Poverty and Health (Q1 2012)
Poverty and Health

Featured beneficiary in the POVERTY & HEALTH category for first quarter 2012:
ROOTS OF DEVELOPMENT

ROOTS OF DEVELOPMENTRoots of Development helps impoverished communities in Haiti acquire the financial resources and organizational skills they need to manage their own development. We promote an alternative approach to rural development by facilitating a process in which we bring together diverse representatives from a community, listen to their goals, and build on their inherent strengths to complete community-driven projects that foster greater independence.

We currently work with impoverished communities in Haiti, but are committed to reaching out elsewhere in the world to replicate this community-led approach to development. By doing so, we hope to create a cluster of community groups ("associations") around the world that, through their own efforts, have achieved greater economic independence. The members of these associations will become agents of change and have a direct role in helping other impoverished communities achieve the same independence by facilitating the process elsewhere.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ROOTS OF DEVELOPMENT
Website: http://www.rootsofdevelopment.org/
Annual Report: 2011
ABOUT THE SELECTION PROCESS

Foundation Beyond Belief highlights five charitable organizations per quarter. Among other considerations, beneficiaries are chosen for efficiency, effectiveness, moderate size (annual budget under $10 million), compatibility with humanist focus on mutual care of this world and this life, and geographic diversity. All categories feature secular organizations with the exception of "Challenge the Gap," which gives members the option of supporting one progressive, non-proselytizing religious organization each quarter.
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