Just Hope International

Founded in 2007, Just Hope International is a 501(c)(3) organization that has worked in Nicaragua, Thailand and Malawi, and in Peru, where terrorist attacks over two decades decimated families and left behind years of economic ruin. It was in Peru where founder Karen Bruton discovered that the best way for Just Hope to make a real difference was to help people break the cycle of poverty themselves, which restores dignity and instills hope.

The organization moved from relief work to development work, focusing on job creation and increased household income as the greatest potential for lasting change. Just Hope is currently working in Sierra Leone in West Africa, partnering with communities to identify new job opportunities that local people can pursue and continue without Just Hope’s ongoing involvement and funding. One such opportunity is a pineapple farming project that is currently underway.

Just Hope empowers people in poverty who express a genuine desire to improve their circumstances and are willing to do their part. We engage directly with people to help them generate household income by discovering the opportunities that connect their interests and motivations with our access to resources. Just Hope pursues financially viable economic opportunities that can operate into the foreseeable future and provide the jobs and income necessary for people to pull themselves out of poverty, without ongoing support from Just Hope.

While meeting basic needs in times of emergency is appropriate for a short time, Just Hope’s vision is not about temporary relief. We know that repeated one-way giving causes dependency, the loss of dignity and motivational defeat, and we seek to make an ‘impact that lasts’ by instilling hope and breaking the cycle of poverty.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Empowerment
Just Hope empowers people to care for themselves and reclaim their dignity.  We introduce business opportunities for people to strengthen their ability to survive, maintain self-sufficiency and shape their future.  We serve people who express a genuine desire to improve their circumstances and are willing to do their part.

Economic Development
Just Hope works with people to establish opportunities that can break their family cycles of long-term, entrenched poverty.  We engage directly with people to help them generate household income by discovering opportunities that connect their interests and motivations with our access to resources. As families work to obtain financial independence and envision new possibilities, they experience the power of hope.

Accountability: Boots on the Ground
All Just Hope projects are supervised by trustworthy, qualified managers who provide full-time oversight and reporting to ensure that money sent matches its intent. We provide regular, on-site project verification by executive leadership.

Business Practices
At the core of the Just Hope project model are opportunities that are simple, repeatable and viable for the people we serve. All projects follow an established process that starts with an assessment, moves through project execution and concludes with an exit strategy that transfers ownership of the opportunity to local people, not committing our resources long-term. We embrace accountability, build relationships to earn trust, and remind ourselves continually to “know our customer.”   

Zero Overhead
100% of contributions we receive go to project costs.  All administrative costs are paid by private donors and are never paid with public contributions.