An entirely voluntary organisation, TDT is proud to say that 100% of donations are spent on projects within Tanzania.

Our funding guidelines spell out TDT’s priorities, in terms of sectors and Tanzania’s regions. These are designed to enable us to focus our resources on projects and areas of greatest need.

After an initial screening, requests for funding are assigned to Project Officers, who may visit the projects at their own expense or ask the regional representatives to obtain further information.

Projects are evaluated and identities checked. We also get clear evidence of community participation and approval from local government officials before grants are approved. Larger projects may be funded through staged payments linked to performance milestones. Projects are monitored during implementation phase and beyond, and assessment made of their impact after they have been completed. At all stages, this is recorded in a web-based project database.

In most years, expenditure is quite well spread across sectors such as education, water, health, self-help, women’s welfare and business, disability and agriculture.

TDT partners successfully with Trusts and organisations in funding specific projects.  One such partnership is with eu can aid!, an organisation of EU staff wishing to participate in development projects;  with them, we have worked together on a multi-year programme at Marumba Village in Mtwara.

In its forty-second annual report, TDT reported on 46 projects of varying sizes, many showing creative ideas in their concept and implementation.

Our sectoral allocations will tend to move around year-on-year, but our priorities of education, water, health, women’s businesses and women’s and girls’ rights will always take the major portion.  Our ‘Small Grants Scheme’  for VSO volunteers has funded a diverse range of projects and communities, and has been remarkably effective in achieving impact with modest sums of money.

Combatting FGM took a major slice of our spending in the previous 3 years, with the construction of the Mugumu Safe House.  This proportion has fallen, though TDT remains active in supporting those who work for the eradication of FGM in Tanzania.

Read the full 2017/2018 Annual Report