Transparency

Your Donation

The guarantee to our donors
Our donors get absolute transparency at all times about how their funds are used. We guarantee this in all stages of our activities: From the use of specialised staff through the selection and control of partners to the evaluation of our work through independent bodies such as the Swiss certification body for charitable organisations ZEWO or the international auditing firm PricewhaterhouseCoopers.

Project Controlling
At the heart of our transparency, we guarantee an established strict system of controls, which begins with the selection of projects. Menschen für Menschen Switzerland generally only supports projects for which the planning, progress and costs can be checked at any time on the basis of defined indicators. Budgets and schedules are also constantly controlled and adapted as required. In order to guarantee the efficiency of the projects and the donations used for them, we remain in constant contact with local partners. A common goal, mutual trust and transparency are the hallmarks of Menschen für Menschen Switzerland’s collaboration with its partners. Our projects are normally planned over a reasonably short timeframe, to prevent dependency and enable the population to make the transition to self-sufficiency rapidly and smoothly.

To be able to monitor our activities, we have a country representative and project coordinator based in Ethiopia. They have decades of experience in development cooperation and maintain good relations with international and local organisations as well as with the Ethiopian authorities.

Cooperation with Partners
The Foundation Menschen für Menschen Switzerland is implementing its projects in Ethiopia primarily through strategic alliances with suitable partner organisations. The cooperation is based on detailed project proposals according to international standards and the principles of the foundation; our employees in Ethiopia are in constant contact with the partners. At least every three years the cooperation is evaluated by external experts.

External Control

• External Auditing: The Foundation Menschen für Menschen Switzerland has its annual accounts audited by the independent auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers AG in St. Gallen.
• Federal Supervision of Foundations: The Swiss Federal Inspectorate in Berne, which is administered by the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Home Affairs, controls every year that the foundation is used for its purposes.
• ZEWO: The foundation Menschen für Menschen Switzerland is regularly checked by ZEWO, an independent specialist centre for charitable donations. Menschen für Menschen Switzerland has been ZEWO certified since 1999. The ZEWO seal of approval certifies that your donation arrives at the right place and is efficiently used for a good deed. It stands for: