STRATEGIC PLAN
Table of contents
CEO Message Our Mission Why We Work
Our Approach Strategic Pillars
How We’ll Grow 2030 Snapshot
Growing our impact with a personal approach
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
Can you imagine a world where no person lives in poverty? To be honest, there have been times in my almost 20 years of experience in international development when this seemed inconceivable — the challenge too great, complex and intractable. Then I joined Unbound, which I am now honored and grateful to lead .
I did not have the privilege of knowing our founders — Bob, Bud and Jim Hentzen, Nadine Hentzen Pearce and Jerry Tolle. I wish I had. I would ask them today if they realized that the values that shape Unbound and the approach infused in our programs could be a possible solution to solving one of our world’s greatest tragedies — that of poverty. I think, indeed, they knew that Unbound had tapped into something special, and big, and important for the world.
With Unbound’s new strategic plan, Hope in Every Step: A Radical Journey to End Poverty , we unveil our intention to grow our impact around the world over the coming years. During the strategic plan period to 2030, we aspire to provide resources and support to over 400,000 families on their self-directed paths out of poverty. This represents over 60% growth in the number of families with whom we partner today. We look to expand our geographical reach as well by opening an Unbound program in one additional country, most likely in Africa or Southeast Asia where the need is greatest.
Over the past nine months, as we underwent our strategic planning process, we engaged with our stakeholders on the question of why and how we should grow. In 2009 Bob Hentzen considered the question of growth when he said it is “[not] because we desire to be big. It’s not that. We desire to be good
at what we do. We desire to be personal.” This guides our answer to the reason behind this strategic plan.
As a result of our stakeholder discussions, our plan gives us aspirational goals for the families, women, scholars, communities and elders we will serve around the world. Our strategic plan also provides us with strong foundational pillars upon which we will measure our impact to eliminate poverty , empower women , advance education , build community and promote well-being for all ages .
Yet, the real reason for this plan and our desire for growth is because our work is, quite simply, good. Our work is good because it is personal. And because it is personal, we believe we have a solution for ending poverty. We want to partner with each of you reading this strategic plan to end poverty in all its forms. With you, we believe we can. With this plan, we desire to “get the word out” as Bob Hentzen answered on the question of “why grow?”
We work with the core values of respect, authenticity, innovation and optimism. These values inform everything we do in our programs. Foremostly, we start by honoring the dignity of each person no matter their life circumstance. We recognize that each person has the ingenuity and the desire to improve their lives as they so wish. They lack resources and they often lack the belief in themselves. At Unbound we provide both. In the words of Bob Hentzen this concept “implies the special grace of getting close to our [families] — yet leaving them free of ourselves [of Unbound].” That is the root of our direct cash transfer program through personalized sponsorships. That is the root of our mothers groups. That is the root of our educational philosophy encompassing learners of all ages and emphasizing community service. That is the root of our Agents of Change
community development platform. That is the root of our work with the elder population.
We do not lead the way but walk beside. We do not judge but encourage. We do not see poverty but the potential for realized dreams. We do not prescribe solutions but provide the resources and support for families, individuals and communities to chart their own paths out of poverty. As a result, we know that there cannot be just one path, but hundreds of thousands and millions of paths.
Some might call this approach to development “radical.” We agree that it is radical. But it should not be. It should be the norm of how to partner with the approximately 700 million people in the world experiencing extreme poverty today and the 3.5 billion people experiencing some form of poverty (World Bank 2024).
We would be honored for you to join us on this journey, whether you sponsor a child or elder, donate, volunteer, partner or just follow and learn with us. Together we have the resources, we have the knowledge, we have the power AND we have the will to end poverty.
Our founders often talked about our work being an adventure. What a radical adventure this will be toward a world (Can you imagine?) free of poverty.
With gratitude for the journey ahead,
Ashley Hufft PRESIDENT AND CEO Jan. 30, 2025
A mission rooted in love
Our work each day is shaped by strong values, a deep motivation and a steadfast promise. This guides our mission and belief that our vision can be reality.
Our Mission
Support families and communities worldwide on their self-directed paths out of poverty.
Our Vision
Build a world free from poverty where all people have access to resources, community support and the ability to make decisions that improve their lives and uphold human dignity.
Our Core Values
AT UNBOUND, WE ARE:
Respectful. We recognize the God-given dignity and equality of all people and foster relationships based on mutual respect and understanding.
Authentic. We work with honesty, transparency, integrity and accountability.
Innovative. We advance groundbreaking ideas and methods, humbly listening to and learning from the marginalized and vulnerable and putting their needs first.
Optimistic. We believe in the transformative power of community and that, together, we will build a world where everyone can participate in society and reach their full potential.
Our Motivation
GROUNDED IN FAITH
Unbound is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1981 by Catholic laypeople acting on Gospel values of love, compassion and justice, as well as principles of Catholic social teaching, including the dignity of the human person, solidarity, working for the common good and ensuring decisions are made by those most affected by them. These values and principles shape our programs and the way we work with families and our broader community. Unbound partners with all people of goodwill from all faith traditions and backgrounds to create a worldwide community of compassion and service.
Our Promise
Unbound offers a practical way for sponsors, donors and volunteers to make a personal and direct impact as partners in our global community. Through walking with a child and family, youth, elder or community on their path out of poverty, our supporters have an opportunity to expand their worldviews and be part of creative solutions to poverty.
What we seek to address
GLOBAL POVERTY AND REALITIES FACED BY FAMILIES
$11.5 million
Savings held and managed by Unbound families in cooperatives and small groups
Hope implies the possibility of a better future. It empowers one to drive change, face challenges, influence goals, engineer dreams. Yet today, hope remains elusive for almost 700 million people who live in extreme poverty and fear an uncertain future.
According to the World Bank, progress toward shared prosperity has stalled in the aftermath of a global economic crisis prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts and extreme weather events linked to climate change. The United Nations reported that only 17% of its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track in the fight to end global poverty, and the years 20202030 are now being referred to as “the lost decade.”
The World Bank said that 8.5% of the global population now lives on less than $2.15 per day, the extreme poverty line in lowincome countries, including those where Unbound has a presence
and where highly unequal distribution of both income and opportunities is common.
Poverty is multifaceted and freezes a person’s ability to reach their full potential. It impacts every aspect of life — from not knowing how to read because of limited access to education and not being able to see a doctor in times of sickness, to a lack of good food and clean water and no choice but to live in an unsanitary, inadequate shelter.
Additionally, a lack of formal job opportunities, weak or nonexistent community transport infrastructure and gender-based discrimination all connect to form the intricate web that is poverty, perpetuating the cycle in an entire family from one generation to the next.
Women and girls who live in poverty in developing countries face more barriers than men in their societies. The UN’s SDG Action report notes that poverty is not gender neutral. Systemic
Existing Unbound mothers groups worldwide that empower women to drive change in their families and communities 11,578
100%
Children and youth who receive access to education through sponsorship
Where we work
We partner with staff at program sites across Africa, Asia and Latin America, serving over 250,000 children, youth, elders and families.
exploitation and oppression of women impacts not only their access to equal education and health, but also to economic opportunities, voice and power. Yet, research has demonstrated over and over that when decision-making is placed in the hands of women and mothers, they are the ones best equipped to lead their families out of poverty.
Another marginalized population, elders, is largely ignored in the field of international development as younger generations are prioritized. But those demographics are shifting as global health care improves and birthrates decline. It’s estimated that 21.4% of the world’s population will be 60-plus years of age by 2050, and soon there will be more adults over age 60 than youth under 18.
Social services systems in low- and middle-income countries are often slow to adapt and are not prepared for these demographic
As of January 30, 2025
shifts. Opportunities exist to find innovative and cost-effective solutions that support the well-being of an expanding aging population and allow them to continue to live out their remaining years with dignity.
Unbound works to empower individuals and families with resources and the kind of hope that allows them to visualize their unique path toward a brighter future.
For more than 40 years, Unbound has walked alongside children, youth and elders as they journey toward futures free from poverty — always listening, always supporting, never telling families what they need. We believe that the most sustainable solutions to poverty are forged when decision-making lies in the hands of those we serve. This is the key to changing the current realities and creating a world where everyone can live free from poverty.
GUATEMALA
ECUADOR
BOLIVIA
TANZANIA
HONDURAS
PHILIPPINES
UGANDA
KENYA
MADAGASCAR
Our Radical Approach
When people asked Unbound’s late co-founder Bob Hentzen why he walked across 15 countries in his life, he offered not just an explanation, but a message to the families living in poverty.
“I love you on your terms, I believe in you and you’re not alone.”
It is love for, and belief in, others that drives Unbound’s purpose and programs.
In the world of international development, an approach based on love might seem like a radical, even implausible concept. But our global expertise in poverty alleviation spans 44 years of work alongside more than 1 million individuals across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Each moment has taught us that focusing on the realities and aspirations of families versus program needs, empowering them to make decisions and developing personal relationships of mutual trust, respect and care — this is the key to creating sustainable solutions to global poverty.
Our child, youth and elder sponsorship model connects two individuals — sponsor and sponsored friend — across geographic, economic and social boundaries. But while it enables a personal relationship between the two to grow, for the sponsored individual’s family, sponsorship opens the door to options and a community of support, both of which are often limited for people in poverty.
Long have our efforts pointed to the wisdom and expertise of mothers, and it is they who typically manage the child’s sponsorship funds placed into families’ bank or mobile money accounts via direct cash transfers. Cash transfers help to stabilize families, creating breathing room for them to extend their decision-making and set and achieve goals.
Sponsorship is just the starting point for our decentralized approach. We place international development work in the hands of those we serve. Using fundamental attributes that we call our “nine program characteristics,” our local teams can
adapt personalized approaches that respond to each individual and family’s unique needs. This is one reason we often say that we don’t have a program for 250,000 families (the current number of those active); we have 250,000 programs.
A new tool we’ve been using in our decentralized approach for the last three years is Unbound’s Goal Orientation powered by Poverty Stoplight. Poverty Stoplight is a mobile technology and social innovation platform developed by Fundación Paraguaya. This tool helps families assess their situations holistically, prioritize their needs and set clear goals that, with local staff support, puts them on their path to be free from poverty.
Poverty Stoplight connects with our three-tier approach to measuring program effectiveness and outcomes at the global, local and individual levels, which we call the Plane, Plaza and Porch. Families have already begun to report significant achievements in their Poverty Stoplight priority goals, with some moving into “no poverty” statuses in such areas as housing, health and employment.
The longer they are part of our programs, and as they reach greater financial stability, families (especially mothers) are more able to focus their attention outward, expanding their circle of impact to their broader communities.
Our vision for the future is to continue to expand the scope of impact of our radically decentralized approach to international development, to one day impact entire societies. Increasing the number of families that we support and the number of communities that we serve globally will be imperative to realizing this vision.
But growth is not and will never be our only goal. The relationships built with those we serve, the potential they grow to recognize within themselves, and the hope that will guide them forward, is our aspiration. Only by walking alongside them will we realize a world free from poverty.
And though some might say the journey we take to get there is radical, it’s fueled by love.
Bob Hentzen completed walks of 4,000 and 8,000 miles to show his solidarity with families living in poverty.
UNBOUND’S 9 PROGRAM
CHARACTERISTICS
The outcomes we seek to achieve with families:
Empowerment
Our Radical Approach continued Rippling Circles of Impact
Goal Orientation
Decentralized Decision-Making
Capacity Building
Sustainability
Economic Self-Sufficiency
Mutual Accountability and Support
Worldview
Culture of Learning
A Partnership to End Multidimensional Poverty
Poverty Stoplight is a methodology developed by the nonprofit Fundación Paraguaya and adapted by Unbound to fit our work with families.
Unbound has been partnering with Fundación Paraguaya since 2020 and is currently the largest implementor of the Poverty Stoplight methodology worldwide, with 230,000-plus active participants. Both organizations believe that poverty is multidimensional and affects each family differently.
Poverty Stoplight has the power to help families better visualize their poverty, enabling them to more precisely target the funds they receive to create tangible change more quickly. Organizations utilizing Poverty Stoplight (400
worldwide) come together regularly to learn, share ideas and log solutions, increasing the likelihood that one day, there may be a solution to every poverty indicator identified. Knowledge gained from Poverty Stoplight may also help Unbound more specifically target donors’ investments in families.
“We’ve had the same journey. I am part of your journey; you are part of mine.”
— Dr. Martín Burt, founder and CEO of Fundación Paraguaya and inventor of Poverty Stoplight, on the similarities of Unbound’s mission and his life’s work.
400,000+
Increase the number of households we support to over 400,000 families in more than 500 communities in Latin America, Asia and Africa BY 2030 BY 2030 +1 country
Expand our geographical reach by opening an additional program country where our presence is most needed, most likely in Africa or Southeast Asia
Strategic Pillars of Impact
To achieve our 2030 anti-poverty goals and scale our work, Unbound strategically focuses on driving impact by eliminating poverty, empowering women, advancing education, building community and promoting the well-being of all ages.
The five program areas were defined in consultation with our local staff (called “program partners”) around the world. Globally, more than 700 of our staff are former participants or family members of former participants in our programs. They personally understand the challenges faced by families currently in our programs and have a deep desire and commitment to give back to their communities. Program partners reflected on several key questions, such as “What do families describe as life-giving forces in the sponsorship program” and “What is the best outcome we can imagine achieving in working with families and communities.” Common themes were formed from their collective responses and refined with further input and analysis.
The chosen focus areas are where we feel our efforts will be most effective at creating positive change, and each reflects the evolution of Unbound’s approach over our 44-year history. The impact from our five strategic
pillars contributes to more than 10 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
One of our 9 Program Characteristics, “Culture of Learning,” speaks to the importance of balancing reflection with action. Through evaluation, we can step back, learn and reflect, which informs our strategy and allows true growth to happen.
We evaluate our impact in the five pillars at three levels — the family (or individual) level, the local level and the global level. Through the Poverty Stoplight platform, each family regularly self-evaluates their current status using locally developed definitions of multidimensional poverty. Based on their current assessment of their needs according to local standards, each family sets goals for the next year. We compile and track the selfassessments and goals to gain insights.
Our program partners conduct regular evaluations of their local programs for continuous improvement, while we also conduct global evaluations to understand Unbound’s impact around the world. The combination of these three levels of evaluations allows us to continuously monitor, evaluate and report on the impact of our programs.
Eliminate Poverty
through economic support and goal setting
OUR 2030 GOAL:
APPLICABLE SDG FOR THIS GOAL: No Poverty (SDG 1)
Unbound will systematically eliminate multidimensional poverty in 400,000 households as families identify their priorities and receive resources and support from the organization to accomplish their goals.
HOW WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL: Unbound’s greatest impact in eliminating multidimensional poverty comes from our sponsorship program, where families receive direct cash transfers they can use as they see best to meet their needs. Because our unique program model focuses on participant-led solutions to poverty, we put the decision-making power in the hands of the families we serve, centering their voices.
Once a child or youth is sponsored, their family begins using Unbound’s Goal Orientation powered by Poverty Stoplight. This process is about structured reflection, goal setting and action planning on the part of the family.
With the Poverty Stoplight survey, families self-assess their unique situations and set realistic goals while identifying a path to achieving those goals that eventually leads them to
overcoming multidimensional poverty. The survey helps families define what poverty is for them based on 20 indicators within six dimensions of poverty (such as Income and Employment, Housing and Infrastructure, Education and Culture, and more).
Families choose a color for each indicator based on their situation — red for “extreme poverty,” yellow for “poverty” and green for “not poverty.” The results become a one-page summary, called the “Life Map,” from which they choose two to three categories in red or yellow to focus on changing.
The financial benefit of sponsorship, through the regular cash transfers, supports each family’s action plan by helping them with budgeting to achieve the goals they’ve established to overcome poverty. Since 2020, more than 230,000 households have set personal goals using Unbound’s Goal Orientation
powered by Poverty Stoplight. In the last three years, 175,000plus families have reported achievements in their goals, making the most personal improvements in the areas of housing, health and employment.
Combining and examining the Poverty Stoplight survey responses of thousands of families across 17 countries reveals an eye-opening collection of the challenges and priorities faced by people living in poverty, without compromising the needs expressed by any individual voice. With greater clarity about the appropriate level of engagement needed for each solution to poverty, we can see that many solutions can be implemented at the family level, while some challenges are larger and call for community-level solutions. Unbound program teams, made up of social workers who meet regularly with families, are able to tailor support, such as trainings and access to other resources, to each individual family’s needs and goals.
With sponsorship, families also have access to other methods Unbound employs to eliminate poverty, including savings and loan programs through their small groups, our Critical Needs Fund, special gifts from sponsors and opportunities for enrollment in specific programs that award grant funding in support of entrepreneurship or community development initiatives, such as Unbound’s small-business accelerator and Unbound’s Agents of Change grants.
As we work to expand our geographical reach over the next five years, we believe the personal nature of our approach, coupled with these innovative strategies and others, will be pivotal in the fight to eliminate global poverty in all its forms.
Setting personal goals with Poverty Stoplight
When thinking about her family’s situation, Santos, the mother of a sponsored youth in Guatemala, described her thoughts as “locked up;” she didn’t know what to do to begin moving her family forward. When she took the Poverty Stoplight survey, she could see a clear picture of all the things her family needed to overcome, one of which included making their home a more safe and sanitary living environment. The roof was in bad condition and leaked during the rainy season. The first goal Santos set for her family was to replace the roof, and she began saving part of her son’s sponsorship funds to help with the cost. In a short amount of time, the family was able to replace the roof of their home with new metal sheets and have begun focusing on their second goal that involves better management of solid waste in their home.
PROGRAM CHARACTERISTIC CONNECTIONS: Decentralized Decision-making, Goal Orientation
WAYS WE MEASURE THIS PILLAR
• Number of families enrolled in Unbound programs from 2025-2030
• Percentage of active families with a Poverty Stoplight life map
• Percentage of families with a high number of green indicators (no poverty) and a minimal number of red indicators (extreme poverty) in their life map
• Percentage of green/red indicators by iteration
• Number of goal achievements per family
Empower Women
through dignified work and decision making
OUR 2030 GOAL:
APPLICABLE SDG FOR THIS GOAL:
Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Decent Work (SDG 8)
Unbound will empower 350,000 women with financial inclusion; we will award at least $1 million in grants to accelerate the success of female entrepreneurs.
HOW WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL:
Unbound believes mothers are the real experts in international development because they know their families and communities better than anyone. Put decision-making power in the hands of a mother, and she’ll make a way to lead her family from poverty. By expanding access to banking and financial services for women, and promoting entrepreneurship and community engagement, both families and communities alike benefit from women’s full, equitable participation in society. In one of our global program evaluations, 90% of active mothers reported that they grew to believe they had the power to change their family’s situations.
Unbound has several strategies that support the empowerment of mothers. Mothers have access to their child’s sponsorship benefits via cash transfers. They take financial decision-making into their hands as our staff guides them to set and work toward goals that benefit the entire family. To accelerate the success of female entrepreneurs, Unbound also awards grants to small businesses owned and operated primarily by women. In 2023, 95% of Unbound’s small-business accelerator grants were awarded to female entrepreneurs.
PROGRAM CHARACTERISTIC CONNECTIONS: Empowerment, Economic Self-sufficiency, Worldview
WAYS WE MEASURE THIS PILLAR
• Amount of capital and savings held by mothers groups
• Amount of business-related grants disbursed to programs annually
• Number of active mothers groups
Unbound mothers groups introduce mothers to a support network of like-minded women in their community. Here, they provide mutual accountability for reaching their goals, find improved access to learning and financial resources, and engage in small group savings and loans. Together, they work toward identifying problems in their communities and implementing solutions with the financial backing of small community development grants awarded to them by Unbound.
Mothers groups were first established in India in 2001 and have grown organically across our programs around the world. Currently, there are over 11,000 active Unbound mothers groups worldwide. Over 159 cooperatives (including both credit and multipurpose co-ops), created and run largely by mothers group participants, offer families access to microloans for business capital or other needs.
Women and mothers benefitting from our programs have reported experiencing higher levels of control, choice and change over situations impacting their lives, families and communities. By 2030, we will extend these measures of empowerment to even more women as we close the gap on gender equality.
• Number of mothers with access to financial institutions/ bank accounts
In Unbound’s Kampala program in Uganda where agriculture is the predominant economy, Unbound mothers groups have been instrumental in working with staff to teach new climatesmart farming techniques and to practice farming as a business. Mothers groups have created more than 12 multipurpose or produce-specific cooperatives where they offer savings and loans to members and buy and sell in bulk as a group, increasing their farming profits. Their efforts are banishing food insecurity and helping their families to create sustainable livelihoods.
Advancing Education through
resources and motivation
APPLICABLE SDG FOR THIS GOAL:
Unbound will increase educational attainment and job readiness for 400,000 marginalized students; we’ll expand higher education and adult scholarship commitments to a total of at least $25 million.
HOW
WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL:
Education is a requirement for ongoing participation in Unbound’s sponsorship program. Our overall goal with advancing education is to help children achieve the level of education they’ll need to one day be able to compete for viable, sustainable jobs, and become responsible parents and civic-minded leaders in their communities. Past global evaluations have found that 75% of sponsored children achieved a level of schooling comparable to or above national averages. Fifty-nine percent of those were girls achieving a year or more above their national peer averages. This indicates our efforts here are specifically impacting girls’ education and helping to close the gender gap present in many communities.
Unbound’s Scholarship Program supports the advancement of education for both sponsored and non-sponsored individuals. The program exists to make higher education, vocational or technical skills training more accessible to marginalized, aspiring youth and adult learners, many of whom are the mothers of sponsored children. As scholars, students not only receive financial support to reach their academic potential, but also opportunities to develop their soft skills, act as role models for other sponsored individuals and be servant leaders within their local communities. In 2023,
PROGRAM CHARACTERISTIC CONNECTIONS:
Capacity Building
WAYS WE MEASURE THIS
PILLAR
• Number of sponsored members/students in school
• Levels of education attained over the years
• Years of schooling compared to national average
• Average years of education for scholars
over 9,000 students globally were able to realize their educational dreams with assistance from our scholarship program. These efforts increase the number of youth and adults with employable skills, decent jobs and entrepreneurial ventures. In past evaluations with scholarship program alumni, they’ve reported key benefits of their outcomes to be access to education, increased feelings of hope for the future, increased community participation and a strengthened sense of desire to give back by helping others. Though they have tangible impact in areas like housing, education, health and work, the core benefits for alumni are in the development of a moral, character-centered, reflective and goal-oriented worldview that gives them a foundation to continue building upon.
Around 40% of Unbound staff globally consist of former scholars, sponsored members or other program participants. They bring a wealth of knowledge and special perspective on the programs and communities in which they work.
By 2030, our efforts in this pillar will ensure more inclusive and equitable quality education for children, youth and adults who live in poverty, motivating them to develop into lifelong learners while realizing their dreams.
Bibeth loved reading, but books were a luxury her family couldn’t afford. The distance from her home in Rwanda to school each day was so vast and transportation so expensive that she also had to live with her grandparents to attend. Sponsorship reunited Bibeth with her family, which is now able to afford tuition at a school closer to home, and Bibeth has access to all the books she can read with a library membership. A bright and inquisitive student, Bibeth is consistently at the top of her class, reads in advancedlevel English and believes her dreams of becoming a doctor will one day be reality thanks to sponsorship.
Building Community
through groups of mutual support and community-driven development projects
OUR 2030 GOAL:
APPLICABLE SDG FOR THIS GOAL:
Gender Equality (SDG 5), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11)
Unbound will integrate 175,000 new households into groups of mutual support and provide at least $8 million in total funding that will allow group participants to implement community development initiatives benefiting an estimated 4 million people.
HOW WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL: Unbound’s community support groups, largely led by mothers and referred to as mothers groups, provide a network of support and accountability for families. These groups are where the potential to drive change — at the individual, family and community level — is activated. Mothers build their confidence as leaders in these groups, realize their potential and find their voice.
Unbound’s Agents of Change grants are utilized by these groups to address the problems that exist in their local communities. Working together, group members learn how to write grant proposals, engage with local leaders, manage budgets and implement initiatives that make their communities safer, more accessible places for all. These grants have a multiplying effect, as they often motivate additional investment from governments, schools, community members and local businesses.
PROGRAM CHARACTERISTIC CONNECTIONS: Mutual Accountability & Support, Worldview, Sustainability
WAYS WE MEASURE THIS PILLAR
• Number of active small solidarity and mothers groups
• Number of households added to all groups
• Number of community-driven initiatives completed
• Estimated community members impacted by initiatives
From improving school classrooms and building more sanitary latrines, to making water more accessible and parks safer, their initiatives multiply Unbound’s impact to include whole communities. In 2024 alone, over 298,000 families benefited from their community development initiatives. By activating mothers as changemakers, we can realize a more sustainable outcome in community development where solution-making continues — even without the presence of Unbound — into the future and extends to influence the broader society.
Our efforts with this pillar will contribute to making cities and communities safer, more inclusive, resilient and sustainable places for families to live, work and grow.
The outdoor gallery at a primary school in Tamil Nadu, India, was unbearably hot in summer and not well lit. The school, serving mostly low-income families, couldn’t afford to improve the learning environment, so a group of Unbound mothers did. Writing a proposal for and being awarded an Unbound Agents of Change grant, the mothers worked together to install 20 lights and 20 fans in the gallery. The initiative brought greater comfort to more than 230 students and various community groups that use the gallery to host events.
Promoting WellBeing of All Ages
through older adult inclusion and psycho-social supports
APPLICABLE SDG FOR THIS GOAL:
Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3)
Unbound will expand older adult programming to include 50,000 individuals worldwide and fund emerging interventions to improve the quality of their support networks.
HOW WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL: Unbound is the largest U.S.-based international development organization offering sponsorship for older adults, working with 30,000 individuals aged 60-plus globally. We are well-positioned to strategically respond to challenges of the demographic shift toward an increasingly aging population resulting from improvements in global health care and declining birthrates. Our goal is to find innovative and cost-effective solutions that can, in the future, be replicated by other public and private institutions in answer to these demographic challenges.
Though our elder sponsorship program model shares similar characteristics with our child and youth sponsorship program model, sponsored elders have not traditionally been as deeply integrated into the education, economic and goal-setting initiatives that are hallmarks of our impact with other age groups. When surveyed, the most frequently cited challenges elders in our programs face include adjusting to the increase in their health and medical needs as they age and finding ways to deal with declining mental health spurred by isolation or neglect.
PROGRAM CHARACTERISTIC CONNECTIONS: Mutual
Accountability & Support, Sustainability
WAYS WE MEASURE THIS PILLAR
• Number of older adults sponsored
• Number of active small support groups formed by older adults
• Programs and size of targeted older adult interventions
• Estimated individuals reached with mental health programming at any age
With access to their sponsorship benefits via direct cash transfers, sponsored elders are already being guided to set goals in areas that promote their well-being. They’re making improvements in their nutrition, housing and access to health services, among other areas, while we continue to seek innovative ways to further strengthen their immediate care networks and reduce feelings of loneliness or isolation. We’re adapting Unbound’s Goal Orientation powered by Poverty Stoplight methodology and our current small-group model to include dependent older adults and their caregivers.
This goal will pave the way for Unbound to be a leader in health strategies that support vulnerable populations — like diabetes management and community mental health interventions — and contribute to sustainable care networks for all ages. Through our continued work under this pillar over the coming years, we hope to show an impactful and compassionate model of support to elders and their caregivers that can be replicated throughout the world.
Nenita has learned to self-manage her Type 2 diabetes as part of a noncommunicable disease pilot program in the Philippines, a partnership between Unbound and Chronic Care International. As part of the program, Nenita receives regular health education, checkups and medication, and has slowly gotten her blood sugar under control. The pilot program is helping the two organizations identify a low-cost global health care model for the practical management of diabetes for individuals living in poverty in developing countries.
OUR 2030 GOAL:
Our Enablers of Impact HOW WE GET THERE:
Our 2030 vision is only possible with the support of partners like you, who walk this journey with us. Through innovation, dedication and a shared pursuit of seeing a world free from poverty, together we can achieve the impossible.
Our vision is big. To achieve it, Unbound invites individuals, families, faith institutions, companies, schools, foundations and everyone of goodwill to join this growing movement. By sponsoring children and elders, donating toward a special fund or participating in our many outreach opportunities, we can achieve the goals in each of our five pillars of impact together. Over the next six years, Unbound commits to:
1. By the year 2030, grow the number of new sponsorships acquired annually by 220%.
2. More than double our non-sponsorship revenue to fund more scholarships, entrepreneurial and business activities, Agents of Change and other emerging programs to support families, women, youth, elders and communities around the world.
3. Maintain a retention rate of 91% or better by continuing to provide and enhance a quality sponsor and donor experience that is fueled by professional, passionate sponsor support teams based in Kansas City, Kansas; Medellin, Colombia; and Quezon City, Philippines.
In addition, we will expand our global monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the effectiveness of our programs, foster strategic partnerships that bring awareness to Unbound’s expertise in international development, and increase our knowledge sharing to reach new audiences through both traditional and nontraditional forms of media.
Growth in sponsorships
Unbound’s one-to-one sponsorship model enables the development of a unique relationship between the sponsored child, youth or elder and their sponsor. Individuals and families in our sponsorship program have self-directed support (with the help of direct cash transfers and goalsetting guidance), encouragement (from local staff, their sponsor and other families in the program) and membership in small support groups (like Unbound Mothers Groups) that empower them to drive change in their communities (via Unbound’s Agents of Change platform). Our sponsorship model has always been and will continue to be the cornerstone that connects and transforms the lives of both sponsors and their sponsored friends. Over the next six years, we will enable sponsorship growth through a diversity of new and existing channels.
Catholic Outreach
Unbound is historically rooted in the Catholic faith, and Catholic outreach remains our core. Partnering with Catholic parishes and dioceses, we connect faith communities with sponsorship opportunities. At the invitation of the local parish, priests celebrate Masses and share the impact of Unbound in Catholic churches across the U.S. Through 2030, we will strengthen our focus and investment in our outreach to Catholics, increasing our number of appeals, opening new dioceses, adding new parishes to reach new audiences and supporting our preachers.
Unbound partners with all people of goodwill from all faith traditions and backgrounds. Sponsorship gives faith communities the opportunity to meaningfully live their faith by serving the most vulnerable. Faith communities engage through Sunday School, Bible studies, other religious observations and by participating in Unbound Awareness Trips, where members can meet their sponsored friends and witness the impact of their generosity firsthand. Over the next six years, Unbound will grow our interfaith partnerships, providing meaningful opportunities for congregations to engage with us, as well as content that can be used in Bible or other religious studies, faith-based school lessons and mission work.
Global Classmates Interfaith Outreach
Unbound’s Global Classmates program has traditionally connected Catholic school students in the U.S. with sponsored friends worldwide, expanding minds, hearts and hands. By engaging with their sponsored friends, students broaden their worldviews, grow as compassionate leaders and are empowered to make a positive impact in the world. Through 2030, we will increase our involvement with Catholic schools and introduce Global Classmates to public and charter schools throughout the U.S. We will provide curriculum that builds cultural awareness and empathy alongside the sponsorship relationship.
Ambassador Collective
A new initiative for Unbound, the Ambassador Collective is a community of passionate Unbound sponsors dedicated to connecting more individuals in poverty with sponsors. Ambassadors promote Unbound and inspire others to join our mission to end poverty by presenting at their churches, hosting house parties, blogging, posting on social media, engaging in their workplaces and more. Through 2030, we’ll continue to grow the Ambassador Collective and equip sponsors with the tools they need to represent Unbound to their communities, while being a source of inspiration to each other.
Canvassing
Canvassing is a powerful new tool for spreading awareness of Unbound and engaging in face-to-face conversations with potential supporters. Still in its pilot phase, representatives working on behalf of Unbound will spread awareness of the mission and acquire donations via festivals, events and door-todoor canvassing.
Our Enablers of Impact HOW WE GET THERE:
Agents of Change
Unbound’s Agents of Change grants allow donors to support community-led solutions to poverty. Individuals in our sponsorship program (largely led by mothers groups) use the grants to lead targeted initiatives that improve their communities, like renovating classrooms and installing clean water solutions.
Scholarship Program
Our Scholarship Program makes education more accessible for aspiring students in need. Scholarships help both talented sponsored and non-sponsored youth and adults achieve an education while developing leadership skills and a heart for service.
Critical Needs Fund
Unbound’s Critical Needs Fund helps provide essential support to families experiencing unexpected setbacks from natural disasters, health emergencies, and loss of shelter or income.
Mothers Groups
Growth beyond sponsorships
We will accelerate growth beyond sponsorship by expanding opportunities that continue to deliver on our program impact, such as pursuing grants and increasing planned giving support. We are committed to walking with donors in relationship, offering meaningful ways for them to make a difference and target their support, including giving through these five special funds.
We believe mothers have the power to drive change. Mothers groups are small self-help groups comprised of 15-30 mothers from the same community. We enable their self-discovery, leadership formation and entrepreneurial acumen while empowering them to lead community development.
Small Businesses
Our aim is for families to not simply “have more” but to “be more” by building sustainable livelihoods. We guide them to set goals and move beyond meeting their basic needs. Families have access to capital and expertise to develop business plans, open a small business and market their products. Consumer co-ops led by sponsored members help drive families collectively toward economic self-sufficiency. Entrepreneurship programs offer grants and skills development to boost existing small businesses, which, in Unbound’s programs, are largely owned by women.
Other enablers of impact
Improving Operational Efficiencies
Improving operational efficiencies by at least 1% annually while improving sponsor and donor retention will be two important focus areas, ones in which we are already making great strides. The organization continues to develop bolder, more flexible, collaborative and efficient ways of working, especially through digital transformation. Examples initiated in the last few years include:
• The use of Microsoft’s Power Business Intelligence (Power BI) software to build data dashboards to expand our data measurement and visualization capabilities for such things as sponsor and donor acquisition, programmatic functions, organizational financials and key performance indicators.
• The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in writing digital family records and the use of facial recognition software for photo reviews.
• Implementation of an AI chatbot on Unbound.org to assist visitors with questions.
• The launch of video messages from sponsored friends to sponsors to increase engagement and connection. In 2024, over 65,900 video messages were sent.
• The opening of two locally-staffed call centers — one in the Philippines and one in Colombia — to bolster our commitment to excellent sponsor and donor services.
Increasing Awareness and Partnerships
We will place significant effort into more widely sharing Unbound’s unique program model and the impact of our work throughout the world. We believe we have a model worthy of scaling and will seek to engage new partnerships with like-minded organizations, while deepening existing partnerships. Only by coming together and walking in solidarity beside those in most need can we ever hope to achieve a world where poverty no longer exists.
Delivering Excellent Sponsor and Donor Experiences
We recognize sponsors and donors first and foremost as full partners who make a direct impact and transform lives in a global community of compassion. Unbound maintains a high sponsor retention rate of 91% or better, and we are committed to providing the best experience to our supporters throughout their entire journey with Unbound. We continue to innovate ways to enhance that delivery, including the following:
• The launch of video messages from sponsored friends to sponsors.
• The opening of two call centers — one in the Philippines and one in Colombia, largely staffed with former sponsored individuals.
• Enriching personal relationships by celebrating special moments or acknowledging milestones between sponsor and sponsored friend throughout the sponsorship journey.
Greater Focus on Monitoring and Evaluation
Program evaluation empowers us to continuously improve and adapt to better fulfill our mission, while upholding accountability to our stakeholders. We will double our investment in monitoring, evaluation and reporting. One example of how we will do this is through our use of the Poverty Stoplight methodology. We will work closely with our partners at Fundación Paraguaya to ensure 100% implementation of initial family surveys and follow-up surveys. We will expand the survey to include our sponsored older adults as well. Our deeper investment in monitoring and evaluation will focus on increased global evaluations, including partnerships with thirdparty evaluators, and project-level evaluations on the impact of Unbound under our five strategic pillars.
Our Radical Path to End Poverty SNAPSHOT OF UNBOUND 2030:
The
Way We Work
Unbound’s mission is to support families and communities worldwide on their self-directed paths out of poverty.
Our radically decentralized approach means we place the needs and interests of the families we serve above program needs. With our support, it is the program participants who design and manage their own individual, family and community development solutions to poverty. These are a few of the strategies for accomplishing our work.
Sustainable livelihood opportunities
Decentralized Development Poverty Stoplight
We create practical methods for individual families to control the use of financial resources, empowering them to self-assess and build solutions tailored to their unique circumstances.
Direct Cash Transfers
Our direct cash transfer model puts sponsorship funds into bank accounts largely accessed by mothers. This method helps stabilize families and creates breathing room for them to extend their decision-making to set and achieve personal goals.
Families complete Unbound’s Goal Orientation powered by Poverty Stoplight, a poverty indexing survey, to help them identify their needs according to global and local poverty indicators and map out realistic paths to meet them.
The following is a summary of Unbound’s 2030 strategic plan, “Hope in Every Step: A Radical Journey to End Poverty.”
Circles of Impact Model
Why We Work
Poverty is multifaceted and freezes a person’s ability to exercise choice and reach their full potential. Here are some of the socio-economic challenges faced by families that we seek to address.
Access to basic resources
Education, health care, food, clean drinking water, sanitation and safe housing are fundamental human rights. Families living in poverty often lack access to many or all these essential resources.
Sustainable livelihood opportunities
Our Circles of Impact model ensures the voices of families remain at the center. Our approach that begins with empowering individuals and families creates ripple effects that impact local communities and ends with changing the greater society.
Personal Relationships
Our approach has taught us how to do “familylevel” micro-development through sponsorship. The sponsored individual determines their own future, while the sponsor is connected via letter writing. We go beyond transactional relationships to relationships built on mutual trust, respect, care and love.
Sustainable livelihood opportunities
Limited access to essential resources and financial services hinders families’ ability to improve their skills and secure formal job opportunities. Economic instability, lack of infrastructure, environmental challenges and social inequities can hinder longterm planning and development.
Equity and inclusion
Marginalized groups face discrimination and social exclusion. In traditional patriarchal societies, women experience genderbased discrimination that limits their full participation.
Community development opportunities
Poor community infrastructure plays a role in poverty. Improving local schools, roads, clean water systems and communication networks helps enhance access to basic services while supporting economic growth.
Our Radical Path to End Poverty SNAPSHOT OF UNBOUND 2030:
What We’re Working Toward
GOAL 1
Increase the number of households we support from 250,000 families today to over 400,000 families in more than 500 communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America by 2030.
Our Unbound 2030 goals will expand our reach to even more families, supporting them in unlocking their potential to rise above poverty.
GOAL
2
Expand our geographical reach by opening an additional program country where our presence is most needed, most likely in Africa or Southeast Asia by 2030.
Current Unbound Families Future Unbound Families
= 10,000 families
How Our Work Drives Impact
We measure our goals and the impact of our work under five strategic pillars, which also contribute to more than 10 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
