Farm Radio International is a 5-star rated charity with High demonstrated impact. The charity has best practices in financial transparency and has an A results reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 75 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci's reasonable range. 

Founded in 1979, Farm Radio International (FRI) is a Canadian-based international aid charity. The charity uses radio broadcasting to provide agricultural information to farmers in Africa. FRI also produces content designed to promote gender equity, health, and nutrition. The charity produces instructional resources for independent radio broadcasters in its network. The materials focus on promoting interactive radio programming.

A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity

FRI runs three programs. Its core program, Radio Projects, comprises the majority of FRI’s spending. FRI also runs two smaller programs, Radio Network and Radio Innovations. FRI did not provide a breakdown of spending by program.

The Radio Projects program takes a top-down approach to radio. FRI works with its 369 partners to determine the programming best suited to achieve specific development goals. FRI’s radio projects have the potential to reach 60 million people across 16 countries. In F2023, FRI organized 30 projects.

The Radio Network program takes a bottom-up approach to broadcasting. FRI provides support to local African radio stations. It produces resources such as guides, scripts, and training. FRI's partners are free to determine the programming best suited for their communities. FRI’s network consists of 1,332 members (up 111 from F2022) in 38 countries. It is distributing resources to 7,965 individual broadcasters. In F2023, FRI created 102 new radio resources.

The Radio Innovations program provides training for broadcasters, with a specific focus on women and youth. The program also encourages interactive radio, via the “Uliza Interactive” app. The app allows people to answer polls and call in to radio broadcasts. In F2023, FRI trained 778 new broadcasters, 321 of whom were women and 211 of whom were youth. FRI registered 88,976 unique callers in F2023, and 1.2 million interactions.

FRI received $6.0m in international and Canadian donations in F2023. Canadian donations represent 60% of total donations and 42% of revenues. Most of its donations came from international development organizations and charities. FRI received $2.4m in government funding, representing 28% of total revenue. Administrative costs were 10% of FRI’s revenue in F2023, and fundraising costs were 16% of donations. FRI has a total overhead spending of 25%. For every dollar donated, 75 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

FRI has $1.0m in reserve, meaning that it can cover 1 month of its program costs. This indicates that FRI has a need for funding.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to Farm Radio International for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 27, 2023 by Ben Dobozy.