TIAS ARMS

TIAS ARMS seeks to grow and stabilize specific non-profit agencies in South Africa which work with the vulnerable population of children impacted by the HIV epidemic. The stake-holders of those agencies are living in the communities and caring for the children; the Boards of those agencies similarly live and work there. Because these children need everything, TIAS ARMS requests yearly proposals from the Boards of the agencies which we fund. Those proposals identify the agency needs and set TIAS ARMS' direction. As a result, as said before, we fund food, clothing, shelter, education, transportation, and staff education, which is not an exhaustive list.
Because several of our agencies have grown in their capacity to serve, TIAS ARMS has increased its fund-raising efforts and goals. Our goal for the next two years (2019-20) is to raise $180,000, which would put us at over $1,000,000 for the 20 years we have existed. To do this we need to increase donor base numbers and diversity. Also, we need to improve the diversity of income sources, from major grants at the one end to small, frequent donations on the other.
As part of our major grant goal, TIAS ARMS is exploring a unified grant for agencies in a specific region of South Africa, Kwazulu Natal. That area is under-resourced and underfunded. However, it is also the area which hosts dynamic, impactful agencies that are growing and raising up the children which they serve. TIAS ARMS will seek to highlight these agencies.

To increase our donor base numbers and diversity, TIAS ARMS will encourage Board members, volunteers, and donors attending events to have one or more persons under 40 like us/follow us on social media, where we have a growing presence. We will have each Board member identify a new group and officer of that group to invite to one of our major in-person fund-raising events. We will maximize our use of social media for engagement, with a quarterly newsletter, Facebook postings weekly, with updates on South Africa and related issues as appropriate, and take and post pictures frequently on all social media.
To increase our income through diversifying sources, we will explore additional grant possibilities and apply for them. We will also explore a "unified grant" for the agencies in the under-served areas. We will increase the frequency of small donations through e.g. use of Amazon Smile and Facebook fund-raisers for birthdays. Also, we will participate in Giving Tuesday. We will design one or more campaigns each year around a specific need or crisis in an agency we support and ask for funds through social media, in addition to our two in-person fund raisers. We will advertise our existing Sponsorship levels, review our donor base to see who has the capacity to give more, and design a campaign to reach out with personal appeals. Because our 20th anniversary is within the next two years, we will design and execute a $1,000,000 or More Anniversary Campaign which is consistently branded and advertised.

TIAS ARMS is an all-volunteer charity, with an 11 person Board. These Goals and Strategies emerged from a Board-driven session and were vetted and reviewed by all Board members. All members have agreed to these and have committed to specific areas.
These are within our reach.

In the 19 years TIAS ARMS has existed, it has raised approximately $860,000 for agencies in South Africa. 93% of those funds go directly to TIAS ARMS grantees; this is truly an all--volunteer charity. Year over year, our fund raising has increased. Because of our longevity as a small charity, and because of the dire needs of the children we serve, we have secured donations from individuals and from a small number of foundations/charitable funds.
Our founder, Joanne Baker, helped start one of our grantees, Khazimula, which grew from a home serving a few children to a fully licensed facility in its own quarters, serving up to thirty youth-in-residence. This could only have been done with our money.
Two preschools serve about 100 children in poverty areas. One relies for over 70% of its budget on TIAS ARMS. The other, growing dynamically, began with $2000 of our money and now receives 5 times that and funds from other sources, too.
One group provides safe, secure transportation for girls to and from its therapy-oriented program because of us. Another provides high calorie food parcels to HIV positive children on anti-retrovirals--the only program like it in all of South Africa.
This represents our progress, which is to impact as many vulnerable children as we can by linking ourselves with small agencies, in place in the communities they know and serve best, in areas that otherwise receive minimal funds.