Our promise to supporters describes our zero-tolerance policy to corruption, how we value trust, the checks all staff and volunteers go through, and how we use your money.
We value your trust
Your support and trust are precious. Every decision we make, every pound we spend, every person we employ or who volunteers with us, we ask the question: ‘Would our supporters be happy with this?’
You are there in our work throughout the day – whether you like it or not!
These are some of the ways we strive to earn your trust and support.
We ensure the dignity of the world’s poorest people
We put the people we help at the centre of our work. We don’t make decisions for people, we make decisions with them. We listen to their needs. We don’t distribute aid or make long-term plans without listening to the people who it’s meant to help first.
We save lives in an emergency and we are there in the long term. One of the best feelings you can have in a day is knowing that you’ve played a part in giving someone the skills, tools and knowledge to support themselves. We want you to feel this too.
Our Common Home: learn more about CAFOD's vision
We work with the best, locally based experts
We work with people who have local knowledge. They live among the communities they serve and in many cases, come from those communities. They understand the needs of the people while being highly skilled and trained.
We never impose solutions on people and communities, our trusted local professionals and volunteers work alongside them. Talking with them, consulting, meeting and listening to understand the real needs of the communities.
Any project you support comes about after a careful and dignified process of assessment. We don’t send UK staff to work in the field because they don’t know as much.
We have zero tolerance for corruption
The people and organisations we work with – here in the UK and overseas – are always closely aligned with our Catholic beliefs. The people who carry out work on your behalf overseas are incredible people. They are life-savers and life-changers. They are listeners. They can reach people who are normally out of reach because they are so trusted.
Which means we have zero tolerance for corruption. This goes right up to the highest levels. We never give your money to governments or local officials.
We check everyone who works with us
If someone does work for CAFOD on your behalf – whether it’s paid or voluntary – you can trust them. We carry out stringent checks on the people and organisations we work with here in the UK and overseas. This is not just checking someone’s employment history or criminal record, it means ensuring someone is safe to work with children and vulnerable people.
Our Director, Christine Allen, has been through the same rigorous checks and training as someone overseas has completed. The next person to volunteer will also go through these checks. The next aid expert who works with us overseas will go through these checks.
We take the welfare of the people you give your prayers, time and money to support extremely seriously. We have a zero tolerance policy to abuse of any form and so ensure everyone signs our safeguarding policy and anyone who works with children also has to be trained and checked.
We keep your details safe and don’t share them
We take everything you give to us seriously. This means your money and your personal details.
We make sure that every penny you give goes as far as it can and we make sure that the organisations who carry out the work in your name give detailed accounts of every £1 spent.
Your details are also treated with the utmost care. We never share those details with other organisations or companies without your permission. We never call you unless it’s absolutely necessary, or you want us to. We only write to you if we think it’s something you want to help with, or if it is an emergency.
Your details are stored using GDPR guidelines and we never give your details to other organisations. We never cold call you and we only contact you when we think you could help out.
“CAFOD’s unique nature comes from the fact that it is part of Caritas which links it to church groups at the local level. There are not many religious-based organisations which have got the same reach, and which can reach the heart of communities at a local level in the way that Caritas can.”
“The need is so great here, sometimes you can’t help everyone because they are just so remote. I find this so difficult, but with CAFOD’s support, we can reach out to people who need us most.”
“I don’t know where we would be without your help. The food vouchers saved us. My children would have starved. Maybe we would have moved away, maybe we would have died.”