The Welfare Team Inc. is a nonprofit organization based in Raleigh, NC, whose primary purpose is to use funds from team members to improve people’s welfare through assistance with payment of rent, buying of food and help with healthcare and educational needs.

Brief History: The Welfare Team Inc. was formed on December 28th 2019. The initial idea was for it to serve as a conduit for people in the community who want to help others in need to do so easily and even anonymously, if they choose to. Some people do not know who to help or if they know them, don’t know how to approach them. Ebrima Jeng, a local religious and community leader in Raleigh, NC, was the perfect person such people approached to make donations or ask him to solicit help for them. He knew who was in need because people trusted him to confide in him. Donors also had confidence in him that their donations will reach the right people. Sometimes they simply dropped off donations at his door anonymously and he took care of the rest. Less than three months after the team’s formation, Covid-19 hit. Many people lost jobs and more people than expected were suddenly in need of help.

Fundraising and Distribution of Funds: On the third Wednesday of each month, The Welfare Team Inc. puts out a message on WhatsApp to the team members informing them that donations are being accepted. The donation period ends on the following Sunday. Since the team's inception, the membership has grown to about three hundred and a good portion of the members donate regularly. The day after the donation period ends, Jeng and some members who assist him in this endeavor, and who are also familiar with people in need, meet to distribute the funds collected. The funds are immediately sent to the people identified around the country. Recipients, who come from different racial and religious backgrounds, regularly post testimonials and messages of gratitude to the team on WhatsApp.

From time to time, funds are sent to needy people in The Gambia and Senegal in West Africa. Most of The Welfare Team Inc.  members are either originally from the two countries or have ancestry there. Funds have been sent to the Gambia Red Cross to assist disaster victims and also to help a health center with needed resources to help fight Covid-19. Funds have also been sent to help local schools in The Gambia and Senegal. The bulk of the funds, though, is distributed among people around the US.

501(c)(3) status:  The monthly distributions have been very helpful to the recipients. Even though The Welfare Team Inc. would like to help everyone in need, the funds are never enough and more funds need to be raised. To encourage members to donate more we applied for and were granted tax exempt status by the IRS. As a result, donations are tax deductible. The more members donate, the more they may be able to deduct from their taxes.  More donations mean that more people will receive help.