Transparency & Funding

1.Who Runs VOADI

VOADI is operated by the Coalition of Africans Diaspora Ireland — a community organisation founded and led by members of the African diaspora in Ireland. We are not a subsidiary of any corporation, media organisation, government body, or political party.

VOADI was founded with a single purpose: to give the African diaspora in Ireland a dedicated civic platform — one that we own, control, and operate entirely in our community's interest. Every decision about what the platform does and does not do is made with that purpose as the primary consideration.

Leadership & governance

VOADI is governed by a coordinating committee whose members are drawn from the African diaspora community across Ireland. The platform operates without a single point of control — operational responsibilities are distributed across independent working groups (community, legal, technology, and communications) that each operate with autonomy within an agreed framework, coordinating through the central committee. Full details of our governance structure and committee membership are published on this page and updated annually.

No single individual, county chapter, or working group can unilaterally make decisions that affect the platform's core mission, data policies, or financial commitments. Decisions on those matters require agreement from the coordinating committee.

2.How VOADI is Funded

VOADI operates on a community-supported funding model. We are not funded by advertising, and we do not sell user data. We do not accept undisclosed funding from any source.

Current funding sources

Funding we do not accept

• Funding from political parties, political campaigns, or candidates for public office.
• Funding from any government or state body that would create a conflict of interest with our advocacy work.
• Funding from any organisation that requires editorial control, content influence, or access to user data as a condition of funding.
• Advertising revenue of any kind — there are no advertisements on VOADI and there will be no advertisements in the future.
• Funding from organisations whose activities are inconsistent with the rights and welfare of the African diaspora community.

3.Where the Money Goes

All funds received by VOADI are used exclusively for the following purposes. We publish a summary breakdown annually.

No funds are used to pay salaries, dividends, or personal benefits to any member of the coordinating committee or working groups. VOADI currently operates entirely on a volunteer basis.

4.Grants & Donations Register

The following table records all grants and institutional donations received by VOADI above €500. This register is updated within 30 days of receipt of any new funding.

Aggregate voluntary community contributions will be reported in our annual transparency report, published each January for the preceding calendar year.

5.Editorial Independence

VOADI's editorial decisions — what appears in the resources directory, what community content is moderated, what petitions are hosted, what guidance is published — are made entirely by the VOADI team on the basis of community benefit. They are not influenced by funders, grant bodies, partners, or any external organisation.

Any organisation listed in our resources directory has been included on merit — because it provides genuine, free, or accessible support to our community. We do not charge for inclusion in the directory. We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or advertising from organisations in exchange for inclusion, prominence, or positive description.

The "hidden gem" designation on certain resources indicates services that our research has identified as significantly underused by the community. It is an editorial judgement, not a commercial arrangement.

If you believe a resource listing is inaccurate, outdated, or that an organisation's conduct is inconsistent with the welfare of our community, please contact us at [email protected].

6.Your Data & Why We Collect It

We collect the minimum data necessary to operate a community platform that is genuinely useful to its members. Full details are in our Privacy Policy. Here is a plain-English summary:

We do not sell your data. We do not share your data with advertisers. We do not use your data to profile you for commercial purposes. We do not share your nationality or country of birth with any third party. Full data retention schedules and your rights are in our Privacy Policy.

7.Accountability & Annual Reports

VOADI publishes an annual transparency report each January covering:

• Total income received in the preceding calendar year, broken down by source category.
• Total expenditure broken down by the categories in Section 3 above.
• A register of all grants and institutional donations above €500 received during the year.
• A summary of content moderation activity (number of reports received, content removed, account actions taken).
• Any material changes to the platform's data processing activities.
• Any changes to the coordinating committee's composition.

Annual reports are published on this page and remain publicly accessible indefinitely.

8.How to Raise Concerns

If you have concerns about VOADI's funding, governance, editorial decisions, or data practices, we want to hear from you.