TREES FOR LIFE INC
Mission
Trees for Life demontrates that when a few dedicated people work toward one common goal, something extraordinary happens. The combination of their diverse skills unleashes a force that can move mountains. We use that force to empower people in developing countries. We focus on shifting the paradigms that create and sustain the cycle of poverty. We think very long-term—a 1,000-year perspective. Our work is to find what relatively small actions by people may result in shifting the larger paradigm. We build models aimed at sparking a grassroots, people-to-people movement. Our efforts are in the areas of education, health, and environment.
Ruling year
1984
President
Mrs. Simmi Dalla
Main address
3006 W St. Louis
Wichita, KS 67203 USA
EIN
48-0979347
NTEE code
Human Service Organizations (P20)
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C. (P19)
Remedial Reading, Reading Encouragement (B92)
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
For many throughout the world, education is a literal life-saver. As one village elder put it, “There are only
two ways our children can escape from poverty. One is at their funeral. The other is through education."
Even where there are schools and passionate, dedicated teachers, those teachers often lack access to training or educational tools. Teach for Life provides a “bridge" to make knowledge about how to teach available to all–through a grassroots, people-to-people movement.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Moringa movement
The moringa tree (Moringa oleifera) is extremely nutritious and has a host of potential uses, ranging fom traditional medicine to clarifying polluted water. It grows in most tropical and subtropical areas of the world with the highest rates of malnutrition. In the mid-1990s, Trees for Life started efforts to spread awareness of moringa's potential, aimed at sparking a grassroots movement. These efforts included exploring how villagers in India could spread the message, as well as developing materials for top-level decision-makers and scientists. The movement spread worldwide among researchers, NGOs, governments and individuals. As a result, we have heard that more than 200 million moringa trees have been planted, and the movement continues to spread.
Teach for Life
For many throughout the world, education is a literal life-saver. As one village elder put it, “There are only two ways our children can escape from poverty. One is at their funeral. The other is through education.”
Even where there are schools and passionate, dedicated teachers, those teachers often lack access to training or educational tools. Teach for Life provides a “bridge” to share knowledge and how to teach available to all – through a grassroots, people-to-people movement.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of lessons taught
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of new website visitors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of Facebook followers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Includes followers of "Trees for Life" and "Teach for Life" pages.
Average online donation
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total dollars received in contributions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We want to demonstrate that in this age of instant communications, when people are empowered to act in concert, common problems can be solved. We also want to establish a cooperative pathway that empowers people to solve future problems.
We are developing an educational program that will be a platform for providing teacher training around the world.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
People-to-People Movement
It starts with the realization that our problems are being caused by people, and they are the ones who have to solve them. For example, if more fruit trees need to be planted, we have to empower people who will plant them. We believe it takes people to empower people.
Cooperation, not Conflict
We provide a pro-active platform for all segments of society to serve together. We are focused on cooperation between groups rather than conflict. We focus on the complementary aspects of each group and the synergism that they can produce when they act in concert.
Organization
Our objective is to create only the amount of organization, structures and systems that are necessary to hold a movement together. We have to be constantly on guard to make sure that the organization is there to help and promote the movement, and not to promote the organization.
Autonomy
In order for us to serve as a conduit between different groups of people and between different cultures, it is important that we are not beholden to any group, ideology or support system.
Money
We are not about money. Money is necessary to us, just as cup is needed to serve coffee. We are able to accomplish a lot for a relatively small amount of money. This allows us to concentrate on our work and not spend too much time, effort or energies in fund-raising. Our philosophy is to have only as much money as is needed to accomplish the task and not a penny more.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our staff and volunteers consist of people that are totally dedicated to the cause. They come from a diverse background with a wide range of skills.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have enabled people to become empowered to solve their problems with a guiding hand and know-how to carry out the task. We generally do not think of accomplishments, but rather relationships. We wish to guide, rather than to lead. We choose not to focus on what we have not accomplished, but rather move ahead as we are invited to share what we can, to enable people to fulfill their needs.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
TREES FOR LIFE INC
Board of directorsas of 12/22/2021
Becky O'Hearn
Wichita Collegiate School
Term: 2019 -
Victor Klaassen
CPA, (Certified Public AccountantJ)
Charles Benscheidt
President, High Yield Sales
Steve Carter
Retired Intensive English Instructor, Wichita State University
Robert Doenges
Businessman, retired
Steve Krause
Former President, Krause Plough Corporation
Bob Knight
Former Mayor, City of Wichita
Sheila Kumar
Community Volunteer
Hal McCoy
Owner, Restaurant Management Company
Reed Oppenheimer
Businessman
Vik Wall
Physician
Margalee Wright
Former Mayor, City of Wichita, KS
Balbir Mathur
Founder, Trees for Life
Treva Mathur
Office Coordinator, Trees for Life
Adam Smith
Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development - Missouri Botanical Gardens
Jason Vandecreek
Owner, Vandercreek Consulting New Media Design
Shirley Lefever-Davis
Dean of the College of Education, Wichita State University
Sheril Logan
Dept of Education, Support Services, Wichita State University
Nancy McCoy
Community Volunteer
Becky O'Hearn
Head of Early Childhood, Wichita Collegiate School
Board leadership practices
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 ? No -
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
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
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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