PLATINUM2023

Oasis International Ltd.

Satisfying Africa's Thirst for God's Word

Chicago, IL   |  www.oasisinternational.com

Mission

Oasis International is a ministry devoted to growing discipleship through publishing African voices. We engage Africa's most influential, most relevant, and best communicators for the sake of the Gospel. We cultivate local and global partnerships in order to publish and distribute high-quality books and Bibles. We create contextualized content that meets the specific needs of Africa, has the power to transform individuals and societies, and gives the African Church a global voice.

Ruling year info

1999

Principal Officer

Dr. Matthew Elliott

Co Principal Officer

Mr. Jeremy Johnson

Main address

2045 W Grand Ave Ste B, PMB 42474

Chicago, IL 60612 USA

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Formerly known as

Oak Foundation

EIN

36-4200033

NTEE code info

Christian (X20)

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 2019, 2018 and 2017.
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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Africa is the fastest growing church in the world. It has the least resources created specifically for its unique perspectives. Most education comes from the West as only 1 in 9 named their favorite author as being both african and christian.

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?

The Africa Study Bible

Hundreds of millions of Africans know and love Christ. However, most Bible resources come from a Western perspective—cultures far removed from the reality of life in Africa. In order to help meet this urgent need, the Africa Study Bible was created.
The Africa Study Bible will combine the clear, accurate text of modern translations—beginning in English with the New Living Translation—with study tools that reflect uniquely African insights and experiences. Check out some sample pages from the Book of Genesis.
Over 350 writers and editors, from 50 countries, from four major language groups, have all worked on this project to create the most ethnically diverse study Bible content to date. This historic collaboration has produced study notes for a Bible that truly reflect the many unique cultures that make up Africa—from Botswana to Egypt, from Kenya to Nigeria.
Read more about this project at africastudybible.com

Population(s) Served
People of African descent

Thousands of pastors and leaders in Africa greatly desire their own copy of the Word of God but find the price of a Bible difficult to afford. Help Oasis bring the gift of God's Word to them! Learn more at www.godswordforafrica.com

Population(s) Served
People of African descent

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

ECFA 2021

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of donors retained

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

These are overall percentage of new donors.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

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.

10 Year Goal: Oasis will become the first publisher capable of placing a book or Bible in every Christian reader's hand in Africa to satisfy its thirst for God's Word

Grow discipleship through publishing African voices
We engage Africa’s most influential, most relevant, and best communicators for the sake of the Gospel.
We create contextual content that meets the specific needs of Africa, has the power to transform individuals and societies, and gives the church in Africa a global voice.
We cultivate local and global partnerships in order to publish and distribute high-quality books and Bibles.

For 30 years, Oasis has been distributing Bibles and Christian books for discipleship in Africa. The differentiator
through this entire time is Oasis’s belief that business needs to play a core role to:
1. Shift from giving books and Bibles away to an economically viable network of book distribution
2. Become a fully pan-African, Christian publisher to achieve economies of scale
3. Have multiple warehouses in place to distribute literature throughout Africa
4. Grow a viable publishing model that creates local jobs to equip the church for discipleship

The second core distinctive is working from the premise that the literate Christian majority in Africa are primarily
reading in English, French, and Portuguese.

Most recently, Oasis has added a third distinctive from our experience in Africa over the last decade: full spiritual
transformation requires contextualized application to local cultures and contexts.

Thousands of organizations from the well-funded child sponsorship NGO to a rural Bible school with
25 students do better discipleship with access to world-class books and Bibles.

Oasis has invested to create a long-term solution to resource the church in Africa. The best hope to meet the
enormity of the crisis is a pan-African infrastructure that serves the needs of the market.

Maximum impact requires world-class contextual resources. Oasis is the first organization to have made the
investment needed to achieve financial sustainability in Africa.

Over the last decade Oasis has invested more in creating a sustainable publishing and distribution model
for discipleship in Africa than any other organization.
• $4 Million+ in book and Bible development
• $2 Million+ in building infrastructure
• 6 warehouses serving Africa and the world
• Systems to manage a multi-national organization
• Printing and distribution systems and processes
• $750,000+ in inventory
• $200,000+ in digital distribution and payments; preparing for the digital future

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Hundreds of millions of Africans know and love Christ, yet few biblical resources are available from their perspectives. The Africa Study Bible was created five years ago to specifically address the reality of life in Africa. This year, join us in celebrating five years of communities impacted positively by the Africa Study Bible. Through partnerships with our supporters, donors, organizations, denominations, churches, and distributors, God's Word through African eyes is reaching thousands of Christians around the world.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    The ongoing growth and diversity of our staff with African employees.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve

Financials

Oasis International Ltd.
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Operations

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

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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.

Oasis International Ltd.

Board of directors
as of 02/08/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Dean Merrill

Edward Elliott

Oasis International Ltd.

Matthew Elliott

Oasis International Ltd.

John Feyerer

Invesco

C. Jeffrey Wright

Urban Ministries, Inc.

Modupe Ehirim

Hidden Treasures

Paul Mpindi

Mission French Africa

Steve Potratz

Founder: The Parable Group

Janice Muchai

Tume Middle Africa Consulting

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? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/7/2023

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 01/28/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
Policies and processes
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.