Iringa Hope Organization
Iringa Hope is a 501c3, Minnesota based nonprofit organization. In Tanzania we are partners with the University of Iringa (UoI) and the Diocese of Iringa (DIRA). Together we have organized and registered a standalone International Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called the Micro Finance Institute, Ltd. (the MFI). The MFI is staffed by Tanzanian professionals with educational backgrounds in finance, management, legal issues, cooperative organization and management, entrepreneurship, business, and agronomy. This group carries out the daily work of Iringa Hope forming and supporting the Cooperative networks and their members.
In 2019 we renewed and expanded our agreement. The UoI committed to full access to their campus, meeting rooms, and facilities for use by the MFI. They also promised to provide instructors as well as a Director for the program. DIRA committed to providing access to all of their buildings in the Diocese, assistance with organizing and communicating within the villages, and donating land for our buildings. Iringa Hope committed to providing expert advice, oversight, and mentoring for the program and its staff. Iringa Hope also committed to fund raising and administration. The expanded agreement supplemented the original agreement signed in 2010.
An expanded agreement between Iringa Hope, the University of Iringa and the Iringa Diocese was signed in 2019 by (L to R) Vice Chancellor Ndelilio Urio, Bishop Blastone Gavile, and Dr. Thomas Hendrickson
In the US Iringa Hope is staffed 100% by volunteers while in Iringa the MFI is staffed by full time, paid staff. All of the costs of the MFI in Iringa are paid through interest on loans, small mark ups on agricultural input supplies, and fees from our members; while in the US our board pays all of the costs of mailings, filings, etc. As a result, in Iringa Hope the only overhead that donor funds pay for is the cost of sending funds and converting them to local currency, making for an “overhead rate” of less than 2%.
Micro Finance Institute
Iringa Hope USA Board
