HOW ARE WE FUNDED
Find out why our donors trust us, as well as information on staff salaries and our annual reports
As an MSF donor, you can feel confident that we will use your money in a responsible, effective, and innovative way. The majority of our funding come from people like you who put their trust in MSF.
So, across more than 75 countries, including conflict zones, epidemics and natural disasters, we work hard to make sure that your donation is spent in an efficient way that ultimately saves lives.
In 2016 we decided that we would no longer receive funds from the European Union and Member States for any MSF programme.
Internationally, government funding represents only 1% of the total funds raised.
In addition, we do not accept contributions from companies and industries whose core activities and interests may come directly in conflict with our ideas or limit our ability to provide medical humanitarian care.
FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE AND TRANSPARENCY
Transparency in the management of financial resources and informing our donors, through Annual Action Reports and financial reports, is our priority.
Every year our financial statements give a global picture of our work. The International Action Report provides details of our activities and spending in each country and reflects the major challenges we faced during the year.
HOW DO WE SPEND YOUR MONEY
FINANCIAL CONTROL AND TRANSPARENCY
As an MSF donor, you can feel confident that we will use your money in a responsible, effective, and innovative way. The majority of our funding come from people like you who put their trust in MSF.
We work across 75 countries to make sure that your donation is spent in an efficient way that ultimately saves lives.
We are a non-profit organisation, and 80% of our financial resources are allocated to fulfilling our social mission: 64% for humanitarian programmes, 13% for supporting these programmes, 2% for awareness-raising activities, and 1% for other humanitarian initiatives.
The remaining 20% is allocated to support costs: 15% for fundraising and 5% for administration and general management.
We also maintain a reserve and a special “emergency” fund that allow us to respond immediately to crises without waiting for an appeal. The use of Médecins Sans Frontières funds is strictly controlled, and financial reports are available to the public.
4 REASONS TO TRUST MSF WITH YOUR DONATION
1
YOUR MONEY KEEPS US INDEPENDENT
We rely on the support of concerned people, like you, as well as foundations and companies, and we don’t receive money from governments.
This independent funding means we have the freedom to act quickly. We can remain neutral in complex crises and conflict zones and can provide impartial care to people regardless of ethnicity, religion or politics.
2
SUPPORT WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS
MSF’s emergency teams can only launch a rapid response thanks to ‘unrestricted’ donations – money generously given to our general funds.
This means we don’t always need to launch a charity appeal when a humanitarian emergency is in the news or wait for funding to be cleared. Instead, our teams around the world can act fast with valuable flexibility.
In short, our donors trust us to use their donations wherever the need is greatest.
3
DIRECT MEDICAL AID
MSF delivers healthcare directly to people in need. We set up and run medical services, build facilities, transport supplies and train staff ourselves.
In many places, we also support existing healthcare staff with professional development and resources – an investment that means life-saving healthcare will continue, even after we leave.
4
TRANSPARENCY
Money transferred to an MSF medical programme is carefully managed by expert project teams – including financial staff.
Funds are subject to a rigorous accounting system, with every penny logged and all the information flowing back to headquarters, offices and our donors.
We believe transparency and accountability are essential.
We are also transparent about our charity appeals – we will only ever launch a campaign if we are certain that we can spend your money on that specific crisis. There are no hidden disclaimers that will divert your donation to other parts of the organisation.
