Five percent of revenue is easy to say and boring to administer, which is why most of this piece is about the administration.
What gets counted
Gross revenue on the order total, before shipping and after refunds. Not profit — profit is a number we control, and a promise you cannot check is not a promise.
What it buys
Three things, in this order of spend: school fees and exam costs per term, paid to the school directly; tailoring courses that end with a certificate and a machine to take home; and housing costs — roof repairs, water access, rent stability — which decide whether the first two are even possible.
When it moves
Quarterly, within thirty days of the quarter closing. We publish the totals in January and July with the receipts behind them.
The part that did not work
Our first year we funded machines without funding the course. Three of the six went unused within a month, because a machine is not a skill. The money now goes to training first and equipment second, which is slower and is the reason this page exists in the form it does.