General FAQs about The Foundation

 

How can The Foundation restore sight for £11?

The cost of restoring sight differs country to country because of the varying development of medical services, wages, logistics and exchange rates. In some countries, we can restore sight for as little as £11.

Medical treatment in developed countries like Australia is expensive and can’t be compared with developing countries. Surgery is less invasive in the western world, using very advanced and costly technologies. A different, more cost effective technique is used in many developing countries. Other costs associated with surgery including real estate, equipment, nurses' wages and medical insurance. This is all much cheaper in the developing world.

Another way of looking at it is, in some of the countries where we work, people may be living on only a few dollars a day. 
 

Can I visit one of The Foundation’s overseas programs?

Unfortunately, our country offices are not equipped to accommodate visitors. The work we do in country offices is around program design, coordination, health monitoring and evaluation. No medical procedures are carried out in The Foundation’s offices or by our staff.

However, our partner in Nepal, the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, accepts visitors to their hospital. If you’d like to visit Tilganga to see the work carried out in partnership between our organisations, please get in touch with Mr Bhagirath Baniya, Administrator and Public Relations Manager.

 

Why do you work overseas as well as with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders?  

The work we do is inspired by the late Professor Fred Hollows. He believed everyone in the world had the right to quality and affordable eye health. When 4 out of 5 people in developing countries are blind when they don’t need to be and 94 per cent of vision loss is preventable or treatable in adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, we think it’s an injustice not to do anything. Our specialities are in developmental work, so that’s where we concentrate our efforts.
 

What are The Foundation’s UK companies and registered charity numbers?

The Fred Hollows Foundation (UK) is registered as a charity under number 1140288 and as a company limited by guarantee under number 07193829 in England and Wales.
 

Is The Foundation International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) compliant?

As part of our commitment to transparency, The Fred Hollows Foundation (UK) (FHF(UK)) publishes data on programme finances through the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). 
 
The International Aid Transparency Initiative aims to make information on aid spending more accessible to governments, organisations and citizens of developing countries and beyond. By signing up, we have agreed to regularly publish details of our programme activity expenditure, where we receive direct funding from the UK Government, currently through the Department of International Development (DFID). We continue to look for ways to improve the quantity and quality of data we provide. Access FHF(UK)’s data on the public free access IATI Registry here. 

For direct access to our IATI Transparency statement, click here.

The way the data is presented in the IATI Registry can be technical and hard to interrupt and understand. We want to show the same data in a more accessible way in two other online tools: our page on d-Portal, a free access site and the DFID Development Tracker.

You can find the Theory of Change document to our ‘Reducing extreme poverty in Pakistan through the elimination of trachoma project’ here
 

Donations

How can I make a donation in the United Kingdom?

The Fred Hollows Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. 

We can accept cheque, grants, institutional funding or large one off donations, please contact us for more information.

Posting a cheque
 
Please make the cheque payable to The Fred Hollows Foundation UK and post to:

The Fred Hollows Foundation (UK)

9 Rushworth Street
London
SE1 0RB

If you wish to make a donation by debit or credit card, we do not presently have the ability to process those payments on this website. However, you can donate to us online through a third party, such as the Charities Aid Foundation or Charities Trust. Alternatively, register with JustGiving, eBay for Charity, PayPal Giving Fund or Give as you Live to donate to us when you shop online.   

Unfortunately we are not currently claiming Gift Aid. We are unable to issue tax deductible receipts for donations received in UK.

Where does my donation go?

Your £11 could be used to restore someone’s sight, but it may also go towards a range of other program activities like training surgeons or eye health workers. These health professionals will then go on to help thousands of people in their community. All of the work we do aims to build capacity in developing countries to create sustainable public eye health systems.
 

Can I see who my donation will restore sight to?

Unfortunately, we can’t follow your donation to one single recipient, but we can assure you that your donation will go to helping people in need through our program and support work.
 

Can I donate via PayPal?

No. Currently we are unable to accept PayPal donations. 
 

Can I make a donation if I live overseas?

 
New Zealand
The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ is a separate organisation to The Fred Hollows Foundation Australia and UK. Their programs run in the Pacific Region and Papua New Guinea. Donations in New Zealand can be made via their website. These donations will receive a tax-deductible receipt for NZ.

For more information email or contact The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ on 0800 227 229 (within New Zealand).
 
USA

Donors in the US can make a tax-deductible donation to The Fred Hollows Foundation (USA), which is a registered 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organisation, EIN: 82-2851329.

There are a few ways you can donate if you live in the US.
 

  1. Visit our US donation page
  2. Call 1-646-868-8986,
  3. Deposit directly into our bank account
  4. Post a check to our US office


Please contact us to find the details for bank deposits.

Posting a check
 
Please make the check payable to The Fred Hollows Foundation and post to:

The Fred Hollows Foundation
4 E 27th Street
PO Box 20318 
New York, NY 10003
United States
 

How can I make a donation for a birthday, anniversary or funeral?

Thanks for wanting to donate to The Foundation to acknowledge a significant occasion. Please contact us for ways of donating.

If you have any questions about making a bequest, please contact us.
 

Does The Foundation have bonbonnieres we can give to our wedding guests?

No, unfortunately at this time we don’t.
 

Can I donate to a specific country or program?

This can only be done for sizeable donations. If this is something you’re looking to do, please contact us
 

Can I donate old glasses and frames?

Thanks for thinking of us, but unfortunately we can’t accept donations of glasses. However, we would recommend asking your optometrist or optician if they participate in a spectacle recycling scheme.

 

Your privacy and communications

How do I update my personal details?

Please get in touch we will be able to help you with this.
 

Does The Foundation share my details with other charities?

No. We never, under any circumstances, share, sell or pass on our donors’ details.

 

Other FAQs

I’m a school student. How can I find more information about The Foundation?

There’s quite a lot of detail on both our UK and global website, but if there’s something you can’t find, please contact us.
 

I’m a health professional. How can I work or volunteer for The Foundation?

Thanks for your interest in being a part of The Foundation. We prioritise the recruitment of local staff in the countries where we work to build local capacity and to promote the long-term sustainability of our eye health programs.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the capacity to offer work placements or train and host professional volunteers within our programs at this time. We do offer a six month fellowship placement each year – these opportunities are usually advertised on our global website.

The Fred Hollows Foundation works to provide training for doctors in underserved areas in the countries where we work. If you are a health professional seeking training, we recommend you make contact with a local health department in your country, or please contact us.
 

Can I fundraise for The Foundation?

Yes. Please contact us with the details and we will get in touch to discuss further. 
 

Can I partner with The Foundation?

The Foundation works in partnership with the national governments, non-governmental organisations, public and private hospitals, research institutions and institutional donors. If you are interested in partnering with The Foundation, please contact us.
 

I’m a patient in need of treatment. Can The Foundation treat my eyes?

The Foundation does not conduct eye surgery directly. If you are in need of treatment, we recommend you contact your local hospital, GP or related local government departments and they will be able to help you.