Un-diluted: The Efficiency of Heart: Reading Our Financial Reports Honestly

There is a question every serious donor eventually asks. It is not romantic. It is not charitable. It is the same question a rigorous investor asks before writing a check: where, exactly, does the money go?

Donors deserve clear financial information. Program services, responsible administration, and fundraising all support an organization's ability to carry out its mission. An expense ratio is one part of that information, not a complete measure of effectiveness.

Leaving The Jar publishes financial reports so supporters can examine the reported figures and understand their context.

The Work Behind the Numbers

Leaving The Jar reported that it was volunteer-run in 2025. That historical statement is not a permanent commitment to zero paid staff, particularly as planned residential services require appropriate staffing. Volunteer involvement does not mean the organization has no operating costs.

In 2025, reported program expenditures were $256,561.26 out of $294,239.76 in total expenditures. Other expenditure categories included events, professional fees, office costs, supplies, and travel. These are real organizational costs; the report does not establish that every public donation is segregated from them.

Program services represented approximately 87% of total expenditures in 2025.

This is a dated spending ratio—not a claim that 87%, or 100%, of each individual gift reaches a particular program or person.

Reading the Numbers Honestly

The historical reports record $131,338.70 in donations and $100,031.65 in project expenses for 2023. The 2024 report records $334,278.94 in revenue and $224,008.72 in expenses. Historical project-expense classifications may differ from later total-expenditure reporting, so these periods need context when compared.

In 2025, Leaving The Jar reported $378,189.57 in operating revenue and $294,239.76 in total expenditures. Compared with the 2024 figures, operating revenue increased 13.1% and total expenditures increased 31.4%.

The 2025 program ledger includes Egypt scholarships, U.S. awareness events, Kenya survivor support, Egypt website and IT support, and an Egypt conference. The report states that the Egypt scholarship program supported 450 students and that 24 trainings and awareness events reached more than 1,020 people. These are reported activities for 2025, not guarantees of individual outcomes.

Financial growth alone does not prove impact. Read the program descriptions, reporting periods, and results alongside the financial tables.

Understanding the Program Expense Ratio

A program expense ratio divides reported program expenditures by reported total expenditures. It describes spending during a defined period; it does not trace each donor's gift or prove how effective a program was.

For 2025, $256,561.26 divided by $294,239.76 equals 87.1946%, rounded to 87%. The remaining $37,678.50 represents 12.8054% of total expenditures. The supplied tables do not independently establish a precise administration-versus-fundraising split.

A gift helps sustain the work described in our reports. Illustrative program costs are planning examples, not promises that a fixed gift buys an entire scholarship, a complete care package, or a guaranteed outcome. Check the giving form for the available fund options and provider terms.

Growth with Context

The reports state that 256 students were supported through the Egypt scholarship program in 2024 and 450 in 2025. Future targets are goals, not achieved results. Annual student figures should not be combined with undated lifetime counters or interpreted as proof that exploitation was prevented in every case.

Responsible growth may require paid specialist staff, safeguarding systems, evaluation, and administration. These investments should be explained transparently rather than treated as failures of efficiency.

Our annual reports are organizational disclosures, not independent audits. We encourage supporters to read the original documents and ask questions about the figures, classifications, and planned work.

Sustained Support and the Well of Hope

Monthly giving can help sustain education, prevention, and survivor-support programs. The Well of Hope remains a planned residential project in the sources reviewed. Its hosted campaign, observed October 8, 2026, described a $500,000 construction target, a $250,000 Holy Fifty appeal, and licensing in its final stage. Those are dated campaign statements, not confirmation of an operating license or an opening date.

Capital construction and ongoing resident care are distinct needs. Check the dedicated campaign for its current appeal and updates; neither a monthly gift nor a fundraising milestone alone establishes readiness to accept residents.

Choose a one-time or monthly gift that works for you. Confirm the amount, frequency, fund options, and provider terms on the secure giving form.

Thank you for supporting the work—and for expecting clear, accountable reporting.