Central Coordinating Offices are open from
8.30am to 9.00pm Monday to Thursday
and to 1.00pm on Fridays

Frequently Asked Questions
Regarding our Sponsorship Programme

I would like to know more about your book sales programme

Please click here.

How does the sponsorship programme work?

The sponsorship options are discussed in more detail above.

Each month your sponsorship is transferred electronically via the bank’s Automated Clearing Bureau. This bureau "clears" the transaction and transfers the amount of your sponsorship from your account into the Aids Babies & Orphans Fund Account. You will identify the transaction on your bank statement by the words, "Aids Babies - Thank You."

This is a casual arrangement that can be cancelled at any time - see below. This arrangement is NOT binding in any way.

How do I cancel my sponsorship?

You may cancel the arrangement at any time by phone, by fax, by email or by letter. You will not be asked to give any reason for the cancellation and you will not be expected to give any notice of cancellation. While making allowance for the possibility that your most recent contribution could already be "in the pipeline" (submitted on the 20th of every month), the arrangement will be cancelled with immediate effect.

Is it not risky to give my bank details over the telephone or to your representative?

The only details required are those that appear on your cheque. As such, this is no more risky than putting a cheque in the mail. The HIV Aids Foundation of Southern Africa (the Aids Babies and Orphans Fund) is a registered "merchant" with the bank and ONLY registered merchants may submit these details to the bank - and this ONLY under very strict and very limiting conditions.

Can’t I just send a donation by mail every now and then?

While we certainly do appreciate every cent that we receive, charities can no longer survive on this method of fund-raising. Our tremendous needs demand that we do more than simply sit back and wait for voluntary donations to come our way. Even regular mail appeals have become very costly, very wasteful and very risky. For every twenty appeal letters that we mail out we receive one response, which means that the one response has to be offset by the cost of at least twenty letters (at least R60.00). In these days of uncertainty this is almost as risky as gambling.

In our own case, the commitment that we make to a foster family is always an ongoing commitment and, as such, it is impossible to make such a commitment on the strength of donations that we may or may not receive in the mail from time to time.

On what authority do you initiate the sponsorship?

In the case of sponsorships solicited in person, the sponsorship/order form that you sign is our authority.

In the case of sponsorships solicited over the telephone, we make a voice recording of our conversation with you. According to long-standing banking legislation, this recording is acceptable as your authorization.

How may I learn more about the Aids Babies and Orphans Fund?

If the answer to your query is not included in this website, please see the contact details above.

Is the Aids Babies and Orphans Fund a National Service?

Yes, at this time we have branches in Gauteng (Transvaal), the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape, Kwazulu Natal, and The Free State.

Why do  you need my ID Number?

Because our future depends on our keeping in contact with our supporters, we like to keep a record of your id number because it is the only number that will not change in years to come. [Should you change your address, we will be able to re-establish contact with you via your ID number.]

Thank you for caring.

If we have already phoned you, then a staff member from our Central Coordinating office will be contacting you in the near future to discuss your sponsorship and to answer any further questions that you may have. In the unlikely event that they do not manage to make contact with you in the next week or so, please email us or telephone Erika at 0860 105 045.

If we did not contact you by telephone, then please make contact with us either by telephone, by fax or by E-Mail.

We look forward to joining hands with you in a project that is perhaps more heartbreaking than any other.