Summer Institute of Linguistics
Language for a Better Life
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Language Development and Translation Programs
SIL works with over 1,300 communities worldwide (impacting more than one billion speakers) as they build their capacity for sustainable development with their own languages. Language development involves ongoing planned actions that a language community takes to ensure that its language continues to serve its changing social, cultural, political, economic and spiritual needs and goals. SIL's expertise includes training and consulting in linguistic analysis, orthography and writing systems development, literature development (including translation) and mother tongue-based multilingual education and literacy. SIL publishes Ethnologue, an authoritative resource on world languages, referencing more than 7,000 languages. Additionally, SIL’s Language & Culture Archives hosts more than 81,000 catalogued entries of language materials representing over 4,000 languages. These materials include dictionaries, primers, academic papers and traditional stories. Language communities benefit by access to important information preserved for present and future generations.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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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.
Summer Institute of Linguistics
Board of directorsas of 11/28/2022
Mr. Hans Combrink
Daniel Agee
SIL International
Wei-Leong Goh
SIL International
Sunny Hong
SIL International
Jane Jelgerhuis
SIL International
Saju George John
SIL International
Roberto Carlos Laver
SIL International
Peter Munguti
SIL International
Mary Pearce
SIL International
Mark Robinson
SIL International
Aboubakari Sama
SIL International
Jessica Sinclair
SIL International
Liz Thomson
SIL International
Andy Warren-Rothlin
SIL International
Michael Welles
SIL International
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