The Lives You Affect When You HACK A Donation Page.

Photo by Dream Broad Magazine

The hardest part of running a nonprofit organization is raising funds, then having someone hack into your account to steal the funds.

Nonprofit organizations are built from a person’s heart and the need to make a difference in the world.  Everyone doesn’t have what it takes to do what I’m doing, and that’s ok. But we all have something we are good at and can share with the world. What better way to serve is to share your gift? I had just a few days left in Kenya and enough money to make it home. I knew I needed to pay my teachers in 3 days and I had just enough in the donation account. The day I leave I receive an email from Stride which is the third-party company that sends the donations. The email read, “This is the first time we had to do this, we are blocking your account for 5 days due to fraud”. The process of receiving funds through nonprofit funding accounts, like Facebook. It literally takes 45 days to receive $20.00. Do you realize what I have to do for the $20.00? lots of posting, asking for donations, sponsors, meetings, footwork, and faith that someone will see what I see and donate to help the people of Naivasha Kenya. I understand that we all have a life, bills, children, and our own issues that we deal will every day. We work hard for what we have and we deserve to spend our money the way we want. I get it! I appreciate everyone that has donated to, AGU Girls Inc.

In 2018 someone hacks into the AGU Girls Inc funding account. it freezes all money coming in and going out. Everything is put on hold and I have to make the decision to use my own money instead of donating money. When I do that it affects everything. Just like everyone else, I have bills and financial responsibilities to take care of. This is why nonprofits reach out to friends and family for donations for their mission. I was traveling from Kenya back to the US. My staff has rent and bills just as we do. It has been 6 days and I was not able to get money to Kenya. I made the decision to use my money and worry about my bill later. I can call and defer payment on a bill or two. Not only did it freeze the account it locked me out from sending money by Western Union http://www.westernunion.com. I was flagged as fraud and could not send or receive money from anyone in Kenya indefinitely. On the 10th day my director, Bishop Masinde called me to tell me that my staff was being evicted and he had to write letters for each one to give to their landlords. I needed to send $278.00 ASAP! to pay my staff so they can pay their rent of $5.00. I pay them $75.00 a month and they are paid once a month according to the Kenya government. I found an app, called http://sendwave.com. This app was a blessing. I can send up to $999.00 a transaction and only pay $1.00. 

Every student has to pay a fee to go to school. Some of my parents pay $5.00 a month for their child to attend school at Sherri’s Junior and the parent pays $2.50 every 2 weeks. We don’t charge a late fee, they just can’t receive their credentials until all fees are paid. Some people in Naivasha are lucky if they get one meal a day because of a lack of income. There are so many ways people are affected when a hacker prays on the poor. If they can’t pay their children’s student fees in some cases they kick the child out and that may be the only meal they get because it’s pre-paid in their fees. Before you think about stealing money from the hands of children, think about how many people it hurts.

if you want to raise money without asking people for money, Funds2org is a great way to do it. In 2019, I collected gently worn shoes to raise money to build a school in Naivasha, Kenya. It was hours of driving, sorting, rubber banding, bagging, and storing hundreds of shoes to raise $3k to build. This was a double donation event. The shoes went to Haiti and I received a check for AGU Girls Inc. I would definitely do this again, it was the best way to get people to help without asking for money. Go to http://funds2.org.com and tell them AGU Girls Inc referred your nonprofit organization to join hands with them on a shoe drive. Call your friends and family to help you reach your goal. This is a great way to raise money without asking for money.  Everyone has a pair of shoes in the closet they don’t wear.

Photo by Director Bishop Masinde

Photo by Director Bishop Masinde

I can tell you where every penny goes when you donate. My mission is to help as many children stay in school, and provide jobs for the community to help them become self-sufficient.  Your donation helps with desks, school supplies, uniforms, water, food, and furniture for our teachers. Most households have up to 8 kids and 1 parent in the home that works.  It’s usually the woman who is working, taking care of the children, cooking, and cleaning and the man is looking for work or doing nothing.  AGU Girls Inc will start an adult trading school to give men and women an opportunity to learn a trade. On average, a person earns $7.00 to $10.00 a week with no savings or any other form of income, so your donations are very important. For more information about what AGU Girls Inc is doing in Kenya, go to http://DreamBroad.com 

Photo courtesy of Dream Broad Magazine

Photo courtesy of Dream Broad Magazine

Photo courtesy of Dream Broad Magazine