Formation | 1997 |
---|---|
Founder | Jeff Rutt |
Type | nonprofit |
23-2836648 | |
Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
Purpose | Financial services |
Headquarters |
|
Products | |
President | Peter K. Greer |
Board chair | Jeff Rutt |
Revenue (2023) | $49,848,002 [1] |
Expenses (2023) | $47,058,629 [1] |
Website | www |
HOPE International is a Christian faith-based nonprofit organization based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that equips individuals living in poverty with savings and microfinance services. HOPE International now operates in over 20 underserved countries and has assisted over 3 million people with small loans and savings services since it began operations in 1997. [2]
Following the fall of the Soviet Union in Ukraine in the early 1990s, Jeff Rutt, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based homebuilder, traveled to Ukraine numerous times with his church, transporting containers of food, clothing, and medical supplies to a community in Ukraine.
After several of these visits, a local pastor pulled Rutt aside and told him honestly that the shipments were not helping. Though people were accessing needed supplies, they had become dependent on them. Local businesses could not compete with the free handouts. The well-intentioned aid shipments were actually doing more harm than good by depressing local industry and initiative.
Upon looking into different forms of development aid, Rutt initiated a microfinance program to empower Ukrainians. The program was successful, and in 1997, Rutt established HOPE International.
After further work in Ukraine, the organization began looking for opportunities to expand its operations into other countries where a need for such services had been identified. In 2004, Peter K. Greer became HOPE's president after spending several years at various microfinance organizations and attending graduate school at Harvard University (Kennedy School of Government). [3]
Homes for HOPE, an affiliate program of HOPE International, was established in 1998 by Jeff Rutt. [4] Through Homes for HOPE, home builders and trade partners are able to build benefit homes on a pro bono basis. [5] To date, the organization has raised more than $10,000,000 in support of HOPE International, [4] and has completed projects in 23 states in the United States, as well as in Alberta, Canada. In 2008, Jeff Rutt was awarded the Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award for his humanitarian efforts. [6]
The organization operates through one of two models.
The first model is the savings group program. [7] Savings groups are formed and run as ministries of local churches. Though each group creates its own rules and guidelines, they operate on rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) or accumulating savings and credit association (ASCA) models. Most have 10 to 20 members, who meet regularly to make savings deposits into a common fund. Clients save money to stabilize household income, provide a safety net in emergencies, start or expand businesses, or pay for household expenses such as school fees or home improvement. Most groups also allow savers to take out loans as well as accumulate savings.
In addition to saving together, group members meet to connect, offer mutual support, and pray and worship together.
HOPE’s second model is microfinance institutions. This approach involves a group of 10-50 entrepreneurs who together receive loans from HOPE International or its local partner. Each loan recipient cross-guarantees the loans of other group members since there is no form of collateral to offer for the loan. Accountability to the group provides an incentive to make regular loan repayments.
In certain HOPE-network countries, entrepreneurs can qualify for individual loans, typically for higher loan amounts than those in the group model. Clients may graduate from receiving group loans once they have proven creditworthiness, or they may qualify from the start due to their financial situation, business success, or credit history.[ citation needed ]
HOPE tracks impact across four domains: material, personal, social, and spiritual. In 2014, they formed a Listening, Monitoring, and Evaluation (LM&E) team to better understand the impact of their services.
In a survey conducted in Malawi in 2019, where HOPE has worked since 2013, they learned that 81% of savings group members surveyed reported being able to meet a significant financial emergency need within one month, compared to 37% of the broader Malawian population as reported by the World Bank in The Global FINDEX Database 2017. [8]
In 2023, HOPE partnered with a third party, 60 Decibels, to measure the impact of Urwego Finance, HOPE's microfinance institution in Rwanda. Some findings from the 500 entrepreneurs who participated in the survey facilitated by 60 Decibels are as follows:
HOPE International’s work is funded through individual donors, churches, foundations, businesses, and Homes for HOPE. From 2017-2023, approximately 98% of loans in the HOPE network were repaid. HOPE-network loan recipients repay loans with interest, and investments remain in their local microfinance institution, stimulating the local economy and allowing for continued loan distribution.
Charity Navigator has awarded HOPE International its highest four-star rating for 17 consecutive years (2006-2023), [9] and as of July 2024, HOPE earned a score of 100% in accountability and transparency and an overall rating of 99%. [10]
HOPE International also has a philanthropic dividend policy. As HOPE-led microfinance institutions become sustainable, they are committed to giving away 10% of their profits to support local Christ-centered ministries serving children and youth. [11]
HOPE International has a 14-member board of trustees chaired by Jeff Rutt. Peter Greer was appointed as president of the organization in 2004 after working abroad with various microfinance organizations and graduating from Harvard Kennedy School. Greer heads HOPE International’s executive council. Program directors also oversee the organization’s work from within its countries of operation. [20]
Compassion International is an American child sponsorship and Christian humanitarian aid organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that aims to positively influence the long-term development of children globally who live in poverty.
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credit history. It is designed to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty. Many recipients are illiterate, and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. As of 2009 an estimated 74 million people held microloans that totaled nearly US$40 billion. Grameen Bank reports that repayment success rates are between 95 and 98 percent. The first economist who had invented the idea of micro loans was The Very Reverend Jonathan Swift in the 1720’s. Microcredit is part of microfinance, which provides a wider range of financial services, especially savings accounts, to the poor. Modern microcredit is generally considered to have originated with the Grameen Bank founded in Bangladesh in 1983 by their current Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. Many traditional banks subsequently introduced microcredit despite initial misgivings. The United Nations declared 2005 the International Year of Microcredit. As of 2012, microcredit is widely used in developing countries and is presented as having "enormous potential as a tool for poverty alleviation."
Microfinance consists of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings and checking accounts; microinsurance; and payment systems, among other services. Microfinance services are designed to reach excluded customers, usually low income population segments, possibly socially marginalized, or geographically more isolated, and to help them become self-sufficient. ID Ghana is an example of a microfinance institution.
Mercy Corps is a global non-governmental, humanitarian aid organization operating in transitional contexts that have undergone, or have been undergoing, various forms of economic, environmental, social and political instabilities. The organization claims to have assisted more than 220 million people survive humanitarian conflicts, seek improvements in livelihoods, and deliver durable development to their communities.
The Hunger Project (THP), founded in 1977 with the stated goal of ending world hunger in 25 years, is an organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. It has ongoing programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where it implements programs aimed at mobilizing rural grassroots communities to achieve sustainable progress in health, education, nutrition, and family income. THP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization incorporated in the state of California.
Grameen Bank is a microfinance specialized community development bank founded in Bangladesh. It provides small loans to the impoverished without requiring collateral.
Accion is an international nonprofit. Founded as a community development initiative serving the poor in Venezuela, it works with local partners in different countries to develop and scale digital financial solutions for underserved people globally.
Opportunity International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization chartered in the United States. Through a network of 47 program and support partners, Opportunity International provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to more than 14 million people in the developing world. It has clients in more than 20 countries and works with fundraising partners in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Opportunity International has 501(c)(3) status as a tax-exempt charitable organization in the United States under the US Internal Revenue Code.
Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.
Kiva Microfunds is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. Kiva's mission is "to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive."
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization whose mission is to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the church. The organization was founded in the aftermath of World War II to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of war-torn Europe.
Micro financing in Tanzania started in 1995 with SACCOS and NGOs. It has since then contributed to the increasing success of international micro financing. Microfinance stills remains a relatively new in Tanzania since it has not penetrated yet. Since 1995, microfinance has been linked to poverty alleviation programs and women. The government made efforts to ensure commercial banks have continued to provide financial support to the small entrepreneurial business. However a microfinance National Policy was implemented in 2002 to encourage and support microfinances in the country. Since the implementation, micro financing was officially launched and recognized as a poverty alleviation tool. Due to its increase exposure and use in the nation, commercial banks have developed interests in to offer microfinance. There are various microfinance banks that functions as supporting institutions in the country that usually provide microfinance services. These may include the CRDB, National Microfinance Bank, and AKIBA. However there are also other few banks that are concerned with micro financing in Tanzania such as the PRIDE and SEDA, Tanzania Postal Bank and FINCA. Community and small banks have also expressed interest in the same including the NGOs and other non-profit organizations.
Five Talents is a Christian charity that provides savings programs, and financial literacy and business training for those in need in developing countries. They make use of a form of savings-led microfinance. Five Talents' programs serve people regardless of religious background, and they aim to transform lives through economic empowerment, creating long-term solutions to poverty in the developing world.
Financial inclusion is the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to processes by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and services - which include banking, loan, equity, and insurance products. It provides paths to enhance inclusiveness in economic growth by enabling the unbanked population to access the means for savings, investment, and insurance towards improving household income and reducing income inequality
Fonkoze is Haiti's largest microfinance institution serving the poor in Haiti, with 44 branches located throughout the country.
Peter Keith Greer is an author, speaker, and president and CEO of HOPE International, a global Christ-centered economic development organization serving throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Peter and his wife, Laurel, have four children and live in Lancaster, PA.
The SEEP Network, also known as SEEP, is a member-based, nonprofit organization with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
Silatech is an organization based in Qatar, founded by Mozah bint Nasser. The current CEO of this organization is Mr. Hassan Al Mulla. Silatech means "your connection" in Arabic. The initiative seeks to create jobs and economic opportunities for young people in the Arab world, targeting 18- to 30-year-olds. by 2016, Silatech claims to have helped 200,000 young Arabs to obtain jobs. The initiative’s model involves building partnerships with governments, private companies and NGOs.
Convoy of Hope is an American faith-based nonprofit humanitarian and disaster relief organization that provides food, supplies, and humanitarian services to impoverished or otherwise needy populations throughout the world. The organization also engages in disaster relief work. It was founded in 1994 by Hal, Steve, and Dave Donaldson in Sacramento, California, later moved its headquartered to its current place in Springfield, Missouri, and is associated with the Assemblies of God and its Chi Alpha campus ministries and fellowships.
Esperanza is a Christian-based not-for-profit organization that is devoted to helping poverty-stricken people of the Dominican Republic through finance, education, health, and spiritual programs. It is classified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the State of Washington, USA and as a non-governmental organization in the Dominican Republic. Its primary services are centered around its microfinance program, which provides small loans to impoverished families and business owners, to progress economic development and pull communities out of poverty. It was founded in 1995 by former Major League Baseball player Dave Valle and his wife Vicky. Esperanza is headquartered in Santo Domingo, has 10,000 associates in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, has distributed 200,000 loans, supported 200 schools, and provided access to clean water through 50 water projects.
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