Indianapolis, Indiana … From time to time news coverage and investigative reporting focuses on the conduct and financial activities of not-for-profit organizations in the U.S. As a trust of the community of contributors there is sometimes good reason to look into these activities. Organizations should be open to scrutiny by contributors, and spending explained, especially when it comes to the higher officials who determine the group’s financial relationships.
Financial accountability was a high priority of the Malawi Project when it was first formed and remains high on the list for accountability. One question that often falls under the microscope of scrutiny in many an international organization relates to what the founders and board members are compensated for their efforts. When it comes to the subject of funding for board and founder payroll the Malawi Project comes in with an A+. No one on the board and neither of the working founders has ever been compensated with salary from Malawi Project donations. In fact, each of the board members and both founders pay their own travel and work expenses from personal funds outside the Malawi Project treasury, nor does anyone on the U.S. side receive any salary from the Project. All of those who work on the Project in the U. S. are volunteers so there are no salaries paid to anyone on the U. S. staff. The directive that no board members receive a salary, or specific compensation for their work, was actually written into the by-laws for the Project in the very beginning. To this day it continues to insure an all-volunteer organization based in the U.S.