Why do schools have to be invited to participate?
- To control the management of the charity as it grows with the number of volunteers
- For safety and security by ensuring all participating schools are genuine and recognised educational bodies.
Why do I need to give personal email and phone numbers?
- Generic emails such as accounts@ or office@ are not connected to an individual person. Individual emails are required to ensure personal accountability for the user who is signing up. Personal emails are used to authenticate users, ensuring that accounts are tied to real individuals. This helps to verify the identity of the user and manage access to the software.
Why do registered schools require a representative to become an ordinary member of Help a Family?
- To ensure a member of the school is receiving all required information relating to legal responsibilities involved with charitable organisations.
- The $30 p.a fee helps pay for the administration costs of running the charity such as website fees, software maintenance, accounting and auditing fees, legal fees, marketing costs etc.
What is the donated money spent on?
100% of money donated (excluding bank fees and charges) goes to the families identified as needing support. 80% goes directly to the Participating School which can approve the category of spending. 20% is held in a combined fund that supports major funding requests. There are several defined categories upon which the 80% of donations distributed directly to schools can be spent. This is to ensure consistency across the charity and enables more robust reporting mechanisms. As is common to all registered charities, Help a Family has strict reporting and auditing requirements.
Help A Family has defined the following categories:
- School fees
- School Supplies and equipment
- Excursion / Camp cost
- School Uniform
- School Lunch or Breakfast programs
- School Extension Programs – music, dance, drama costs
- After school fees
- Medical support equipment.
- Sporting club fees
- Sports associated fees – Shoes, uniforms and sporting equipment.
- Home support – one off support for a family.
20% Major Funding request – This allocation can be used for any significant family need. It may support victims of flooding or bushfires, cover medical emergencies requiring substantial funds, or address any other major family requests.
Who approves the funding requests?
- 80% of Funding – The school principal has direct access to 80% of the funds. Once logged in, principals can view the available balance and instantly approve requests. This ensures immediate disbursement of funds to families in need
- 20% Funding Requests must be submitted to the Board of Help A Family for approval.
Who can make Funding Requests to the participating school principal?
- Anyone who is a registered member with the school or an ordinary member of Help A Family Ltd can make a funding request to the principal.
- Any person can approach a registered teacher or principal to identify a family in need of a funding request.
What prevents abuse of the funds or fraud?
- The software has built in protections and uses safety measures such as two factor identification to ensure individual accountability for the distribution of funds.
- Schools and the charity are held accountable through regular audits. These audits are conducted by independent auditors and all records of funding requests and accounting trails are investigated. Legal ramifications will result from any fraudulent use of donations.
- Principals are the only ones allowed to approve funding requests and they must maintain detailed records of who received the benefits for auditing purposes.
What if the principal or charity administrator changes in a school?
- If the principal leaves the school, it is essential that:
- The principal deactivates themselves as school principal. This will protect them against others making claims under their name and is a requirement of the charity.
- The new principal must register within 3 months. The school charity administrator can invite the new principal to register. If both administrator and principal have left the school, the school will need to contact Help A Family to request an invitation for the new administrator again and the process starts as new.
What happens to the funds whilst the school principal or administrator are not active?
- No funding requests can be approved by the principal if the school does not have a registered school principal and administrator with the charity.
- If a school lacks a charity administrator and the principal continues to approve funds, it is breaching the terms and conditions. The funds will be paused, and the school must rectify the situation and provide an explanation. Repeated violations may result in the school being deactivated as a Participating School.
How long does a school have to fill the required positions to remain as a Participating School?
- 3 months. If longer, the funds are paused until the positions are filled. If no response is made, the school may be deactivated as a Participating School.
What happens if the school no longer meets the required conditions to be registered as a Participating School?
- The school is deactivated as a Participating School and can no longer access the charity or funds.
What happens to current and future donated funds for a school that is no longer a Participating School?
- Schools that are no longer a Participating School cannot hold or use any funds attributed to that school. All funds or future funds will be given to the closest Participating School.
Can funds be returned to a recently re-instated Participating School after being re-allocated?
- No, any funds given to another school cannot be retrieved. However, if the school re-registers as a Participating School, any existing monthly donations that were allocated to the school would then be re-attributed to the school from the date of re-registering.
How could our school be deactivated as a Participating School?
- By not filling the required positions within the 3 month period of losing the position.
- By breaking any of the terms and conditions of being a Participating School.
- By choice. A school can choose to deregister at any time.
- Any fraudulent or other misuse of donations.
How is personal information protected?
- Help a Family holds very little personal information. We work closely with the Westpac Bank and PayChoice where personal details are safeguarded with the same high-level security protocols used by major banks