GOLD2023

Founders Initiative

Faith, Educate, Develop, Empower

aka Founders Initiative   |   Tucson, AZ   |  www.thefi.org

Mission

Founders Initiative has a mission to support women and girls in extreme poverty, domestic and sexual abuse. Our 4 “Initiatives” Provide Faith-Christian Outreach and Supply Missions, Offer Education-Open Ghana's First All-Girls Primary School, Empower- Provide Jobs and Opportunities for Women's Equity, and Develop-Leaders who will impact their families and communities.

Notes from the nonprofit

We filed a 990 postcard in May since we made under $50,000.

Ruling year info

2021

Founder and President

Pastor Christyn Ryan

Main address

333 N Wilmot Rd Suite 340

Tucson, AZ 85711 USA

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Formerly known as

Founders Education Initiative

EIN

87-2915088

NTEE code info

Services to Promote the Independence of Specific Populations (P80)

IRS filing requirement

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

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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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?

Kumasi School

We currently have a 1 acre-plot of land we would like to purchase to start building a Charter-Model Christian School in Kumasi Ghana to serve economically disadvantaged, disabled, and at-risk youth.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
People with disabilities
At-risk youth
Economically disadvantaged people
People of African descent

Where we work

Awards

Non Profit of the Month 2022

Spirit 105.3 Radio

Affiliations & memberships

International Central Gospel Church Impact Chapel 2021

Eve Loc Women's Products 2021

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?

    We serve women and girls in Ghana.

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

    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 originally were focusing on the needs of all Ghanaian's in poverty but as we found women working in the market selling goods who had no formal English language skills, we asked them questions and researched their issues to find out, a majority of women who work in the market did not finish school. Additionally, as we researched and found 52% of girls in Ghana experience sexual violence, we knew that Women and Girls need our focus to ensure equity.

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

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, 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 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, 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, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve, Women in Ghana usually don't share their minds and if they don't it's culturally appropriate to lie.

Financials

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

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Founders Initiative

Board of directors
as of 01/24/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Miss Christyn Ryan

Founders Initiative

Term: 2021 - 2025

Barbara Osborne

Secretary

Nora Melchor

Treasurer

Christyn Ryan

Board President

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? No
  • 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

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/24/2023
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
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Person with a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 06/14/2022

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 ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • 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 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.