Pakistani-Canadian fundraiser collects more than $300,000 for dams in Pakistan

PAKISTANI-CANADIAN organizations announced on Friday that they raised more than $300,000 on March 24’s fundraising event in Surrey for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams in Pakistan. Over 1,000 people of the Pakistani-Canadian community and their allies attended the event.

A total of $339,148 was collected and after deducting expenses of $31,548, they were left with $307,600.

The organizations sent a detailed report on the funds they collected and steps they took to maintain the integrity of their fundraising.

They said: “The finance committee is composed of respectable members from all the collaborating organizations so that everything is transparent to all organizations involved.” The members:

  • Farzana Alam -Pakistani Canadian Women Society
  • Waqar Khan -Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association of BC
  • Asad Syed – Friends of Pakistan Canada Association, I Am Pakistan Worldwide Movement BC Chapter
  • Aamir Bajwa -I Am Pakistan Worldwide Movement
  • Furquan Gehlen – Independent, Finance committee lead

Regarding the process of selling tickets, they noted:

  • Tickets were sold at prices ranging from $50 to $800.
  • Receipts were issued for all tickets sold prior to the event.
  • We have a record of all ticket sales prior to the event.
  • Tickets sold at the event did not get individual receipts and we created one receipt for all tickets sales from the event day for internal reconciliation purposes.
  • We have a record of all ticket sales on event day.

Regarding donation collection process, they pointed out:

* High Commission Staff handled all credit card donations:

o They used their credit cards machines.

o They issued their own receipt.

o We entered all transactions in our master spreadsheet.

o All funds went directly into the High Commission account.

* High Commission Staff received all cheque donations:

o We accepted the cheques and wrote out a receipt. White copy went to donor, yellow copy was attached to the cheque, and pink copy retained for our records.

o We entered all transactions in our master spreadsheet.

o They took cheques with them at the end of the event.

o All funds went directly into the High Commission account.

* All cash was received by Finance Committee members or our volunteers:

o A receipt was issued for cash donations. White copy went to donor, yellow and pink copy was retained for our records.

o All funds went directly into the Dam Fundraising Vancouver account.

o Cheque issued to High Commission account equivalent to cash donations received.

* Regarding their internal audit, they said: “We have gone above and beyond typical checks and controls for fundraising events done in our community,” noting:

  • We issued receipts for tickets to the event.
  • We issued receipts for all donations.
  • We have a paper trail for all transactions with no known exceptions.
  • The finance committee has respectable members from all the collaborating organizations so that everything is transparent to all organizations involved.
  • The finance committee did an exhaustive internal audit to reconcile all tickets sales, sponsorships and donations.