we meet once peryear to review FARE activities and progress.”

“FARE Directors maintain regular contact via email regarding all matters. A committee designated with tasks to perform reports back to the Board, either at the annual meeting or by email throughout the year, to present their findings. Only the Board can take final action.”

“Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b - The Treasurer shares a copy of the final tax submission in pdf for all Board members to review. The Treasurer then submits the final approved copy to the IRS.”

“Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 - FARE makes available to anyone requesting our organizational documents and financial statements. A statement of FARE's conflict of interest policy regarding financial support is included in our Tax Return as an addendum describing our grantee selection process.”

“Form 990, Part IV, Line 16 - PROCESS FOR SELECTING GRANTEES AND MONITORING GRANT FUNDS The IRS annual tax return requests that a 501(c)3 organization that gives grants or loans explain how it determines which organizations or individuals will receive assistance. Below is the FARE policy in this regard. FARE educational scholarships may be full or partial, may be limited to tuition or may include other items as listed below. They may be awarded for education in the United States, in an African country or elsewhere as necessary. Grants may help pay for university or secondary school fees, tuition, room and board, technical and vocational training, student health insurance, books, computers and educational equipment, travel directly related to educational purposes and, in exceptional circumstances, emergency aid to the grantee's family (e.g., funeral expenses for a deceased relative, evacuation from the threat of civil unrest, etc.). Educational grants are awarded to individuals based on need and academic aptitude. Need is verified by checking with persons who know of the individual's or family's situation. Aptitude is determined through review of academic transcripts and recommendations from teachers and others and, if possible, personal interviews conducted by a FARE Board member. Emergency grants (for medical purposes or to assist victims of civil unrest and displacement) are awarded based on a FARE Board member's knowledge of the applicant's situation and discussion with other FARE Board members and supporters. For Special Projects, such as the Liberia Well Project in 2020, villages were selected by a 2-person team consisting of a FARE Board Member from Liberia, and the FARE Well Engineer familiar with the situation in villages up-country. The selection criteria include non-existence of a source of clean drinking water, including an abandoned existing well, village residents' willingness to participate by providing labor, sand and food. Village leadership must actively participate in the well intervention and identify residents who will maintain the new well. Relatives and spouses of FARE's Board members are specifically prohibited from receiving grants of any amount. All grants are awarded by FARE after the applications (whether verbal or written) are vetted to at least three Board members. Approval of at least three Board members is required.”

“Form 990, Part XI, Line 9 - This discrepancy is due to FARE receiving contributions spanning two years. See the description of FARE's accounting principles in Schedule O to understand the reasons the Board does not spend valuable resources on auditing or using our hard-to-raise funds to pay accountants. All our books are open to anyone and we keep meticulous receipts for all disbursements, even for recipients who cannot read or write. We also received considerable income in 2022 from our 2021 fund-raising which will show up in the 2022 tax report. Our disbursements for 2021 were reduced due to the effects of the pandemic, so we remain sound financially.”