2022-2023 PROGRAM YEAR
ANNUAL MINISTRY REPORT
Dear Friend, Jesus came into a dark world so that we might have light. From our founding right up to today, American Heritage Girls has always been committed to bringing His light into the midst of darkness. We can trace our roots to a choice to answer this question as bringers of light: “Why curse the darkness when you can light a candle?” This past Program Year, AHG chose to deliberately focus on renewing our commitment to God’s light through our theme: SHINE. But it wasn’t always easy to see how that theme was going to play out.
Life is filled with challenges we didn’t see coming. When we started the year, AHG was leasing office space. When we suddenly faced the building being listed for sale, it felt like a dark day. It was tempting to see that challenge as one of the obstacles that would derail the whole year and more. But as we prayed about the situation, we became convinced that God had a plan: We were going to buy the building. Thus, that challenge brought with it an opportunity to see He had bigger plans for us than we had known. We prayerfully heralded the dawn of a new day filled with His light. So, by the end of 2022, as official owners of the building, we were re-committed to establishing it as a place from which the light of Jesus SHINES like a city on a hill.
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You hold in your hands, literally or figuratively, a brief report of how AHG Members meet the needs of a generation of girls in crisis nationwide. Earned Faith Awards results capture a snapshot of how thousands of Girl Members have grown in their FAITH, shining forth the light of Jesus more brightly than ever before in their lives. The SERVICE hours recorded as numbers in this report represent thousands of projects through which AHG Members have lived out Jesus’ call to “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, NIV). And through the FUN, AHG Members cultivated lasting connections with one another, drawing those from darkness into light. Throughout this nation, and beyond, our members have truly chosen to live as that light SHINING brightly on a hill. The choice to purchase our building has caused the Staff and Board of AHG to renew our understanding of the mission we steward. Even as we have secured a stable base for our operations, we have otherwise chosen not to invest in camps and other real assets because we know who we are and who we are not. By focusing on stewardship of the mission God has given us, rather than trying to be all things to all people, we have been able to SHINE that much more brightly where we are needed. Jesus’ light is life to those who have eyes to see it. It is always tempting to ignite our own lights rather than to bring forth the light of Christ, to reach out for what others have rather than choosing to rejoice in what He has provided. We invite you to join us in praying that each girl, each family, and each Troop would SHINE ever more brightly in the communities where He has placed them, revealing the glorious brightness of the Father’s love to a generation oppressed by darkness. Thank you for partnering with us in SHINING His light with the girls, the families, the volunteers, and the Charter Organizations that make up the membership of AHG. In Christ,
Patti Garibay
Founder & Executive Director
Rob Rye
President, National Board of Trustees
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Sophia (Explorer) and her mom, Sherry, from CA3126 in Acampo, California.
AHG Mission Building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country.
AHG Oath I promise to love God, cherish my family, honor my country, and serve in my community.
AHG Creed As an American Heritage Girl, I promise to be compassionate, helpful, honest, loyal, perseverant, pure, resourceful, respectful, responsible, and reverent. 4 | AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS ANNUAL MINISTRY REPORT
HARVARD RESEARCHERS REPORT THAT 36%
of all Americans— including
61% 51%
of young adults and
of mothers with young children—feel
“serious loneliness.” mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america
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This loneliness study from Harvard went on to share that “About half of lonely young adults in [the] survey reported that no one in the past few weeks had ‘taken more than just a few minutes’ to ask how they are doing in a way that made them feel like the person ‘genuinely cared.’”
NO ONE. These findings highlight that in the sea of daily interactions, not a single one held any significant weight to the personhood. NO SENSE OF COMMUNITY. NO LOVE. God’s people are called to be more to one another.
American Heritage Girls provides authentic
2022-2023 Program Year Membership
community for families nationwide. The AHG Ministry is a place where girls ages 5 to 18 thrive because Christ is at the center of everything we do. AHG is a space for all biological girls of any color, race, national origin, and socioeconomic status. Girls who agree to live according to
1,175
Troops
20,046
Adult Members
38,588
Girl Members
58,634
Total Members
the standards of the AHG Oath and the AHG Creed are invited to be members of American Heritage Girls. American Heritage Girls enjoy faith, service, and fun in a safe, Christ-centered Troop setting. Girls develop leadership skills, discover passions through badgework, build their faith, and serve in their communities throughout the U.S.—all while building lifelong friendships.
Even when joining a Troop isn’t an option—girls can find a sense of belonging in AHG as a Trailblazer Member. The AHG Trailblazer Membership extends the Ministry of AHG remotely to
Trailblazers in 8 Foreign Countries Algeria England Germany France
India Italy Japan Philippines
dedicated military service families,
173 Trailblazer Girl Members
missionary families, and girls in
116 Trailblazer Mentors
isolated areas or girls who are unable to join a nearby AHG Troop.
289
Total Trailblazer Members
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“THE GIRLS I BONDED WITH GOING THROUGH THE TOUGHEST YEARS OF ADOLESCENCE STILL PROVIDE ME WITH UNFAILING SUPPORT AND FRIENDSHIP. THESE FRIENDSHIPS WERE FORGED OVER LEARNING TO SCALE ROCK FACES, TIE BOAT KNOTS, AND UNDERSTAND THOROUGHLY THE HISTORY OF OUR FLAG.” —Maggie Gould Stars & Stripes Award Recipient and Alumna of KS1209, Overland Park, Kansas
(LEFT) Maggie as a Tenderheart, and (ABOVE) Maggie reunited with AHG friends at a fellow alumna’s recent wedding. 7
CROSS COUNTRY FRIENDSHIP Registering as AHG Pen Pals gives girls a unique opportunity to meet other AHG girls across the nation, learn about their personalities, talents, and goals, and, in some instances, a chance to meet after learning so much about each other.
Ta’Gash & Maria
Tenderheart and Pathfinder sisters Ta’Gash and Lydia from CA4112 embarked on an adventure to Texas and Illinois to meet their Pen Pal friends Kateri and Marie for the first time. This 8,000-mile journey allowed them to see beautiful regions of our nation’s landLydia & Kateri
scape and to share giggles and fun with the two AHG Pen Pals they had come to admire. What began as a pen pal friendship grew into a once-in-a-lifetime family adventure!
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68%
OF AMERICANS
CONSIDER THEMSELVES TO BE CHRISTIANS THOUGH ONLY
6%
ACTUALLY HAVE A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW
arizonachristian.edu/culturalresearchcenter/research
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Our girls, fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of their Creator, have each been given spiritual giftings, physical and intellectual talents, and a deeply-rooted purpose. By combining the development of a Biblical Worldview, teaching new life skills, and instilling hearts for service, American Heritage Girls offers discipleship opportunities for girls to recognize their identity in Christ so that they can confidently enter adulthood as women of integrity. AHG comes alongside parents, churches, and Christian schools in developing a girl’s Biblical Worldview by: • Rooting Curriculum in Scripture and Biblical Principles • Affirming Her Unique, Feminine, Identity in Christ • Encouraging Selfless Service to the Community • Training Leaders to Disciple Through Difficulty • Facilitating Family Involvement to Develop Lifelong Faith • Keeping Christ at the Center of it All AHG Faith Awards give girls a structured way to commit to developing their faith in childhood. This Program Year, 7,945 girls were recognized for their dedication to nurturing their relationship with Jesus through the AHG Faith Award Program.
2022-2023 AHG FAITH AWARDS EARNED B.Y. Faith Awards:
AHG Catholic Faith Awards:
7,548
397
There are two different types of Faith Awards: The Catholic Faith Awards and the Build Your Faith Awards (B.Y. Faith Awards). The two tracks were created to fit all American Heritage Girls. The Catholic Faith Awards honor the AHG Creed, Oath, and Mission connecting what girls are learning in AHG with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. B.Y. Faith Awards allow girls and adults to choose from different options that will accelerate girls in learning to live by faith. The B.Y. Faith Awards offer Troops the opportunity to tailor the program as much as they and their Charter Organization deem necessary. Both Faith Award tracks give girls the opportunity to grow deeper in their faith and relationship with Christ.
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During the 2022-2023 Program Year,
GIRLS EARNED
195,964 BADGES,
fostering new skills, talents, and confidence.
The AHG Curriculum carefully weaves together age-appropriate learning with deep, Biblical principles. Each and every American Heritage Girl, from first year Tenderhearts to graduating Senior Patriots, is guided toward a Biblical Worldview while building her toolkit of life skills. It’s in discovering her life’s passions, unique talents, and the love God has for her despite difficulty or failure that an American Heritage Girl becomes a woman of integrity. Put plainly—through AHG, a girl learns who she is and Whose she is in Christ.
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During the 2022-2023 Program Year, the American Heritage Girls Staff set out to equip volunteers, honor girls, and above all, GLORIFY GOD. This year, the AHG Staff achieved the goals set forth in the Strategic Plan and so much more that God had in store for the ministry.
HOW GOD IS MOVING AT AHG, INC. • Purchased 35 Tri-County Parkway and dedicated the home of the AHG National Headquarters to the Lord. • Transitioned AHGstore fulfillment in-house with Think Fulfillment, Inc. • Mitigated risk through elevated background checks on all Adult Members. • Grew the Stars & Stripes Award Program, celebrating 155 recipients and 258 candidates —the largest group in AHG’s history. • Published the Raising Godly Girls Guide to Biblical Worldview with a newly established brand identity geared toward future growth. • Started 130 new Troops across the country. • Grew the number of Area Team High Impact Volunteers, adding 17 new volunteers to the team serving in 13 major cities and 12 additional locales nationwide. 12 | AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS ANNUAL MINISTRY REPORT
According to the Center for Disease Control
ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AFFECT MILLIONS OF CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES,
and their prevalence continues to rise. Reported findings show that
5.8 MILLION
CHILDREN IN THE U.S. have been diagnosed with ANXIETY,
while another
2.7 MILLION have been diagnosed with DEPRESSION.
cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/index.html
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While treatment for anxiety and depression varies for every child, there are common methods of symptom management recommended to all—including service to others. Today’s youth are engaged and concerned for their communities, our nation, and our world. Young people sense a strong call to advocate and make change; and are ready to respond. AHG fosters this Godly desire to serve, guiding girls to God-honoring activism that upholds Truth and benefits God’s creation. Girls throughout America are answering God’s call to serve through their AHG Troop, allowing them an opportunity to build community, improve mental well-being, and live out their faith. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8131855
American Heritage Girls served a total of
590,720 HOURS last year,
which is equivalent to
67.43 YEARS of service completed in just one year! 14 | AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS ANNUAL MINISTRY REPORT
“ A MERICA N HERITA GE GIRLS HELP ED ME TO REA LLY LIV E OUT WHAT GOD HA S B EEN CA LLING ME TO DO.”
“AHG’s Mission of raising women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country has helped to strengthen me and my faith in more ways than one during this time as well. Without American Heritage Girls as the kickstart of many service opportunities, and as a means of helping to be the inception of my experience in sharing the gospel and ministering through community involvement and portraying what it means to be a daughter of the King, I would not be here right now. […] This project has inspired me and brought me closer to God, through service to Him and my country and promoting my overwhelming patriotism. So, thank you for the Stars & Stripes Award. You have helped to rekindle my faith. “Putting legs on your faith” is the goal of [prioritizing service in] American Heritage Girls, and they have certainly fulfilled that for me. By allowing me to live out my faith and passions that God has placed in me, through a substantial project for the benefit of a community organization, American Heritage Girls helped me to really live out what God has been calling me to do. There are no better legs than that.” —Sarah Girges Stars & Stripes Award Recipient, WA1911, Auburn, Washington 15
FINANCIAL INFORMATION | INCOME AND EXPENSES for June 1, 2022—May 31, 2023
INCOME Program Income:
$3,101,391 $1,513,384
Merchandise Sales: Donations: Miscellaneous:
$100,221 $21,636 $4,736,632
Total Income:
EXPENSES Program:
$3,896,603
Management: Fundraising:
$676,292 $6,549
Total Expenses:
NET ASSETS Total Net Assets: $3,833,597
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$4,579,444
PER c 85 DOLLAR
DIRECTLY SUPPORTS GIRLS & VOLUNTEERS through program services
American Heritage Girls, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3). All contributions to AHG are tax-deductible. AHG as an organization is committed to financial transparency and accountability. As a 501(c)(3) organization, American Heritage Girls receives the benefits of being an ECFA member. The ECFA provides accreditation to leading Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully prove compliance with established standards for financial accountability, transparency, fundraising, and board governance. Requests to view the current annual audit can be made in writing to the AHG National Headquarters, attn: Senior Director of Finance. Form 990 is available for public inspection upon request. Annual audit performed by Barnes Dennig.
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AHG Founder & Executive Director Patti Garibay joined Jim Daly and John Fuller at the Focus on the Family Headquarters in Colorado Springs to share the Mission of AHG with 6.3 million weekly Focus on the Family Broadcast listeners nationwide.
As protective stewards of American Heritage Girls resources, AHG continually seeks opportunities to share the Mission of AHG through media outlets without financial exchange. This exposure, which comes at no financial cost to the ministry, is known as earned media. Earned media is publicity or exposure gained from methods other than paid advertising. Through television news segments, podcast interviews, op-ed publishing, commentary placements, and more, the American Heritage Girls Ministry leveraged free publicity with an estimated value of $13.94 million during the 2022 calendar year. Earned media was instrumental in spreading awareness and increasing membership.
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2022-2023 PROGRAM YEAR FOCUS ON THE FAMILY BROADCAST A Safe Place for Girls to Grow Up as Women
FOX NEWS Faith and respect for life instilled in youth: American Heritage Girls provides alternative to Girl Scouts
TOWNHALL NEWS One Nation, Under God: Finding Unity and Godliness in American Patriotism 18 | AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS ANNUAL MINISTRY REPORT
® In addition to the $13.9 million in traditional earned media, the Raising Godly Girls (RGG) Minute, a daily, one-minute radio feature broadcast on over 1,100 Christian radio stations nationwide has a placement value of over $1.56 million. The RGG Minute is heard on large networks like Bott Radio and CSN, as well as regional networks, all at no cost to AHG. Stations value this Biblically-based parenting advice on key issues girls face as an important teaching and public service to their listeners.
For more information on AHG in the media, visit americanheritagegirls.org/news-media/recent-news.
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The American Heritage Girls Ministry is guided by a set of key performance indicators, benchmark goals, and vision set forth by the Staff and ultimately overseen by the Board of Trustees known as the Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan guides the plan of work for every Staff Member, the operating budget for the entire ministry, and ultimately, seeks Kingdom impact in its determination of success over a two-year span. In the next two years, American Heritage Girls is focused on preparing the way for epidemic growth. Recently, the National Board of Trustees set the goal to double membership by 2025—two years to reach 100,000 members. This goal was not set as a financial incentive or a program awareness campaign; rather, it was established to bring the gospel to more girls and families in a time where Christ’s love, mercy, and compassion are so desperately needed. The coming years will bring much change to the ministry, allowing for Troop growth opportunities, robust staffing abilities, increased curriculum and resource creation, and more. But one key premise will always remain the same—
the American Heritage Girls Ministry exists for God, because of God. This ministry is His, and His alone.
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IN THE 2023-2024 PROGRAM YEAR, AHG STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS INCLUDE: • GROW MEMBERSHIP through new and existing Troops, resulting in 75,000 members by the end of the 2023-2024 Program Year. • INCREASE AWARENESS and engage current and potential members by launching an American Heritage Girls podcast called “Raising Godly Girls”. • DEVELOP AN ENGAGING PROGRAM centered around a Biblical Worldview to equip leaders and girls with the resources they need to understand their faith and counter the culture. • INCREASE THE RETENTION RATE of existing AHG Troops to 90% throughout the 2023-2024 Program Year by resourcing, encouraging, and supporting existing members. • GROW THE AREA TEAM MODEL to include 18 functioning Area Teams in key cities nationwide through 8 fully populated Area Teams with all High Impact Volunteer roles filled. • MITIGATE RISK TO THE MINISTRY, Charter Organizations, and members through increased training and app development enhancements.
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EXECUTIVE TEAM Patti Garibay, Founder & Executive Director Rachael Culpepper, Chief Strategy Officer Elizabeth Besade-Perez, Senior Director of Risk & Compliance Kim Lingar, Senior Director of Finance
NATIONAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES Executive Committee: Rob Rye—President (Kalispell, MT) Linda Grinalds—Vice President (Cincinnati, OH) Nick Harshfield—Treasurer (Van Meter, IA) Marci Powell—Chairman (Frankston, TX)
MEMBERS AT LARGE: Joseph Ashbrook (Cincinnati, OH) Larry Cunningham (Cincinnati, OH) Mark Deems (Central Point, OR) Nancy Dendramis (Cincinnati, OH) Pat Garibay (Cincinnati, OH) Greg Schmidt (Anchorage, AK) John Wolterbeek (Duarte, CA)
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EXPANDING THE KINGDOM, TOGETHER. The Ministry of American Heritage Girls is fueled by the generosity of dedicated volunteers, families, Staff, Board Members, and supportive benefactors nationwide.
God is doing an incredible work through AHG. If you give to AHG, THANK YOU. If you pray for AHG, THANK YOU. If you shop in the AHGstore, THANK YOU. If you share about AHG, THANK YOU. With your support, AHG can continue its mission to build women of integrity, introduce the ministry to more churches and schools across this great nation, and in turn, grow the kingdom of God. There is a great need in our world for AHG in a time such as this.
Join in supporting AHG, the premier character and leadership development program for girls 5 to 18. americanheritagegirls.org/donate
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americanheritagegirls.org
American Heritage Girls 35 Tri-County Parkway Cincinnati, OH 45246