01 DONATIONS
What happens when I donate? Where does my money go?
You are about to donate. You can donate via Donorbox or wire transfer, but there is a voice in your head, the voice of reason talking to you: ‘what will TreeGenerations do with my hard earned money? Will they give it to themselves? Will they squander it? Waste it on useless stuff? Is it really worth it to donate?’
Whether our cause is worth your donation, is a question only you can answer. What we can do, however, is provide you with a detailed overview of all the things your money goes toward, so you can feel safe and secure in donating to our cause. In what follows, you can read about the money flow of your donation:
Any money you send via Donorbox, is taken by a payment processor and delivered to our highly secured KBC nonprofit bank account. Wire transfer and cash donations are delivered to our KBC nonprofit bank account as well. Your money stays there, until one of the following things happens:
1. Tree promotions: fundraiser or promotional event
We organise a promotional or fundraising event: a fraction of your donation is spent on promotional materials and logistical expenses in anticipation of events (for instance the Halloween edition of Climbing for Trees). Flyers, posters, keychains, drinks are purchased. We also invest in plants to be sold at these events. This way we turn your donation into more donations.
2. Tree time: end of the month
The end of the month approaches: we send a significant chunk of your donation to our stellar employees in Nicaragua. We send it from our KBC nonprofit bank account to our employees’ Western Union account to cover their working fees and expenses. Our local manager then decides – in consultation with us – what to spend any additional money on: maintenance of our fences, plantation of new seeds, moving saplings to our domain, general works and so on.
3. Tree season: plant those trees!
It’s planting season: planting season is a busy season for us. Schedules are made, seeds are purchased and extra hands are hired to plant thousands of seeds in our nursery. Hiring extra labourers and equipment requires a lot of investment, which is why another chunk of your donation goes specifically to our nursery and planting season.
4. Treeweb: annual website fees are due
Our website and domain name are up for annual renewal: once a year we use a fraction of your donation to cover the expenses of our website and domain name. Our website is an essential part of our communication strategy and outreach program and allows us to attract investors. It also functions as an online headquarters with information on our activities for anyone who wants to learn about us.
5. Treelords: we buy land like landlords do
We purchase land: At TreeGenerations we do not only think about today, we think about the future as well. We save up part of your donation to purchase land. The benefits of purchasing reforested land are twofold: it gives us agency and allows us to avoid our reforested zones from falling into the hands of new ownership, which could lead to the cutting down of our planted trees. Ownership is the only way to guarantee the longevity of our project..
So these are the things we spend your money on when you donate to our cause. If you are interested in knowing more about the things we do without your donation and our volunteers program, you may want to read more about those things here:
If you want us to answer any other questions you may have, please shoot us a message via the contact page or get in touch via social media: