Funding proposals can be received more regularly and therefore projects can be funded on a less ad hoc basis.
They would be able to recommend projects to you, and would be able to vouch for their legitimacy.
They might be able to give further information about the project which would help when considering funding it (see sections C and D).
Many of these agencies also act as a local intermediary who can handle the money, monitor the project and report back accurately about the developmet and needs of the project. This can ensure that the project is more accountable to you and therefore enables your scheme to be more accountable to the college. A group of local people who are independent of the project might be able to fulfil this role.

B. The Nature of the Project

Having consulted a number of development organisations which work mainly in Southern Africa, we have identified a number of key areas where our money can be most effectively spent. these are also areas which at present do not benefit greatly from government spending and therefore depend to a large extent on international support.

• Community based educational projects.
• Projects developing edcuation in rural areas.
• Literacy and adult basic education particularly for women.
• Projects developing new intiatives in education e.g. using music or drama.
• Projects catering for special needs e.g., remedial teaching, disabled students.
• Training staff within projects in order to build up the capacity of their organisation.
• School projects which provide access to education for underprivileged children, especially girls.
• Government projects and large donors often fund the building and equipping of schools, but do not focus on enabling access to education for more children. However funding should be directed through an accountable organisation, ppreferably not directly to the school itself.

In excluding some areas of education, we are not implying that these are not needy or worthy of support. Simply out of necessity we have tried to reduce this list to areas where we can be most effective.

Please also try to remember all the countries in Southern Africa and not only the ones which are known best.

C. Other aspects of a Project to consider before Funding

• The aims of the project - do these coincide with your college's aims and objectives?
• What is the project's track record? This is in terms of the projects's experience in handling funds as well as in running the project.
• What other sources of funding does the project have? What is the financial state of the project? It is inadvisable to be a project's only source of funding as they can become dependent on you.
• Is it clear how your money will be spent by a project? It is important funders can see exactly what their money has gone towards within a project's budget.
• How long does the project need funding for?Long term projects are viable, but due to the transience of SAFE committees and the unreliability of the funding source, it is inadvisable to commit yourself to funding for more than 2-3 years. this will also prevent a project from becoming dependent on you. Investing in equipment and project workers are good examples of how to ensure that short term funding can have a long term effect.
• Is the project actively involved in the community?
• Who are the beneficiaries? It is generally not advisable for there to be only one beneficiary as projects tend to be heavily subject to the individual's siutation at the time and it is not always easy to account for the money. The most important consideration is whether your money is being used to its greatest effect.
  What are the motivations and political/religious orientations of the project, and of those involved in the administration of the project? Again, are these compatible with your constitution?
• Is the project democratic with accountable management?
• Is the project sustainable and is it practically viable?

D. Final Details Before Funding

Before any money is given it is important to know certain details about the projects:

• Name and address of project.
• Name and address of project director.
• Name of intermediary if one is available.
• Exact sum required, in what instalments and over what period.
• Exactly how the money will be spent.
• How the money can be sent to a project (a direct transfer between accounts is the safest way).
• How progress is to be monitored (again consider the role fo an intermediary).
• Best method of communicating with the project.

E. SAFE committee

It is very important that decisions about funding are made by a committee of people and not by an individual. Liability is then shared and the process is more democratic and accountable to the students body.

If you have a project which you wish to fund but cannot fund yourself, do get in touch with the other SAFE schemes and arrange to support the project jointly.

CUSAFE meetings are also a useful opportunity to pass on any proposals which you might have, and to hear about additional projects from other schemes and the CUSAFE committee.

We hope these guidelines help you to be more focussed in deciding which projects to support. Contact the CUSAFE committee if you have any specific enquiries. Best of luck!