Financial principles
Financial transparency is central to trust. AidWorkers should be able to show how money is raised, how decisions are made, what funds are used for and what controls are in place to reduce waste, misuse and avoidable overhead.
Administrative costs should be kept proportionate and reviewed regularly.
Spending should be connected to humanitarian need, practical support or the infrastructure needed to deliver it.
Income, expenditure, approvals and urgent decisions should be recorded properly.
Trustees should review financial information and question costs that do not support the organisation’s purpose.
Supporting aid workers on the ground
Some humanitarian situations require speed and flexibility. Aid workers and local responders may need access to funds to buy essential supplies, move goods, secure transport, obtain fuel, repair equipment, arrange communications, support families or respond to urgent needs that were not predicted in advance.
Financial controls should support responsible action rather than block it. Where funds are released quickly, the reasons, route, recipient and intended benefit should be recorded as far as is practical and safe.
Future reporting
As AidWorkers develops, this page should be updated with annual summaries, spending categories, support activity, reserve position, administrative costs and examples of how funds have been used to create direct humanitarian benefit.