I had some grand dreams for 2012 and today I look back to see how we’ve done! (I’ve also included some of my favorite photos from 2012 throughout the post.)

A group of new small business leaders in Kenya in their cooperative sunflower field. What amazing color!

Get youth involved: This is still a dream. I’ve talked to more youth and recent college graduates about their interest in social justice and international affairs and I hope to involve them in what we’re doing soon.

Expand Small Business Fund: This is in progress! We’re working with some new potential partners in Zambia and we’re so excited bring our business training and small grants program to another community in 2013.

Canaan Gondwe (Malawi) with a giant cucumber! Grown with seeds sent from SIA. He was so surprised with how big it grew.

Dream Small (Savings and Loans): Grant proposals are in the works now to have Canaan Gondwe, the steller leader of the Manyamula Village Savings and Loans (MAVISALO) cooperative, to train new leaders to run a savings in loans group in their area! Keep watching the blog for new stories about this in the coming year.

Celebrate our 16^th Anniversary: We certainly celebrated! Thanks to all who came to our celebration and silent auction last May. The event raised $1,800 which went to the MAVISALO cooperative for them to purchase a Maize Mill machine. (Two mills were purchased in November and they were installed last week!)

Thought-proving prayer from 2012: “Jesus, help us to live out the full implications of your prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Our daily bread. Give us a renewed sense of common life. – from Martin B. Copenhaver

Coming up… The SIA Board heads on into 2013 excited about new opportunities for partnership and community development! Stay tuned and I’ll keep you updated throughout the year on all the great work being done by our partners.

Girls with a piglet in Uganda.

Our work is in the world. Our mission is to be a “worldwide network” and sometimes, holed-up in my Spirit in Action home office in Minnesota, I forget the truly global nature of SIA.

I choose to see the the wide national and international reach of SIA as a positive characteristic of our organization. We bring people together from across the United States, North America, and the world – each sharing their perspective, traditions, and experiences with our strong network.

**To really understand our reach, scroll to the end of the post for a map showing the location of each individual connected with SIA around the world.**

Spirit in Action is right where you are

I wrote about the rootedness of our community partners in Africa. They benefit from living and working with their neighbors. Does of our lack of a street-front office show a lack of rootedness? No! Having a “worldwide office” means that for each member of our organization Spirit in Action is right where you are!

Rooted in the whole world

This summer I saw that SIA is deeply rooted in each community where we support projects. With me in Minnesota, SIA is rooted in the non-profit community here. Many SIA Board members live in California, giving us strong roots there. Each root of our large tree network brings local flair, regional understanding, and commands a respect for differences. 

God calling us

“A dream has no dimension, no boundaries, no limitations,” wrote Del Anderson in his Spirit-led writing, God Calling…. He encourages us to dream large for a SIA network that ignores geographic limitations. Although Del didn’t personally use a computer, he reveled in the miracle of the Internet, or “worldwide web,” to break down boundaries and connect us across the globe.

Del goes on to write, “In Me [God], you have the wisdom, love, and power to be My instrument in bringing My Kingdom into manifestation here and now.”

May we also embrace this call to bring SIA into our lives here (wherever that may be) and now (whenever we receive that special inspiration). In doing this, we fulfill our responsibility to put Spirit and love into action in our world. Let me know if you have ideas for rooting SIA in your community!

Spirit in Action is International! Map
View full screen map

“Misconception No. 4: Low administrative costs are a good indicator of the quality of the organization.”

So begins a post by Saundra Schimmelpfennig about misconceptions created by charity websites. Maybe you have noticed this phenomenon. Many organizations tout only 1% administrative and fundraising costs on their donation pages. One of the reasons for this is that charity rating websites like GuideStar and Charity Navigator highly value bare minimum “administrative expenses”. (SIA is not eligible to be reviewed by Charity Navigator because they only review organizations that raise at least $500,000 in public support per year.)

Clearly low administrative costs are attractive to donors. But, a 2009 report from several charity watchdog organizations has these words of warning: “In short, picking a charity based on the lowest overhead ratio is like buying the cheapest car that money can buy. You might spend less in the short run but it’s inevitably going to let you down.”

For one thing, looking only at administrative costs means that donors are not looking at the impact of the organization’s programs.

Think of it this way: If a soup kitchen has low administrative costs but lets its food sit and rot, have they used their money effectively? Paying someone to oversee the volunteer chefs may be a much better use of donor funds than just buying food!

Schimmelpfennig’s blog post calls on nonprofits to do something new: “Instead of focusing on low administrative costs, share information on the importance of those costs.”

Let’s consider the administrative costs at Spirit in Action. Our annual budget is about $45,000 and my salary (as the sole employee, hired part-time) was  just under $22,000 last year. We spent about $1,250 on printing and photocopying costs.

But what does that get you? Quite a lot of “bang for your buck” as they say in Minnesota!

• About 65% of my day is spent on purely programmatic activities. Those administrative hours go to writing letters to international partners, reviewing grant applications, following up on previous grants, and working with the grassroots organizations to refine their local programs. Without administrative costs, who would be in charge of building these relationships and refining grant proposals for the SIA Board?
• The semi-annual SIA Newsletter accounts for almost 100% of the printing costs. From the feedback I get from you, this is a very important part of keeping our supporters informed. Without the newsletter how would you hear about our progress and learn about new projects?
• Spending money on things like a website and updating office software means that we are investing in the long-term effectiveness of Spirit in Action. An old laptop might be cheaper but if I waste hours waiting for websites to load, is that effective?
• Our international SIA Small Business Fund coordinators are all volunteers in their countries. An important part of my job is to make sure they have the information and support they need to effectively train the new business leaders who receive our small business grants.

In summary, we take our work very seriously. We reduce overhead costs when we can (like not paying for an office space, for example) but SIA has also recognized the value of having a paid administrator. I am so blessed to feel appreciated and supported by the SIA Board as I work on behalf of them and you to strengthen our worldwide network and continue to evaluate how we can best empower people around the world through thoughtful assistance.

Do you buy my evaluation? Does this bring up more questions for you? I’d love to hear what you think about charities and administrative costs – post your comments below!

Benoit Malenge goes over record-keeping with a new business leader in DRC.

This year is a big year for Spirit in Action! In 2011 we are celebrating our 15th year (1996-2011) in service around the world. The new GodsSpiritInAction.org is a perfect place to celebrate our accomplishments and continue to inform you about our regular activities. The website has new descriptions of our work and focus, vivid pictures, and regular stories featuring the people we support.

We are committed to telling you how your contributions are being used around the world and to sharing the amazing success stories from the people who receive SIA grants. Once a week, I post pictures, personal reflections, critical examinations of our work, or project updates on our blog. You can now sign up to receive an email when there is a new blog post by visiting: http://godsspiritinaction.org/email/

Some highlights of the new site include:
- Our Work – Descriptions of our programs, pictures of our Small Business Fund coordinators & more
- A map of our grants – See where we have sent grants in recent year
- Our Blog – Check regularly and contribute your thoughts and ideas
- How You Can Help – Your contributions (financial, in-kind, prayer) are so important to those in need. You can now make secure donations online.

A big THANK YOU to Beth Craggs and Larry Denny for their support during the creation of our new website!

Please forward this email to your family, friends, and colleagues. We want to hear what you think about our new website. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook or email us at admin@godsspiritinaction.org!

With joy and thanksgiving,
Tanya

With deep gratitude, Tanya