Does my donation arrive? How much is the cost of administration?

The Social and Development Aid of the Kolping Society Assoc. (SEK e. V.) submits itself voluntarily on a yearly basis to an extensive examination by the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI) which certified the SEK for having a low ratio of costs of administration and awards the work by the SEK with the DZI Seal-of Approval. At present the rate of costs for administration when passing on a donation is 8 %.

How does the SEK get donations?

The SEK does not pay professional fundraisers. The organisation gets its donations largely by mailings, the publication of the “Project of the Month” in Kolping Magazine and on its homepage. On top of that many Kolping Families and Diocesan Societies maintain long standing partnerships with other countries and collect money for Kolping-Projects in these countries time and again.
Also the German Ministry for Development and Cooperation (BMZ) promotes the work by the SEK to a large extend by allocating money, as well as the EU, foundations and other organizations, like for example Renovabis, or the German Pontifical Mission Society for Children and some dioceses.

How many employees are there in the Social and Development Aid of the Kolping Society Assoc. (SEK e. V.)?

The office of the SEK in Cologne currently employs 18 employees, three of them abroad (6 of them are working full time, 12 are working part-time). Five coordinators, the Managing Director of the SEK as well as the General Praeses and the General Secretary of the International Kolping Society control the projects on a regular basis on-site. An honorary Board of Directors comprising eight persons supervises the duties of the SEK, four times a year a meeting of the Board of Directors takes place, once a year a meeting of members is held. The board and the employees orient their work towards to the guidelines of the SEK.

How does the SEK inform the public on its work?

In the summer of every year the SEK publishes its Annual Report together with Project reports from the respective countries and the numbers of project revenue and expenditure. A donator’s report and the donator’s journal “Horizons“ provide an insight into the work of the SEK worldwide. In “Kolping Magazine“ (the magazine for members of the German Kolping Society) it publishes reports on its work on a monthly basis.
You can get a more detailed and concrete picture of the work of the SEK in our media center.

Who audits the figures of the SEK?

The annual financial statement is audited by the independent accounting firm Dr. Krause & Partner (Ldt.) . According to the stipulations of the German Commercial law, the SEK is not obliged to submit itself to an audit. It does so voluntarily according to § 317 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) and thus subjects itself to the strict guidelines and criteria of an obligatory audit. On top of that the auditors of the BMZ come into the office several times a year for an inspection of the files and for talks with the coordinators and the management. The coordinators are furthermore obliged to report to the BMZ on a regular basis, so that the BMZ has a detailed knowledge of how the money is spent on the Kolping projects.