A Different Kind of Service Model

As mentioned in a previous post, we have chosen to perform our own management and administration functions, rather than operate through an established children's non-profit organization.  We made this choice for several reasons.  First, the Beyond Our Borders team has a desire to work directly with children and their Christian leaders with no intermediaries.  We enjoy building new personal relationships with our non-US partners and leveraging those partnerships to help the children.  Second, several of the Beyond Our Borders team members have business and other non-profit management experience.  We enjoy using those skills to develop and execute our own approach to managing international aid projects.  Third, we are able to keep administrative costs low.  Every dollar donated to Beyond Our Borders goes directly and entirely to a project for the children.  The Beyond Our Borders team absorbs all administrative costs, including travel.

To help us achieve our mission of serving poor children around the world, we have defined a set of guiding principles for Beyond Our Borders that is the foundation for all of our operations.

• Collaboration with overseas institutions.  We establish personal relationships with leaders of children in developing countries so that we can leverage their ongoing commitment to the children.  Our objective is to empower these in-country leaders and help them to grow the quality and capacity of their services for the children.
• Christianity in action.  We believe that everything we do in service for the children should be based on Christian caring to foster the spiritual growth of others.
• Long term commitments.  We seek to establish relationships and projects that will persist and grow through time, attracting more and more children.
• Wise stewardship.  All donations will be spent on projects that directly benefit children.  We will employ rigorous project management disciplines, teaching our partners when necessary, to ensure efficient use of funds.
• Encourage capacity building.  Our priority is to fund capital projects, such as building improvements, equipment, furniture, and learning materials to improve the infrastructure for helping children for the long term.  We will sometimes fund programs and salaried employees to meet specific objectives, but we encourage our partners to become self-sustaining for their operational activities.
• Grow U.S. engagement.  We actively seek the participation of other churches and individuals in all of our projects, and we are happy to share our processes and experiences with other volunteer groups.  The more people become committed to missions projects, the more children can be helped.

One of the most important parts of our execution is the annual trips to our supported locations.  We meet with our partners to discuss existing projects and new projects.  We review and inspect how previous investments have been spent.  The most fun and rewarding part of the trip is to see the children and talk with them. How rewarding it is to see their smiling faces and share in their love for life!