About this organisation
Description of charity
Library Aid International Inc (LAI) is a small, Christian-based, non-profit organisation that is not affiliated with any specific denomination. Incorporated in Tasmania, Australia, it is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and holds Designated Gift Recipient status, allowing for tax deductibility as approved by the Australian Taxation Office. LAI has sent 11 shipping containers with used books and educational supplies to needy schools in developing countries.
Summary of activities
Library Aid International Inc. is an incorporated charity based in Tasmania It aims to help teachers improve literacy in disadvantaged schools in developing countries by providing good secondhand books and educational materials. We do this by; 1. Sourcing good secondhand books and materials from schools, libraries and individuals. 2. Checking and sorting the collected books into suitable categories such as primary school or secondary school, fiction or non fiction, etc. 3. Packing the books and materials into suitably labelled cartons. This also involves sourcing suitable sized cartons so that there is a minimum of waste space in shipping containers. 4. Packing the cartons into a shipping container and shipping it to a developing country. 5. Developing a network of persons in each receiving country to oversee the distribution of the cartons to disadvantaged schools in their area. 6. Fund-raising to cover office and shipping expenses. 7. Supervising volunteers involved in achieving these objectives.
Mission or vision of the charity
Library Aid International Inc. (LAI) offers free used books, educational resources, and school supplies to enhance literacy and educational outcomes for children in underserved schools in developing countries. LAI is passionate about introducing books to children, particularly those who have limited access to them. Our resources are provided to educational institutions, regardless of religious affiliation or secular status.
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Outcomes
Outcomes are self-reported by charities
Outcomes measurement detail
Approach to measuring outcomes
Number of 20-foot (6-metre) shipping containers sent overseas Written feedback from overseas schools Written and photo/video feedback from appointed overseas distributors (e.g. service clubs) Memorandum of Understanding for each shipment
Approach to collecting feedback from the people it serves
LAI has learnt from and adapted our approach over time to achieve efficiencies and financial savings. LAI takes nto account the feedback from the receiving educational institutions and distributing organisations. Some personal visits have been made by members of LAI or their representatives.
External evaluations of this charity
Prior to obtaining direct DGR status from the Australian Taxation Office, LAI registered a series of 3-year projects with Health and Development Aid Australia Inc based in Ashmore, Quensland to take advantage of their DGR status for projects under their umbrella. This involved 3-monthly reports and final reports for their Board and new applications to renew the (continuing) project. These reports are included on the LAI website Reporting Page https://libraryaid.org/reporting/ - Link for more information
Programs and activities
Name: Books For Kids Who Need Them
URL: https://www.libraryaid.org
Classification: Community development (Community development )
Beneficiaries:- Children - aged 6 to under 15
- Early childhood - aged under 6
- Families
- Overseas communities or charities
- Youth - 15 to under 25
Finances
What is this?
This graph shows how much revenue (money in) and expenses (money out) the charity has had each year over the last few years. Charities have many sources of revenue, such as donations, government grants, and services they sell to the public. Similarly, expenses are everything that allows the charity to run, from paying staff to rent.
What should I be looking for?
First off, this graph gives a general indication of how big the charity is - charities range in size from tiny (budgets of less than $100,000) to enormous (budgets more than $100 million). You're also looking for variability - if the charity's revenue and expenses are jumping up and down from year to year, make sure there's a good reason for it.
Unlike companies, charities and not-for-profits aren't on a mission to make money. However, if they spend more than they receive, eventually they will go into too much debt and run into trouble. As a very general rule, you want revenue to be slightly above expenses. If expenses is reliably above revenue, the charity is losing money. If revenue is much larger than expenses, it means the charity might not be using its resources effectively. It isn't always that simple, however, and there's a lot of reasons a charity might not follow this pattern. They might be saving up for a big purchase or campaign, or they might have made a big one-off payment. If you're worried, always look at the annual and financial reports to understand why the charity is making the decisions it is.
What is this?
If a charity receives more money than it spends, that's a surplus (in business, it would be called profit). If it spends more than it receives, that's a deficit. This chart shows surpluses and deficits for the charity over the last few years.
What should I be looking for?
Unlike companies, charities and not-for-profits aren't on a mission to make money. However, if they spend more than they receive, eventually they will go into too much debt and run into trouble. As a very general rule, you want a charity to make a small surplus on average. A deficit means that charity lost money that year, which may indicate poor financial management or just a series of bad circumstances. If the charity always has a huge surplus, it means the charity might not be using its resources effectively. It isn't always that simple, however, and there's a lot of reasons a charity might not follow this pattern. They might be saving up for a big purchase or campaign, or they might have made a big one-off payment. If you're worried, always look at the annual and financial reports to understand why the charity is making the decisions it is.
What is this?
This chart compares the amount the charity receives from various sources, including donations (i.e. money given by the general public or philanthropy), goods and services, government grants, and other sources.
What should I be looking for?
Donations are an important source of revenue for some charities. Others rely more heavily on government funding, or on revenue from other sources. This is an indication of how much they need donors to accomplish their mission. Note that there is no 'good' or 'bad' amount of donations for a charity to have. It might be interesting to look at values over time - are they going up or down? A charity that gets less donations every year may be in trouble.
What is this?
Assets are things that the charity owns that are worth something. This could be anything from a car to investments. Similarly, liabilities are debts or obligations that the charity owes to someone else, like a loan or an agreement to pay for something.
What should I be looking for?
Firstly, in general a charity should have more assets than liabilities. If it doesn't, it implies that the charity might not be able to pay its debts, and you should look very closely at the charity's annual and financial reports to make sure they are taking steps to remedy this. Current assets should generally be above current liabilities - that means the charity can easily pay off the debts that are coming due soon. Beyond that, look for a large stockpile of assets. While a charity should have enough assets to keep it afloat in hard times (a 'buffer') if that stockpile gets too large the charity could be using that money more effectively. As always, if you have concerns check the annual and financial reports.
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Scoring detail
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