Dear AKI Friends, Our 2019 Annual Report is now available on the AKI website. It describes the work our Partners and Grant Recipients have accomplished with AKI funding, the non-financial support we've provided, how we've communicated with our supporters (we hope you think we've done well in that area-if not, tell us!), articles we've had published, and a brief summary of the many requests we've received for help during 2019. It's your support that has made all of this possible. We rely entirely on donations from individuals who believe as we do - that Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries.
New AKI Partner: Bam Animal Clinics-Uganda
At the end of each year, the AKI Board meets to review the status of our finances and whether we'll add and/or drop a Partner Organization. This year, we've added Bam Animal Clinics-Uganda as a Partner, specifically Bam's donkey welfare work. In 2019, Bam Animal Clinics was an AKI Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization grant recipient.
Bam successfully completed a grant project that trained donkey owners in eastern Uganda to make sisal saddles to protect donkeys from injuries (photo above). (See below about the difference between AKI Partners and Grantees.) We're thrilled to add Bam Animal Clinics to the AKI Partnership of Animal Welfare Organizations! READ ABOUT THE AKI-BAM PARTNERSHIP
Since our December newsletter, we've published 4 AKI Blog posts to update readers about our Partners' and Grant Recipients' activities and how they use AKI funds: My Visit to Egyptian Society of Animal Friends by Debra Denker (Author of Weather Menders, a cli-fi time travel novel) about Debra's visit with our 2019 Grantee. Nyendwa Mobile Clinic: helping animals in Zambia's remote regions by Annie Njovu, Nyendwa's Programme Officer & Animal Health Care Provider, about Nyendwa' mobile clinics working in drought-affected areas, thanks to an AKI 2019 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization grant. LAWCS Strengthens the Human-Animal Bond, Thanks to AKI Donors! Personal stories about the impacts of AKI Partner Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society's Humane Ed Program, and sadly, about a rabies outbreak that LAWCS is dealing with.
Helping Animals in Namibia's Under-Served Areas: Katatura, Aranos, & Rundu-by Erika, who oversees disbursement and use of AKI funds for our Namibia Partners (Photo above: kittens, too young to be separated from mom, were brought to the Katutura Pet Care & Feeding Project-there was nowhere else to turn, as is the case with most of the issues that the Katutura volunteers are confronted with on their monthly visits. These kittens were lucky; a volunteer, knowledgeable about taking care of orphaned kittens took them home and provided the round-the-clock kitten care.)
What's the Difference: Partners & Grantees
For our 1st 11 years, we supported only our Partner Organizations. AKI Partners are animal welfare organizations that someone on the AKI Board has worked closely with, in-person, on-the-ground, so we can feel 100% comfortable with their programs, their technical expertise, their administrative capabilities. That doesn't mean that to become a Partner they have to be perfect in each of those categories! We love to help organizations grow. It does mean we have full confidence in them, their accountability and transparency, and that our support will help move animal welfare/care forward. As long as they meet our standards, our Partners receive funding from us every year (only possible thanks to your donations). This is so important because in the countries where our Partners work, there are still very few donors to animal welfare, there are so few opportunities for grant funding. Our reliable source of funding means our Partners can plan, they can grow, they can become strong voices for animals in their countries. As you can see from our 2019 Annual Report (and all previous annual reports), we receive A LOT of requests for support! So we've thought a lot about how we could help more animal welfare organizations. We came up with the idea of an Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program, now ending its 2nd year and the only grant program that focuses solely on African organizations. Our Grant Recipients receive one-time funding based on a grant application. But we don't just cut them loose! We provide administrative, technical, and other advice and support, as needed, just as we do for our Partners. Those are the main differences between AKI Partners and Grantees.
Each year, we raise money for our supported organizations (Partners and Grantees). Check out the pie chart above showing how your designated-and undesignated-donations in 2019 added up (a better view is available here).
AKI donors support our 10 Partner Organizations in Uganda (2 partners), Tanzania, South Sudan, Namibia, Liberia, Ghana, Armenia, Jamaica, and Honduras; and AKI's Grant Program for Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organizations (2019 grant recipients are located in: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Mozambique, and South Africa.) Wishing you and your loved ones all the best for 2020. With Kind Regards, Karen Menczer & the AKI Board We rely on you to help us get the word out about AKI and our support for animal welfare organizations in resource-poor countries. Would you consider Forwarding this message to a friend?