Sakoo Support Society

Approach

How we work

We are a small society, so we put our effort where it goes furthest: supporting proven work, checking it carefully and asking what it achieved.

Our principles

  1. Support that lasts

    We favour help that changes a family’s prospects over relief that lasts a few days: a child who stays in school, a skill that brings an income, treatment or counselling that lets someone work again. Meeting urgent basic needs still matters, and it is one of our three purposes.

  2. Build on proven work

    Organizations close to the communities they serve have spent years learning what works. Where good work already exists, we would rather help it reach more people than start something new, and we look for the gaps it leaves.

  3. Evidence over good intentions

    Help that looks simple can fail in practice. We favour work that has been tested, with clear measures of success, and we ask for reports on what it achieved.

  4. Qualified care

    Health support, counselling included, is delivered only by qualified health professionals or under their supervision, following recognized standards.

  5. Dignity

    We treat the people we serve with respect, and we protect their privacy.

  6. Stewardship

    Every dollar is used only for our purposes, under the controls in our bylaws: unpaid directors, declared conflicts of interest, two signatures for larger or higher-risk payments, and records kept in British Columbia.

Before we fund any work

Our bylaws require a written board policy that sets these steps for every grant to another organization (Bylaws, s. 2.3).

  1. Purpose

    We confirm that the work furthers one of our three purposes.

  2. Due diligence

    We check the organization doing the work: its identity, its record, its capacity, its reputation, its governance, and its ability to keep records and report on the use of funds.

  3. Risk assessment

    We weigh the risks of the activity, the amount and the payment method, including the risks of fraud, diversion and breaches of sanctions law.

  4. Written agreement

    We agree in writing on the purpose, the permitted use of funds, the budget, the reporting, and our right to suspend or recover funds that are not used as agreed.

  5. Reports and evidence

    We ask for regular reports, receipts and other evidence of how the funds were used and what they achieved.

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