SELF HELP INTERNATIONAL

Alleviating hunger by helping people help themselves since 1959

aka SHI   |   Waverly, IA   |  www.selfhelpinternational.org

Mission

Self-Help International is dedicated to alleviating hunger by helping people help themselves.

Alleviating hunger is addressed by assisting small scale farmers and related enterprises in developing countries to become self-reliant in meeting the needs of families and communities through training, education and other forms of assistance.

Self-Help International is headquartered in Iowa, USA, and maintains staff capacity in Ghana, West Africa and Nicaragua, Central America to carry out programs to improve quality of life for rural farm families with dignity.

Ruling year info

1972

Executive Director

Ms. Nora K Tobin

Board President

Keith Swanson

Main address

207 20th St NW Ste A

Waverly, IA 50677 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

42-0844679

NTEE code info

International Economic Development (Q32)

Management & Technical Assistance (K02)

Nutrition Programs (K40)

IRS filing requirement

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

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Alleviating hunger and poverty in Africa and Latin America.

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?

Micro-Credit for Women

Small loans to enable women to start a business. At present, SHI operates micro-credit programs in Ghana and Nicaragua.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Children and youth

We partner with community schools to start up feeding programs for preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade students. The breakfast provided is protein-rich, critical for brain development in young children. SHI provides training to Ghanaian farmers on how to grow Quality Protein Maize (QPM), a variety of corn that is protein-rich and high yielding. The community is responsible for providing the QPM to the school for the porridge, and SHI provides the cups, spoons, and assistance with building a kitchen to prepare the porridge in a sanitary and hygienic manner.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

SHI technicians work with community committees for potable water (CAPS) to help install affordable water chlorinator systems that kill bacteria and allow for clean drinking water for entire communities

Population(s) Served
Families

Where we work

Accreditations

Better Business Bureau National Accreditation 2019

Awards

Robert D. Ray Iowa SHARES Humanitarian Award 2014

World Food Prize

Affiliations & memberships

Better Business Bureau National Accreditation 2019

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.

Self-Help International's mission is to help people help themselves. Each of our programs is designed with local ownership and sustainability as the end goals.

Each of our programs is intentionally designed by local staff members, and based on community felt needs, to enable sustainable improvement in the livelihoods of program participants. We explicitly reject any and all programs that enable or foster dependency among the population served.

Self-Help International operates offices in the US, Ghana and Nicaragua. All overseas staff members are local hires, and thus have the appropriate cultural sensitivity, indigenous knowledge systems, and a vested interest in the outcome of the programs they manage.

Self-Help International currently operates micro-enterprise programs, children's feeding programs, agricultural development programs (promotion of Quality Protein Maize), and clean water programs. In 2013, Self-Help Ghana opened a Young Adult Training Center, and launched a Young Adult Capacity Building Program to address the very high rate of unemployment among young adults in Ghana. The program will initially train young adults in the following enterprises, and provide start-up loans for those who complete the training program:

a) poultry for meat and eggs
b) turkey for meat and eggs
c) rearing high value small ruminants like rabbits.
d) rearing high value small ruminants like grasscutters
e) mushroom production
f) snail rearing

In subsequent years, the following enterprises would be added to the list of enterprises:

g) bee keeping for honey and other value-added byproducts

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?

    Community members in Ghana and Nicaragua who need or request our services.

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

    Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes, Community meetings/Town halls,

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

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, 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?

    We expanded into a new geographical area in one of the countries we serve due to requests and responses from existing communities and partners.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    We have always been a grassroots-style org, so collecting feedback has been part of our process and this is not a choice.

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

    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 look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, 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,

Financials

SELF HELP INTERNATIONAL
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Operations

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

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • 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.

SELF HELP INTERNATIONAL

Board of directors
as of 05/31/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Keith Swanson

The Swanson Group at Morgan Stanley

Term: 2020 -

Mary Jane Oakland

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Carol Smith

Iowa State University Extension

Nick Taiber

CPM Holdings, Inc.

Deb Giarusso

Centurion Management

Barbara Hatinger

ACRES

Dorothy Masinde

Iowa State University

William Edwards

Iowa State University

Jerry Perkins

Des Moines Register

Richard Neal

National Marine Fisheries Service

Will Erken

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 5/31/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

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

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 05/31/2022

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 review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
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.