What is TOC?
TREE OF COLOURS CIC (TOC) is an international non-profit organisation and educational partner. Our organisation is unique among UK organisations in that it operates collaborative programs both domestically and internationally. In UK, we make initiatives that educate and empower young people to make a difference. TOC is creating events and educational programs that support and celebrate youth making a difference in their local and global communities.
In Europe, we have partners and communities, a holistic, five-pillar international development model designed to achieve sustainable change. Together with local leaders and families, we transform lives with solutions that are adaptive, effective and sustained long term by the community itself.
Our Programmes
- International Projects made with non-formal education and experiential learning programs that empowers leaders and youth to make positive impacts in local and global communities. Tree of Colours aims to revitalise the fundamental purpose of education: install a love of learning in students, move them to develop life skills to better the world, and empower them to forge their own personal paths to success. Educators are given the tools to engage their classes, allowing participants to further their core-curricular learning while gaining an understanding of the root causes of the pressing issues around them.
- Workshops are usually a day-long educational and inspirational events that celebrates the power of young people to make a positive difference in the world. While the event is free for youth to attend, participants must earn their tickets through a commitment to one local action of their choice.
- Community projects are an adaptive, effective five-pillar model programmes that find collaboration with dedicated community members and international development experts to find solutions that work in a specific context. Our model is designed to address the root causes of poverty and remove the barriers to education to break the cycle of poverty. It is not a handout or single solution, but a combination of key interventions that empower a community to help themselves through our five Pillars of Impact: Education, Water, Health, Food, and Opportunity. At the heart of the asset-based community development approach lies the belief that the community’s own assets and resources including the people, institutions, skills and capabilities are the most critical resources for development. In essence, it is an approach that seeks to build sustainable livelihoods and to break the cycle of long-term dependency to promote self-sufficiency. We currently work in three countries overseas: Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria.
Where can I find information on your sources of income and expenditures?
Please consult our annual reports and financial statements.
How much does TOC spend on administration?
We are proud of the fact that we consistently exceed industry standards. We spends less than 10% of its funds on administration, with, on average, 90 pennies of every pound donated going directly to support our projects and programs.
All charities must spend some of their funds on administrative costs. These expenses are necessary to keep the organisation running effectively, such as physical building maintenance, human resources, and other fixed, non-operating expenses. We invest in administration costs that enable our work, such as measurement and evaluation, and select investments in technology to achieve efficiencies.
How much does Tree of Colours spend on fundraising?
For fundraising, we spend (on average) no more than £3 for every £100 we raise. That’s an amazing 3% fundraising cost on average!
How are you able to keep your administrative costs low?
Tree of Colours works diligently to ensure that donations are used effectively and efficiently. We want as much of our funding as possible to support programs that empower youths in the developed and developing worlds. To that end, unlike many other nonprofit organisations:
- We don’t employ third-party fundraising organisations to solicit money on our behalf.
- We don’t use telemarketers.
- We don’t hire high-priced fundraising consultants.
Tree of Colours is a social enterprise. TOC’s Headquarter is located in London, Forest Gate.
How does TOC, the innovative social enterprise, help to keep its administrative rate low?
What makes TOC a true social enterprise in that its bottom line is not measured by profits, but by the people empowered and the lives transformed. Every decision begins and ends with ‘how will this make the world a better place,’ and every action brings us closer to this crucial goal and helps support the work of Tree of Colours.
How does TOC organisation allocate donated funds for programs?
Tree of Colours’s work involves two distinct streams of programming: international and domestic. This model helps to ensure the impact we are creating helps both at home and abroad.
What does it cost to deliver program impacts communities?
Every partner community Tree of Colours works with is different, of course, each with its own unique needs and challenges. However, here are some average cost examples for key impacts from each of the five pillars of our development model:
- £30 for supplies for the education for one student
- £30 health workshops for one mother (benefitting her children as well)
- £20 for advice and educational tools for a family
When a Gift of Impact is purchased online from our donation , where does the money go?
TOC implements programmes, an international development model to end poverty. It’s not a handout or a single solution, but a combination of key interventions led by Five Pillars of Impact: Education, Water, Health, Food, and Opportunity. Tree of Colours focuses on both infrastructure and the distribution of key inputs, and training and educational programming are an essential component of the work that we do.
All the Gift of Impact items are symbolic of projects or programming in the countries where programme is implemented, and are associated with specific Pillars of Impact. The gift prices are based on average costs in the countries in which we operate.
Funds from Gift of Impact items will be used to purchase the selected item where locally appropriate, or will be put toward an associated project or program within the pillar, ensuring a sustainable and holistic impact that takes into consideration the specific needs of the communities we work with.
For example: When a donation is made toward the purchase of a goat, depending on the needs on the ground and the local culture, the funds can be used to purchase goats, or they will be used for similar support in animal husbandry and other income-generating projects within our Opportunity Pillar. These funds will also go to support programming like ensuring regular veterinary visits and training on proper animal husbandry management (e.g., identifying disease and ensuring proper nutrition), in addition to trainings in financial literacy, skill-building in business and income-generation, and group formation. Through the support of the TOC model, your donation makes the most significant and sustainable impact possible.
Is TOC a registered charity?
Tree of Colours (TOC) is not a registered charity, is a Community Interest Company registered in United Kingdom.
Company number 11418502
How can I see the impact of my contributions?
One of our core values is honouring every stakeholder and we adhere to that value by being fully transparent in all our operations. When you donate to our international projects, you will receive periodic updates on the impact of your support.
Does our organisation accept donations of supplies like clothing, or school materials, for its international projects?
Generally, we does not ask for or accept donations of supplies. TOC’s model of development focuses on sustainability and providing a hand up instead of handouts to the communities that we partner with. Tree of Colours purchases supplies, resources and equipment locally whenever it is possible. This helps support the local economy and ensures that all goods are culturally appropriate. We will sometimes take in-kind donations of cloths, medical supplies, food, toys and specialised equipment when major emergencies impact the communities where we work, such as during the flood.