Be Humanitarian
Creating exceptional individuals who believe our duty is to improve the lives of those in need.
Be Humanitarian
EIN: 82-5072191
Mission
We expose volunteers to the reality of life in a developing country and offer love, and hope to the Guatemalans we serve.
Notes from the nonprofit
Join us while we explore the culture, and beauty of Guatemala. We spend an entire week volunteering with our preschool and nutrition program. We prepare breakfast and lunch, deliver backpacks, and school supplies, deliver hundreds of pounds of books, school supplies, and much-needed donations to local families. We will work in the local community to improve their lives with projects such as; install wood-burning stoves, water filters, bookcases, bedding, mattresses, boxes of food, etc. We will visit homes and get to know our families, play with the children, deliver powdered milk, formula, and needed supplies to our sponsored nutrition program. When we are not at our preschool we explore other parts of Guatemala and hike or ride horseback up a volcano and roast marshmallows on hot pockets in the lava, visit Lake Atitlan, explore ruins, visit the black sand beach, shop local markets, and laugh a lot.
Ruling year
2018
Founder
Mrs October (Tobie) Baxter-Spears
Co-Founder
Darrin Baxter
Main address
1181 NATHANIEL DR
PLEASANT GRV, UT 84062 USA
EIN
82-5072191
Arts and culture
Vocational education
Adult education
Out-of-school learning
College preparation
Population served
Children and youth
Adults
Families
Parents
Widows and widowers
NTEE code
International Student Exchange and Aid (Q22)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
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?
Be Humanitarian
Our mission is to inspire our volunteers to become global citizens and take a hands-on role in the world around them. We believe our duty is to improve the lives of those in need. We want to improve the future of some of Guatemala’s most impoverished people, and help them to break the poverty cycle through early nutrition and self sustainability.
As a volunteer in Guatemala you will build connections with your group and the Guatemalan people. We believe there is value in service on both ends. Not only as a volunteer will you grow but you will also help the communities in which we serve grow. By serving these communities, you are making a difference now and for generations to come. Here are a few ideas of what we do.... we prepare breakfast and lunch, plant gardens, volunteer in the local community, deliver hundreds of pounds of books, backpacks and school supplies to our preschool and local school, offer love and hope to all those we come in contact with and have an absolute blast!
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Utah Business Magazine - Women of the Year (Founder Tobie Spears) 2020
International Business Philanthropist of the Year 2022
External reviews
Photos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Parents and children living in Guatemala who are involved in our preschool and nutrition program. Tobie took her passion and created a successful nonprofit that does good work in Guatemala. She’s led service vacations for dozens of volunteers to offer them a glimpse into life in a developing country. Instead of staying in one location, Tobie loves to show off different locations so volunteers can enjoy the lake, the black sand beach and hike an active volcano. Tobie believes in being among the people in the community she serves. She prefers to sleep in the small town and walk the roads that the community walk on. Her favorite thing is bumping into the families that are in the program while shopping in the central market.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
SMS text surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Suggestion box/email,
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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,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
We always ask the people we serve how we can best help, what their biggest needs are and how we can best support them.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?
We have always asked how we can best serve them. This isn’t a new strategy. We believe in order to make the biggest change we need to help where people really need help.
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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 engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,
Financials
Revenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Be Humanitarian
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: May 01 - Apr 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
Be Humanitarian
Balance sheetFiscal Year: May 01 - Apr 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
Founder
Mrs October (Tobie) Baxter-Spears
Tobie graduated from the University of Utah with degrees in Sociology and Political Science and a Certificate in Criminology. She is lucky enough to have an awesome husband, two amazing daughters and three crazy cats.
Tobie fell in love with traveling when she was 17 and backpacked through Europe and drove from Utah to Canada. During college she traveled to Mexico to participate in a study abroad program and after college she started traveling with her husband and daughters. In 2002 they spent 3 months backpacking through central Mexico and in 2013 they spent 12 days driving from Utah to Guatemala where they lived, worked, and volunteered. Tobie stays busy working as a birth and postpartum doula and running Be Humanitarian with Guatemalan Humanitarian Tours.
Co-Founder
Darrin Baxter
Darrin is a guru at everything he does. He is a controller, RN and Contractor who pretty much loves solving problems and seeing the bigger picture. Darrin is an essential part of Be Humanitarian and graciously allows Tobie to spend their limited free time brainstorming ways to improve the lives of our community in Guatemala.
Darrin is an awesome dad and goes to great lengths to keep a healthy supply of Guatemalan coffee on hand at all times.
Be Humanitarian
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
Be Humanitarian
Board of directorsas of 02/27/2023
Board of directors data
Mr Darrin Baxter
William Bessette
Jennifer Wright
Danka Orellana
Dana Ball
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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 ? Not applicable -
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
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:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/29/2021GuideStar 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
- 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 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.
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- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2019, 2018
- Board of Directors data for 2023
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