Cash & Liquidity Management
Published  12 MIN READ

Inside Save the Children International’s Rapid Response Treasury

The treasury team at Save the Children International has to be ready to respond to crises by channelling funding to some of the most remote places on earth – at a moment’s notice. Recent work to improve visibility and efficiency around several treasury processes has enabled the function’s global crisis response capabilities to ratchet up several notches. Here, TMI gets the inside story from two key team members of the not-for-profit’s treasury team.

Moving money across borders at speed can be tough, even under the best of conditions. But propelling financial donations into war zones and ensuring they are distributed to those who need them most, with minimal delays, is another task altogether. Yet this is exactly the kind of undertaking that is ‘run-of-the-mill’ for Save the Children International’s Treasurer, Edward Collis, and Global Head of Treasury Operations, Asha Kumari.

Founded in London in 1919 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister, Dorothy Buxton, the Save the Children movement has grown worldwide over the subsequent century. Fundraising Members of the children’s charity have been established in 30 nations globally, with each member organisation being part of the Save the Children Association. Save the Children International itself is the movement’s international programming arm and operates globally in more than 60 countries.

In turn, those member organisations lead activities within their local territory and work with donors to fund programmes abroad through Save the Children International, such as supporting children in Ukraine and surrounding countries. These cross-border efforts are co-ordinated and delivered by Save the Children International – via teams in each country. Save the Children International oversees international humanitarian responses. As such, Save the Children International’s treasury team, which is based in London, plays a vital role as the financial backbone of the organisation’s charitable work worldwide.