We have an abundance mentality: Other non-profits are not our competition; they are our co-laborers. We have an abundance mentality, not a scarcity mentality. The fruit of this mentality is generosity. We are not fighting for the scraps; we are making the pie bigger. So, we recommend one other charity to our major donors every year.

We inspire unexpected generosity in negotiation: Whether negotiating a contract or inviting a gift, we inspire generosity through openness, persistence, and perseverance. We persist because we know we are inviting people into a good thing. We are persuasive because we believe in the eternal impact of our product. So, we consider “no” to be the beginning of a conversation.

We drive True Transparency with Fierce Truth: We are fiercely truthful about both the ambitious possibility of our mission and the limitations and obstacles that we face. We root out hyperbole from our communication. We use modesty and balance to tell an integrated story. We resist the urge to craft a misleading or oversimplified narrative. We share our successes and our struggles with our board, donors, beneficiaries and the public.

We spread joy does not fear: We inspire people with a vision of what is possible if they give; we do not guilt people with a fear of what will happen if they don’t. We share images of children learning, not of children starving. We believe there is freedom in giving. So, we don’t ask for money, we invite people to do something that will make them feel physically and emotionally better. We approach each meeting believing we are the bright part of that person’s day. We leave each meeting knowing that person feels better as a result of meeting us.

We trust local wisdom: The power of our local partnerships is the humility to recognize the strengths we each bring. We believe lasting change and transformation comes from within a person, a community or a country. Our role is to catalyze local change. So, we trust our local partners and local leaders’ wisdom and leadership on local decisions.

We champion the power and dignity of our beneficiaries: We believe children rescued from injustice are not a problem to be solved but a solution waiting to be unleashed. We represent our work in words and images that would make every girl and boy and man and woman that we serve proud and pleased if they heard or saw them. We believe that every human being has unique value because they are made in the image of God. We restore and protect that value and dignity.

We are our donors’ partner: We believe people want to do good, and that our role is to help them do that. Our donors are our partners, and we are their partners. We are different parts of the same body. We do not value our supporters by the size of their gift but by the depth of our relationship. We prize relationships to help everyone discover the joy of generosity and make philanthropy accessible to all.

How things should be: Every human being has unique value and is made in the image of God (Genesis).

How things are: Poverty and abuse and slavery dehumanize people and are therefore an insult to the God who made them. Injustice has everything to do with us because it has everything to do with what our God loves and what our God hates. God hates injustice and is surprised when we don’t intervene (Isaiah 59. 15-16).

How we respond to the difference: When we pray “on earth as it is in heaven” it is also our job to do that. We can be the answers to the prayers of the orphan, widow and slave. God can restore and heal and renew all things and use the weak to show the strong. Raise up a child in the way of the Lord and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22.6).