Child Soldiers International - Funding and Organizational Structure

Funding and Organizational Structure

The coalition is funded by grants from six national governments, various foundations and trusts, in addition to individual member contributions. Individuals can contribute by direct donation and through partnerships with online shopping outlets, who donate a percentage of each purchase to CSUCS.

For the 2009-10 fiscal year the CSUSC had an annual income of £824,887, an 80% increase from 2006.

The coalition spent £627,790 during the year, as of March 2010, leaving a total of £197,097 in revenue. The ratio of income to spending was 76.1% in 2010, decreased from 2006 by 15.8% when the NGO was spending 91.9% of its income. The majority of the coalition's spending was utilized for charitable activities (£553.6k), with the second-largest portion being used to obtain grants and other large donations (£53.3k).

One challenge for the CSUCS is that they are heavily reliant on grants to fund their operations; many of which are attributed with time and/or purpose restrictions, and distributed on an annual basis. This process makes it difficult for the NGO to respond to immediate changes in funding needs. Should a lull in grants or donations arise, the CSUCS keeps a substantial unrestricted reserve to prevent operations from being curtailed or suspended.

The structural organization of the coalition is made up of its members and a board of trustees. In 2008, two of those representatives resigned. To maintain the same level of governance, additional trustees were co-opted onto the board in July 2009. A total of eight people are employed by CSUCS, supplemented by two volunteers.