Why give to Smile International you might wonder? What makes us different from other charities and why should I choose you?

We hope to highlight the reasons why your donations are safe with us.

Smile International is a Christian family run organisation and our aim is to keep UK expenditure as low as possible, thus ensuring we do not have high administrative or running costs.

We endeavour to keep our overheads to the bare minimum and always look for new ways to reduce outgoings, so that the maximum amount possible of funds received reaches those who desperately need it.

We endeavour to maintain the proportion of expenditure going to charitable activities at more than 75% of our total expenditure and for the year ended 31^st March 2023 the percentage was 90.7%. So, for every pound 90.7 pence we spent on transforming the lives of those in greatest need and enabling people to smile again. We are committed to transparency and accountability that gives you the certainty that your money goes to where it is needed the most.

We have undergone an office move with the aim to reduce costs which has helped considerably, and we remain flexible for this to happen again if needed.

As a limited company and registered charity, our end of year accounts are independently examined but not audited as we do not have enough income to pass the threshold required to have audited accounts. They are submitted to Companies House annually and we also report to the Charity Commission, an independent body that regulates activities of charities in the UK.

In demonstration of our duty of care, Smile International is registered with the Fundraising Regulator – the voluntary, independent regulator for charitable fundraising in the UK.

Smile International is fully committed to the Code of Fundraising Practice and to the Fundraising Promise.

We are also a member of the Institute of Fundraising (IoF) which is the professional membership body for fundraising in the UK. They support fundraisers through leadership and representation; best practice and compliance; education and networking; and they champion and promote fundraising as a career choice. They are also a charity and support charities and public benefit organisations to connect donors and supporters with the causes they care passionately about.

Smile International is registered with the FPS the Fundraising Preference Service and so by entering your details on the FPS website you can choose to stop direct marketing communications via post, email, telephone or text messages from a selected charity or charities.

All our teams in the countries where we operate have been given enhanced training on making sure they follow our strict financial policies and procedures and are regularly inspected by our UK Head Office. We have assessed any potential risks and have strict control measures in place. We advise all our partner organisations where we work to submit annual accounts to the relevant governing bodies. 

We also have a great board of Trustees who are heavily involved in overseeing the work of Smile International.

While we are passionate about turning tears into smiles, we are also passionate about how we use your valued donations so that they are used in the most effective and efficient way. We see it as a real privilege to receive your support and so it is our responsibility to be extremely dedicated in making sure it gets to where it is needed most.

Smile International is run on strong ethical and Christian principles and so we are devoted to being good stewards, accountable and wise with the money you give us to help turn tears into smiles.

We want you to smile when you give to us because you know the purpose of giving to us is to make others smile.

"I have been able to follow this great SMILE ministry from its birth and had the privilege of traveling and ministering with Clive (founder of Smile International) in some of the nations they are involved with. There is so much to thank the Lord for and I personally want to support the work in prayer and finance."

George Verwer (former Director of Operation Mobilisation)