Voluntary Income:
This was made possible by the voluntary contributions of the Fund members, i.e. employees and pensioners of the Civil Service, An Post, Eircom and other state agencies. These contributions (1 or 2 cents in every 10 Euro) are deducted at source from pay or pension.

Voluntary Operation:
The Fund operates on a completely voluntary basis through the work of a Council, Trustees, a Management Committee, an Advisory Committee, Honorary Officers, assistance in assessing projects and in office administration. Annual administration costs (postage, stationary, printing etc.) cost less than 5% of the annual value of the fund.

Development not Dependency:
Grants are made for development projects and generally are less than 10,000 Euro. The average grant in 2007 was 7,240 Euro. Our aim is to help people help themselves and not to give hand-outs or create a dependency culture.

Location and Classification of Projects:
The Fund does not confine its aid to any particular area or country within the Third World. In fact, grants have been made to projects in all developing countries since the foundation of the Fund. Projects have been assisted in the following sectors: Education, Health, Community Development, Water, Agriculture, Industry Development and emergency aid/famine relief.

Grants made:
The following is a short list of projects picked at random from the Fund’s records:

• Workshop for Street Children - Bolivia
• Training for Traditional Birth Attendants - Pakistan
• Bakery Project - Myanmar
• Sanitary Facilities for Girl's School - India
• Water Storage Tank - Kenya

Local Participation:
The Fund prefers to see proposals where there has been advance consultation with the intended beneficiaries of the project and where local people will take an active part in its implementation, if practicable.

Annual Report:
An Annual Report together with a copy of the audited accounts of the Fund is published which provides a statement of income & expenditure and, statistics regarding location and sector of projects. Reports are available by clicking here.