2013: Annual Report

This annual report is focused primarily on the year's strategic accomplishments and challenges, and is designed to give something of a "behind the scenes" look at how Asia's Hope is working to build a vibrant, healthy organization capable of meeting current and future opportunities. For pictures and updates from each of our homes, check out the Asia's Hope blog.

Prepared by Executive Director, John McCollum

Overcoming challenges

In 2013, we survived floods, sicknesses and a host of emergency and unforeseen financial obligations. Due to our overall financial health and the generosity of our partnering churches, we have been able to meet 100% the urgent needs and the vast majority of non-urgent funding requests submitted by our national directors.

When we were weak, God showed himself to be strong, and provided indigenous staff, board members, volunteers, donors and church partners to sustain us and propel us forward. We enter 2014 in good financial shape, in good spirits and with a great deal of forward momentum.

Despite the challenges, we added 4 new homes — two in Battambang, Cambodia and two in Kalimpong, India, expanding our care to nearly 100 more orphaned children and employment to more than 15 new indigenous staff.

Maintaining fiscal responsibility

Despite the growth of our overseas obligations, the maintenance of a capital campaign and the enhancement of our executive staff, Asia’s Hope’s total Administrative and Office expenses — which include general administration, office expenses, payroll, fundraising, salaries, traveling and marketing — remained at 11%, which means that 89% of funds donated went “toward charitable purposes,” a ratio that would earn us an A+ rating from most organizations evaluating non-profit effectiveness.

While I do not believe that a low admin percentage is the definitive measure of an organization’s financial responsibility (and I believe that as we grow, the percentage we spend on building the organization’s executive and administrative capacity must also grow), donors, board members and partners can have no doubt that Asia’s Hope is committed to fiscal restraint and wise stewardship.

Broadening our base of support

In 2013, we not only brought in more money, we broadened — and deepened — our base of support. We received donations from more churches, more individuals and a wider geographic area.

In 2013, we added our first Australian partnering church — Caringbah Baptist in Caringbah, New South Wales. As sponsors of the Battambang 10 home, Caringbah Baptist provides Asia’s Hope a point of entry into a nearly limitless pool of potential supporters and partnering churches in Australia. The church is extremely enthusiastic about Asia’s Hope, and is looking forward to playing a leadership role in the expansion of Asia’s Hope “down under.”

We also have continued to cultivate a class of major donors, both directly and through our partnering churches. We expect this growth trend to continue in 2014.

Other donors also excelled — we even received significant funds from children’s ministries, school groups and vacation Bible schools!

Deepening and initiating new partnerships

In 2013, we added two new long-term strategic funding partners, Edugo and Intentional Apparel, grew our relationship with Team Hope and expanded greatly our work with Bright Start Learning.

We maintained our status as a partnering organization with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, and have initiated deeper relationships with Vineyard Justice Network and the Gospel Coalition. We’ve deepened our relationship and explored partnership opportunities with many other organizations including Back2Back, One Voice, i61, More4Orphans, Providence Orphan Care, Vineyard Churches Himalayas, Immanuel Nepali Bhutanese Church, World Relief, the Sojourn Network, Soccer Kicks 4 Kids, and many more.

We also blessed a number of indigenous movements outside of Asia’s Hope with funds for emergencies and special projects including village evangelism efforts in Cambodia, hilltribe refugee assistance in Thailand and dental outreaches in Myanmar, India and Bangladesh.

Increasing our visibility and refining our message

In 2013, we completed a rebranding project, giving our logo, wordmarks and overall graphic identity a much-needed refresh. We also created usage guidelines and artwork kits to enable our partners and affiliates to speak for us in a unified voice. We also revamped our marketing materials — web site, overview brochure, business cards, letterheads, flyers, laptop-based presentations and conference displays — improving not only the appearance, but the messaging as well.

We have increased the visibility of our core strategic distinctive: family-based, rather than institutional, care for orphaned kids. Our newly-created materials featuring the “This is my family” theme have begun to open up new opportunities for us among potential supporters and in the wider orphan care community.

Improving our processes

Our Asian country directors have continued to improve not only the care provided to our kids, but also the efficiency and effectiveness of their staff. In Cambodia, our staff received extensive training in child protection policies and practices in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth. In Thailand, we added a psychiatrist to our staff to evaluate our kids’ emotional and social development and coordinate with the Thai Social Services agency. In India, we have continued to build accounting and financial mechanisms to ensure accuracy and transparency as we seek official government recognition of Asia’s Hope India and move toward independent operation in-country.

2014: The Year Ahead

Sharpening the axe

As we’ve learned, the only thing we can count on for sure as we look ahead is that we will be surprised by not only the challenges we face but the provision God sends our way.

I believe that we are entering a potentially-explosive growth phase — new opportunities in North America, in Australia, and in India abound. We’re better positioned than ever to capitalize on these opportunities, but uncontrolled and unmanaged growth poses significant risks to our existing partnerships and ultimately to the children in our care.

So while I’m as anxious as anyone to build more homes, rescue more children and recruit more church partners and donors, as Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

We should not artificially constrain growth when it is clear that God is calling us to action, but most of my major goals for 2014 focus on deepening, rather than broadening and are based on the conviction that we should grow better faster than we grow bigger.

2014 anticipated accomplishments

“Many are the plans in the heart of man, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

In 2014, we anticipate new levels of executive staff productivity with our Executive Director, Project Manager and Administrator all working full-time and in close coordination. We will see significant improvement in our ability to communicate with donors and to bring on new fundraisers as our technological upgrades begin to take effect in the first half of the year. We hope that these new processes will allow us to raise at least $100,000 from new donors in 2014, and more in years to come.

We will also introduce two new funding models: chapters, self-sustaining groups of individuals committed to raising small-to-moderate amounts of money on an ongoing basis, and leadership circles, comprised of $10,000+ donors.

We will continue to increase Asia’s Hope’s profile among our key audiences as we pursue more affiliations with orphan-focused charities, forge more partnerships with like-minded organizations who can help us with both funding and operational challenges, represent Asia’s Hope at more conferences and publish more articles. We hope that these efforts will expand our knowledge and funding bases.

We expect to wrap up fundraising for the Prek Eng Campus phase of the “Strength for Today, Hope for Tomorrow” capital campaign and initiate at least one new large capital project: the Battambang Training Center. We also will obtain full funding for all of our homes, securing permanent sponsors for our Prek Eng 1 home and Kalimpong 4 home. We will also pursue a permanent funding partner for the Asia’s Hope School in Prek Eng.

Pending available funds, we will transfer the two remaining property deeds in Thailand — Doi Saket 1 and Doi Saket 2 — from private holdings to Asia’s Hope Thailand in accordance with longstanding Asia’s Hope strategic goals.

A “Grand Project”

As we enter our 13th year of ministry, we do so in excellent health: we have adequate funding for our current obligations, we remain in good standing with our operational and financial partners at home and abroad, and most importantly, we are remain confident in the value and the veracity of our core promise: to provide our children real families, not institutions.

Over the past few years we have invested heavily in physical infrastructure — buying land and building homes — knowing that today’s hard work will pay benefits not only to children presently in our care, but also to future generations of orphan kids that our successors will rescue and restore.

We have made periodic adjustments to our organizational infrastructure as well: making the executive director position full-time, adding Asia’s Hope Canada, changing the by-laws to create an Executive Board with oversight authority, committing to a church-partnership model, funding a “home office” and executive staff — all of these adjustments were necessary to meet the growth opportunities presented to us by God and by our staff in Asia. None of us could have known that God would ask us to steward an organization of this capacity and, frankly, complexity.

As we work towards finalizing our registration in India and look to bring on Asia’s Hope Australia in late 2014, we have both the opportunity and the obligation to undertake something of a “grand project:” the full evaluation and adoption of a new global legal strategy — including policies, affiliate and agency agreements, board charters, and memoranda of understanding linking the various “arms” of Asia’s Hope around the world.

As I’ve said before, I believe that God plans to grow Asia’s Hope even further over the next few years — more partnerships, more homes, perhaps even more countries for fundraising and more countries for orphan care. Now is the time to get our legal and organizational house in order.

I am incredibly grateful for all of you. Together, God has allowed us to achieve great things over the 13 past years. Greater things are yet to come. It will take a lot of hard work and a lot of grace, but as we’ve seen time and time again, God has special blessings for those who care for the children he loves.

John McCollum, Asia's Hope Executive Director

"I believe that we are entering a potentially-explosive growth phase — new opportunities in North America, in Australia, and in India abound. We’re better positioned than ever to capitalize on these opportunities, but uncontrolled and unmanaged growth poses significant risks to our existing partnerships and ultimately to the children in our care."

-- John McCollum

Asia's Hope at a Glance

We now have more than 700 kids in our full-time care (includes orphaned kids and staff kids)
We operate 29 children’s homes: 5 in Phnom Penh (Prek Eng), 10 in Battambang, 7 in Doi Saket, 1 in San Kampheang (Hot Springs), 2 in Wiang Pa Pow, 4 in Kalimpong.
We operate 2 schools: k-6 with 135 students in Prek Eng (Phnom Penh), k-5 with 84 students in Kalimpong
We employ 135 staff in Asia; 3 full-time staff in the U.S.
We have 16 full-partner churches, 10 partial partnering, 6 in the pipeline, more than 20 on the radar, or in conversation.
We are 100% debt free, operating in the black on a perpetual basis
24 of our 29 homes are 100% paid-for on land we own
We own more than $2 million in assets
We operate the largest Christian churches in Battambang, Prek Eng, Doi Saket and Wiang Pa Pow
We have 30 students in enrolled university