School Aid MTÜ is a non-profit association (mittetulundusühing) registered in the Estonian Business Register, acting in the public interest and seated in Tallinn. It is non-distributing: under its articles it may not pass assets or benefits to founders, members, board members or donors.
School Aid delivers school equipment, solar-plus-IT infrastructure and rapid replacement schooling to children affected by poverty, malnutrition and the devastation of natural disaster or war. Our first response reached schools struck by the 2023 Morocco earthquake; our forward programme scales delivery across Morocco, the Philippines and Venezuela.
We work in three tiers — Equip (equipment, solar and IT into existing schools), Replace (rapid replacement schooling units), and Sustain (longer-term recovery and capacity-building).
No beneficiary, partner or staff member is favoured or excluded on grounds of religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, creed, gender, disability or colour.
We are non-political and non-sectarian in every country. We never proselytise, and we help purely on the basis of need.
Within our mission we give priority to the empowerment and protection of women and children — carried through design, hiring and imagery.
Before we operate anywhere, a Country Cultural & Context Protocol is prepared, reviewed for safeguarding, and adopted by the Board — a hard gate before any delivery, hire, procurement or public image.
Governance is moving from a single founder-director to a four-member Board that adopts all major decisions, policies and country programmes by minuted resolution. (Appointments and the registry update are pending.)
Meet the four-member Board — and Barclay, our Chief Morale Officer — with full CVs on the Team page.
School Aid works alongside two related for-profit ventures of the founder — Digital Climate Finance OÜ and Biomass Asia Inc. We hold firm lines, disclosed openly.
Charitable funds are never used for the benefit of a for-profit party. The charity decides its own funding, spend and partnerships — never a for-profit counterpart.
Related-party dealings are arm's-length, fairly priced, documented and disclosed. Anyone conflicted on both sides declares it and recuses from that decision.
The Board adopts material and related-party decisions by minuted resolution, with an independent voice on the Board and full disclosure of relationships.
Two Board members are connected to the founder's for-profits (David and Maribeth) and both recuse on related-party matters. Annabelle Buo Ramos serves as the independent voice; she is related to the founder by marriage, and this is disclosed.
School Aid MTÜ sits far below Estonia's mandatory audit thresholds and qualifies to file a simplified report. Its first annual report has been filed and its registry standing is current. We are applying to join the Estonian Tax and Customs Board's income-tax-incentive list, which unlocks donor tax relief for Estonian supporters.
Now meet the work itself — three countries, one repeatable model.