Organizational Structure
So I evidently have not been keeping up with updates as well as I should due to school and midterms, but it’s great to be able to do so again.
First of all on behalf of Byron and all the staff at UBECI, I would like to thank everyone who has responded to the previous post and have donated money to UBECI. Your dedication, time, and efforts are important to us and we appreciate it very, very much.
So here is the explanatory post for how the donation process takes place. There are 2 ways of donation, one that is tax deductible and one that is not. Here is an example of how the UBECI network works:
**My mistake: the name of the USA branch of UBECI is called “The UBECI Foundation”, not organization.
UBECI Ecuador is surrounded by many smaller satellite organizations that contributes to its funding. This chart is not comprehensive as it does not include other non-US based organizations that also contribute to its functioning. However, my role in this shebang is to simplify the communication process. All questions can now be sent to one designated place, and all information (relatively updated) can be found in one source.
So basically all donations sent directly to Byron via paypal to donations.ubeci@gmail.com are not tax deductible. However this donation is immediate and is important to UBECI in the short run. Donations to UBECI can also be given through The UBECI Foundation, a tax-exempt legal non-profit in the United States that can provide you with the receipt. This organization is run by Archie Jarman and funnels money to UBECI generally on a monthly basis. The donation is not immediately usable in the field. To give directly to Byron, you can donate via paypal to donations.ubeci@gmail.com. To give a tax-deductible donation, email Archie at archiejarman@gmail.com.
I hope this doesn’t confuse you. We are currently trying to simplify this process and I will definitely update everyone when that happens. Meanwhile, I hope this explanation is sufficient. If not, please do not hesitate to contact me via comments here, or via email to donations.ubeci@gmail.com. I reply pretty much within 24 hours.
Now, in terms of package donations (ie, non-monetary). Because UBECI is an international organization the mailing can get very frustrating. The rule of thumb here is that if you want to send supplies to UBECI please let us know first via email (again, donations.ubeci@gmail.com). This is the best way to avoid any confusions because we can help you with the process on a personal basis.
If you want your donation to be tax deductible, please email Archie (archiejarman@gmail.com) as he is the representative of UBECI USA that is able to provide you with the receipt you will need.
But if you really don’t want all that hassle and if you really don’t care about tax-deductibility, please read the following:
Receiving packages in Ecuador is free. However, the package cannot exceed a maximum of 2 kg in weight. Any extra weight is taxed and charged to UBECI, making heavy packages very expensive to receive. This process is also very time consuming.
Instead, we would appreciate it if all packages sent to UBECI are kept below 2 kg. If your donation exceeds this amount, please divide the contents into multiple packages, all within the weight limit of 2 kg.
As I’m writing this I’m starting to realize that this really needs to be somewhere permanent and easily accessible. It also needs to be way, way, way simpler. So I will definitely come up with a revised, simplified, user-friendly version in the late future.
Thanks for reading, everyone!
