Your 2023 Year-End Review - Thank You For a Great 10th Anniversary!

Jan 13

Thank you for making 2023 our second-best year! As we celebrated our 10th Anniversary with you in 2023, you showed how much you care about Liberia’s children and youth wanting to learn.

Looking back at 2023, we struggled to recruit vocational training students due to competition with political candidates opening schools to influence votes. Fortunately, the then Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor provided scholarships to support 20-plus students to attend our new satellite TV & solar installation course. Also, we updated our logo and brand with Matthew Manning’s creative help from Gumbo Media.

Additionally, you helped us accomplish the following:

Achieve 100% solar energy,

Add two courses, such as satellite TV & solar installation and driver’s education.

Start making cement blocks for our new campus in Brewerville, Liberia.

Upgrade our computer lab with 17 newer used laptops with the help of Branko Tambah, founder of Tambah Foundation.

Expand our academic school to include tenth to twelfth-grade classes.

Held our first post-pandemic virtual event on youth entrepreneurship with We Sparkle.

Graduate our sixth cohort of students in November.

Celebrate our 10th Anniversary in Liberian (June) as a parade with our students and community and Minnesota (September) with you, our board, and volunteers.

Looking ahead to 2024, we started the year by welcoming our seventh cohort of vocational training students who started class on January 10. Some of our goals include:

Find partners to help modernize our training courses.

Develop a STEM program for academic students in partnership with James Ledlum Jr., founder of Giving Hands Foundation.

Start the next phase of building our new campus in Brewerville, Liberia.

Revenue

As stated above, you made 2023 our second-best year by generously raising $32,116.92 for Liberian Youth. This nearly doubled last year. Here is the breakdown:

67% from businesses and individuals

33% of corporate (includes employer matches) and foundation grants

Expenses

Uniting Distant Stars allocated $26,434.44 to the programs and projects listed below. So that you know, $33,457.71 carried over in 2022 donations.

The 6th cohort of students received learning materials and supplies from your generous help of $8,815 (33.35%). You helped 20 graduates receive their diplomas on November 4, 2023.

Ten sponsors for 18 vocational training students (including 15 academic students) and four full scholarships of $1,210 (14.58%).

Three sponsors supported five academic students with full 2023--2023 school year scholarships at $1.210 (4.58%) attending UDS Academy and other schools.

The 2023 capital project funded $8,550 (32.34%) to start making cement blocks for the new UDS Brewerville Campus.

Administrative costs at $6,649.44 (25.15%), with 49% covered by in-kind donations and event sponsors.

Assets

As we close the books for 2023, our current assets are $23,666.52, of which 29% is allocated for programs, 33% for capital projects such as the new center construction and refresh of learning materials, 32% unrestricted funds for operational and program needs, and 6% set aside for reserves.

Donors

Our heartfelt Thanks to all our supporters for your continued commitment to Liberian students receiving quality education! (*** represents Star Champions (Monthly Donors).