GOLD2023

Amizade, Ltd.

Global service and learning for a more just and joyful world

aka Amizade, Amizade Global Service-Learning, Amizade GSL   |   Pittsburgh, PA   |  www.amizade.org

Mission

Amizade inspires empathy, catalyzes social action, and links diverse communities through Fair Trade Learning.

Notes from the nonprofit

We believe in building a more relevant, collaborative, and responsible classroom. Amizade is the product of hundreds of service-learning pioneers who have engaged in over two decades of programmatic and academic development; it is the result of never-ending efforts by communities around the world to welcome others; and it is an ongoing global movement by over 27,000 alums, and hundreds of thousands of others, to create a more joyful and just world. Amizade collaborates with universities, high schools, community groups, and companies to design and manage safe, empowering global service-learning and volunteer programs; works closely with communities all over the world to develop and manage sustainable, empowering initiatives that create cross-cultural bonds and global citizens; and acts as a catalyst for improvement in international education, developing innovative curriculum and sector changing ideals like Fair Trade Learning, and sharing best practices with others through consulting.

Ruling year info

1995

Executive Director

Brandon Blache-Cohen

Main address

2211 Lesnett Rd. #12539

Pittsburgh, PA 15241 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

36-3974227

NTEE code info

International Cultural Exchange (Q21)

Community, Neighborhood Development, Improvement (S20)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018.
Register now

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Every year hundreds of thousands of American youth travel the world to participate in study and volunteer abroad programs. There are many different types of these programs – each offering their own level of community engagement and voice. Many of these programs operate by focusing solely on the participant experience and rarely consider the important value and sacrifice of the communities they work in. Still others engage community leaders and organizations they operate in, but still fail to recognize the importance and power of a mutual learning partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect. We believe in building a more relevant, collaborative, and responsible classroom that addresses these issues through Fair Trade Learning.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Fair Trade Learning Programs

Modeled after Amizade's partnership in Jamaica, Fair Trade Learning recognizes that the individuals and communities that host students and volunteers are uniquely impacted by visitors and should be offered fair working conditions and compensation, hold significant voice in the orchestration of programming, and be offered proper professional development opportunities.
Pioneered by Amizade, the Fair Trade Learning framework commits volunteer sending organizations to transparency, community-driven service, commitment and sustainability, deliberate diversity, intercultural contact, community preparation, local sourcing, reciprocity, and reflection. Each ideal is broken into specific standards that have been vetted by community members, staff members across several VSOs, and a broad coalition of academics.
Fair Trade Learning programs take place in more than 20 communities around the world, where Amizade maintains long-term partnerships.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Students
Adolescents

The ​Equity ​in ​Global ​Education ​Coalition ​aims ​to ​cultivate ​globally ​engaged and ​civically ​active ​youth ​throughout ​Pittsburgh ​through ​a ​city-wide ​movement ​that ​will
expose ​a ​groundswell ​of ​teenagers ​to ​international, ​reflective, ​and ​experiential ​global
experiences. ​This ​Coalition ​enables ​underrepresented ​youth ​of ​low socioeconomic ​status ​to ​gain ​access ​to ​global ​educational ​and ​volunteer ​opportunities previously ​denied ​them ​due ​to ​the ​growing ​disparities ​in ​education ​between ​the ​wealthy and ​the ​poor.
Projects include the Hill District Global Engagement Coalition, which saw 30 young people and their mentors to travel to Ghana, Jamaica, and Trinidad for immersive global service-learning, and Building Community Bridges, which breaks down barriers through a series of workshops with young adults from urban and rural communities and provides them with a safe space to explore issues of of identity, power, and privilege together.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Students
At-risk youth
Economically disadvantaged people

Amizade virtual global engagements translate in-person transformative elements, such as reflective practice, into a digital space. In a synchronous environment, participants explore culture and global issues by engaging with Amizade community partners. They deepen their knowledge of global issues by participating in service with community partners or in their home. Throughout the program, participants are guided through reflective practice activities to fully harness the power of the experience as it relates to empathy and civic engagement.

Just like our Fair Trade Learning programs, these programs take many forms, can be many different lengths, and serve many different types of participants.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Adolescents
Adults
Students

Amizade recognizes that we alone cannot meet our bold mission. As such, we’ve chosen to be as open-source of an organization as possible. It’s why we’ve catalyzed, but not owned, such sector changing concepts as Fair Trade Learning and The Global Switchboard. We offer our skills and time as consultants to other mission-driven organizations so that our innovative ideas and expertise in global service-learning, solidarity building, experiential education, and socially active and responsible educational travel can be shared far and wide.
Over the last two decades, Amizade has led hundreds of workshops, trainings, and retreats. Amizade can assist with many elements of planning for new global initiatives, mission alignment, ethical partnership integration, and global service-learning curriculum development.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Students
Adults
Students
Adults
Students

Where we work

Videos

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Amizade inspires empathy, catalyzes social action, and links diverse communities through Fair Trade Learning.

Amizade's strategies to achieve our mission include: Improving the consistency and quality of our Fair Trade Learning curriculum implementation, Piloting opportunities and training for participants and community members to cultivate social action, Improving alumni post-program engagement, and facilitating the linking of diverse and unlikely networks.

Amizade has been working on global education and connecting communities since 1994 and, in the past year, are working to more specifically target our new strategic goals.

This new strategic plan was just launched in the fall of 2017. Measurable results and progress are now being monitored and analyzed.

Financials

Amizade, Ltd.
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more about GuideStar Pro.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Amizade, Ltd.

Board of directors
as of 02/22/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Ronnell Perry

AfroBuenaventura Transformative Travel

Term: 2022 - 2025

Brandon Blache-Cohen

Amizade

Dan Weiss

Cody M Paris

University of Middlesex, Dubai

Julia Posteraro

The Midwife Center for Birth & Women's Health

Greg Payne

Rhiannon Tomtishen

Jorge Caraballo Cordovez

Christopher Carr

Elizabeth Fu

Rebecca Johnson

Ivi Kolasi

Dennis McCunney

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/16/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Decline to state
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data