In 1975, close advisors of the first Tanzanian president envisioned mutual cooperation and understanding between Tanzania and the UK.
The Tanzania Development Trust is a registered UK charity (charity number 270462) that has funded development projects within Tanzania since 1975.
TDT’s parent, The Britain Tanzania Society (BTS), was created by friends of Mwalimu Nyerere, the first President of an independent Tanzania, to promote friendship and co-operation between the peoples of Tanzania and the United Kingdom.
The Executive Committee of BTS appoints the Trustees, Chair and Treasurer of TDT. We operate through teams of dedicated volunteers, within the UK and Tanzania.
Officers of TDT’s UK-based team include Chair, Treasurer, Fundraiser and Website Manager, as well as a team of Project Officers. All are highly knowledgeable about Tanzania, and most are regular visitors to Tanzania.
TDT’s Tanzania-based team consists of Local Representatives in each of the areas in which we work. Our reps are essential to our work, often initiating various projects and assessing applications. They also provide our eyes and ears on the ground as they oversee the projects.
Our Trustees each have a role within TDT and are Janet Chapman, David Gibbons, Jeremy Lefroy, Aikande Kwayu, Jonathan Pace and Elizabeth Taylor.
You can find out more about our Trustees on our Committee Page.
We are entirely volunteers.
The Britain Tanzania Society pays Tanzania Development Trust’s modest administrative costs, and we are staffed entirely by volunteers.
This is why we can promise that every pound you donate will be spent on projects.
TDT invites applications, with a very clear priority given to Tanzania’s poorest regions. There are certain exclusions as to type of project and expenditure we will fund, which are explained in our funding guidelines. We seek to make the process as clear and transparent as possible.
Project requests come from Tanzania via our website, from visits, by word of mouth, through the BTS branch in Dar es Salaam or from NGOs in the UK.
Having passed initial screening, a potential project is placed on our project database, assigned to a Project Officer, and all correspondence copied to our Local Representative.
The project is evaluated fully, and clarifications requested where we need further information. Our Local Representative may be asked to visit, and will seek any known local information about the applicant.
Identities of at least two applicants and of account signatories are checked and validated. We ask for full estimates from contractors, and these are checked against similar projects on our database.
We get clear evidence of community participation and approval from local government officials.
When we are confident, and we have enough money, the project will be put to TDT’s Committee to approve a grant. With larger/more complex projects, we may divide funding into staged payments, with agreed performance milestones. On occasions we may propose a project to one of our network of like-minded trusts.
Projects are monitored and visited during the implementation phase, and beyond. We follow up projects via our Local Representatives and Project Officers visits to assess their impact. Not only does this tell us whether this project has delivered as expected; it also helps inform future decisions on funding other projects.
The Tanzania Development Trust has a Board of Trustees, appointed by the Britain Tanzania Society.
Most are UK-based with strong connections to Tanzania, and still travel there regularly. They provide a wide range of skills, and have an overwhelming commitment to Tanzania’s future development.
They are supported by project officers and other committee members in the UK, plus thirteen representatives based in different parts of Tanzania. All of these staff work for TDT on a voluntary basis. Project requests originate from varied sources, including our website, from visits, by word of mouth, or from NGOs in Tanzania or the UK. All start with a formal application form. 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.
Tanzania Development Trust is grateful for all of our donors.
Over more than 40 years, we have benefitted from a core of consistent donors, many of them making monthly standing order payments, and many of them members of Britain-Tanzania Society.
Every year we are helped in our efforts by the contributions of like-minded trusts and similar organisations. Sometimes we approach them with a project that appears to meet their criteria. Sometimes they approach us. We have worked with many of our partners on numerous projects over several years. Marked in gold on the graph, these partnerships are critical to enable TDT to punch above its weight.
TDT offers our partners the experience of more than 40 years’ operating in Tanzania; the ability to effect measurable change at a community level; and a network of committed local representatives able to monitor projects on the ground. If you would like to know more about partnering with TDT, please contact us.
We are indebted, too, to donors who organize events on our behalf, or take on sponsored challenges such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or running a marathon. We are members of online platforms JustGiving and Virgin Giving. Some raise funds for TDT generally, others ask us to advise on a specific project.
In recent years, legacy income (marked in green) has made a significant difference to the number of projects TDT has been able to take on. Legacies and in memoriam gifts are extremely valuable to TDT’s ability to fund projects. Including a gift in your will is a simple but effective way to leave a lasting legacy, transforming lives and communities in Tanzania. You can make an unrestricted gift, allowing TDT to meet whatever needs are most urgent at the time, or you can ask that your gift is used in a particular region of Tanzania or for a particular type of project (e.g. health, education, water etc). Please contact us if you would like to know more.
An entirely voluntary organization, we are 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 and Local Reps for assessment. We need clear evidence of community participation, impact, and approval from local government officials before grants can be approved. Promising projects are discussed at committee who have the final say. Where possible we seek match funding from the many small trusts and foundations we work with.
TDT partners successfully with Trusts and organisations in funding specific projects. One such partnership is with Eucanaid 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.
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. We have long term relationships with the communities we work with. At all stages, this is recorded in a web-based project database.
In most years, expenditure is spread across sectors such as education, water, health, self-help, women’s welfare and business, disability and agriculture.
Our current priorities are:
- Sustainable access to water for rural communities
- Small income generation projects, particularly for rural women and youth
- Girls’ education, particularly hostels for government secondary schools
Legacies and in memoriam gifts are extremely valuable to TDT’s ability to fund projects. Including a gift in your will is a simple but effective way to leave a lasting legacy, transforming lives and communities in Tanzania. You can make an unrestricted gift, allowing TDT to meet whatever needs are most urgent at the time. Or you can ask that your gift to be used in a particular region of Tanzania or for a particular type of project (e.g. health, education, water etc). Please contact us if you would like to know more.
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