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Formation | 1997 |
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Founder | Jeff Rutt |
Type | nonprofit |
23-2836648 | |
Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
Purpose | Financial services |
Headquarters |
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Products | |
President | Peter K. Greer |
Board chair | Jeff Rutt |
Revenue | $59,938,812 [1] (2024) |
Expenses | $57,322,319 [1] (2024) |
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 30 underserved countries and has provided more than 3.3 million people worldwide with access to small loans and savings services since it began operations in 1997. [2]
Following the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Jeff Rutt, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based homebuilder, began making numerous trips to Ukraine with his church. In an effort to support the material needs of people in one Ukrainian community, Rutt and his fellow congregants would also transport containers of food, clothing, and medical supplies.
After several of these visits, a local pastor pulled Rutt aside and told him candidly that the shipments were not helping. Although people were accessing needed supplies, they had become dependent on the free donations and local businesses could not compete. The well-intentioned aid shipments were actually doing more harm than good by depressing local industry and initiative.
Struck by the unintended consequences of his actions, Rutt began looking into different forms of development aid and eventually initiated a microfinance program to empower Ukrainians. The program was successful, and in 1997, Rutt established HOPE International.
After further work in Ukraine, HOPE began expanding into other countries in need of its services. In 2004, Peter K. Greer became HOPE's president and CEO 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 $19,000,000 in support of HOPE International, [4] and has completed housing projects in 23 states across the United States, as well as in Alberta, Canada. In 2008, Rutt was awarded the Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award for his humanitarian efforts. [6]
HOPE International operates through two models.
The first model is the savings group program. [7] HOPE partners with local churches and denominations to support the formation of savings groups, which are run as ministries of the Christian faith communities. 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 for emergencies, start or expand businesses, or pay for household expenses like school fees or home improvement. Most groups also allow members to take out loans in addition to building their savings.
Beyond saving, group members also meet to connect, offer mutual support, pray, and worship together.
HOPE’s second model is microfinance institutions. This approach involves a group of 10-50 entrepreneurs who receive loans together 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 measures 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. Key findings from the 500 entrepreneurs who participated in the survey are as follows:
HOPE International’s work is funded through individual donors, churches, foundations, businesses, and Homes for HOPE. HOPE’s microfinance institution model also provides sustainable sources of capital because HOPE-network loan recipients repay loans with interest, and investments remain in their local microfinance institution. Between 2019 – 2023, approximately 98% of loans in the HOPE network were repaid, stimulating the local economy and allowing for continued loan distribution.
Charity Navigator has awarded HOPE International its highest four-star rating for 15 consecutive years (2006-2021), [9] and as of June 2025, HOPE earned a score of 100% in accountability and transparency and an overall rating of 100%. [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 Christian ministries serving children and youth. [11]
Source: [12]
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. [21]