Hope International (Christian microfinance)

The World Bank reports that, "globally 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked," with little to no access to formal financial services.[2] "People living in poverty, like everyone else, need a diverse range of financial services to run their businesses, build assets, smooth consumption and manage risks."[3] Traditionally, these families fill financial gaps by borrowing from friends and family or by borrowing from loan sharks who charge high interest rates. Oftentimes these options do not provide lasting solutions.

Microfinance, defined as "providing financial services such as small loans to poor people so they can increase their income and decrease their vulnerability to unforeseen circumstances,"[4] provides an opportunity for lasting change in even the poorest of communities. Many men and women served by the HOPE network are women seeking to establish sustainable means of providing food, clothing, shelter, and an education for their families. Income from businesses built in part through small loans and savings not only helps the individual client, but also benefits his or her family and subsequently strengthens the local economy.

While many define poverty as a lack of money, food, or shelter, HOPE believes the roots of poverty run deeper. Using a model developed by The Chalmers Center, HOPE defines poverty as a result of broken relationships – with God, others, self, and the rest of creation.[5]

The organization operates through one of two models depending on the country of operation.

The first method is the savings group program.[4] Savings groups are formed by a group of 10 to 50 individuals who meet regularly to make savings deposits into a common fund. Clients regularly 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. Many groups also allow for savers to take out loans as well as accumulate savings.

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 groups members since there is no form of collateral to offer for the loan. Accountability to the group provides a powerful incentive to make regular loan repayments.

In certain HOPE-network countries, entrepreneurs can also 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 credit-worthiness, or they may qualify from the start due to their financial situation, business success, or credit history.

In developed nations with a higher income per capita, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the economy. These businesses, which often employ multiple people and heavily impact communities, are critical for national economic progress. However, in countries with lower per capita incomes, SME businesses are noticeably missing. The large gap, often referred to as the “missing middle,” stems from both a lack of capital for SMEs and a lack of incentives for banks to offer appropriately sized loans. To meet the needs of entrepreneurs whose businesses have outgrown microfinance lending, putting them in this missing middle, certain HOPE programs have begun piloting and rolling out SME loans.

HOPE desires to see families impacted 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. For example, 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.[6] HOPE has invested in LM&E with the goal of listening well to the recipients of their services, using feedback to inform their work. Recognizing that proving impact can be a very complex process, HOPE desires to “improve, not prove” their processes.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Jeff Rutt and the Pennsylvania-based church he attended partnered with a church in Ukraine. After failing to effectively help the Ukrainian community through handouts, and upon looking into different forms of development aid, Rutt decided to initiate 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 Greer became HOPE's president after spending several years at various microfinance organizations and attending graduate school at Harvard University.

In addition to the contributions of entrepreneurs themselves, HOPE International’s work is funded through individual donors, churches, foundations, businesses, and Homes for HOPE. In the last five years, approximately 97.5% of loans in the HOPE network have been repaid.[7] 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.

For 13 consecutive years, Charity Navigator has awarded HOPE International its highest four-star rating, something fewer than 1% of U.S. nonprofits achieve. HOPE most recently earned a score of 100/100 in accountability and transparency and an overall rating of 91.10.[8]

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 children’s ministries.[9]

HOPE International shares the hope of Christ through its work, seeking to transform its clients both physically and spiritually. In addition to providing loans and establishing savings groups, HOPE offers biblically based business training and discipleship to its clients. Although HOPE International is a Christian organization, it works with all individuals regardless of their religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, or marital status.

• Burundi: Turame partnership established in 2008 and transitioned to HOPE-managed in 2016; savings program launched in 2012
• Dominican Republic: Esperanza International[10] partnership established in 2005
• East Asia: Program established in 2000 (country name withheld for security reasons)
• Haiti: Program established in 2009
• Malawi: Program established in 2013
• Moldova: Invest-Credit[11] partnership established in 2005
• Peru: Comas Christian & Missionary Alliance Church partnership established in 2011
• Philippines: Center for Community Transformation (CCT)[12] partnership established in 2007
• Republic of Congo: Program established in 2010
• Romania: ROMCOM[13] partnership established in 2007
• Rwanda: Urwego Bank[14] partnership established in 2005 and transitioned to HOPE-managed in 2016; HOPE Rwanda savings program established in 2007
• Ukraine: Program established in 1997
• South Asia: Partnerships established in 2007, 2011, and 2014 (country name withheld for security reasons)
• Zambia: Program established in 2015
• Zimbabwe: Partnership established in 2011; transitioned to HOPE-managed in 2017

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 15-member executive team. Program directors also oversee the organization’s work from within its countries of operation.

Homes for HOPE, an affiliate program of HOPE International, was established in 1998 by Jeff Rutt.[15] Through Homes for HOPE, home builders and trade partners are able to build benefit homes on a pro bono basis.[16] To date, the organization has raised more than $10,000,000 in support of HOPE International,[15] and is currently operating in 20 states in the United States. In 2008, Jeff Rutt was awarded the Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award for his humanitarian efforts.[17]

SG (savings group) Multiply is an initiative to expand the reach and impact of HOPE International’s church-centered savings group model. Recognizing that the need for this poverty alleviation tool far exceeds their ability to expand as one organization, HOPE is equipping other Christ-centered organizations to start new savings groups in churches and communities they already serve. As of 2019, HOPE has worked with 10 partner organizations, including Compassion International and The Salvation Army, serving 141 churches and 300 savings groups.”[7]

• Created to Flourish by Greer and Smith
• When Helping Hurts by Corbett and Fikkert
• From Dependence to Dignity by Fikkert and Mask
• Portfolios of the Poor by Daryl Collins
• The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz
• A Billion Bootstraps by Smith and Thurman
• Banker To The Poor by Muhammad Yunus
• Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is A Better Way For Africa by Dambisa Moya
• Give Us Credit by Alex Counts
• Good News to the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Murdoch, Stuart Rutherford, Orlando Ruthven
• The Economics of Microfinance by Beatriz Armendariz and Jonathan
• The Poor and Their Money: Microfinance from a Twenty-First Century Consumer’s Perspective by Stuart Rutherford
• Walking with the Poor by Bryant L. Myers

• Hope International (official website)