PARTNERS
Ivory Charities Foundation (ICF) is a sister foundation in Butuan of Butuan City Charities. Officially formed on February 26, 2000, by 15 incorporators/officers, ICF is a nonstock, nonprofit, nongovernmental, and nonsectarian charitable organization whose main goal is the improvement of Butuan City and its residents. It seeks to be a credible vehicle for good intentions made concrete.
ICF's members are Butuanons who have realized that their lives and those of their children are closely intertwined with the fate of their city. They have a stake in the community, knowing that whatever befalls Butuan will surely affect not only the present generation of Butuanons but future generations as well. They have altruistic leanings, shown by their involvement in charity work with the Rotary, Jaycees, Lions, and Knights of Columbus clubs and foreign-based sociocivic organizations, as well as in church activities.
ICF's projects include the distribution of food and used clothing to the needy, the donation of books to the city library, and the distribution of medical supplies to the provincial and city hospitals. ICF has also built artesian wells to provide poor communities with potable water and has hosted and assisted medical missions. All these activities are funded by foreign-based donors and by the ICF members themselves.
In addition to these continuing projects, ICF has embarked on a sustained microenterprise livelihood scheme. Inspired by the success of "Grameen" microlending in Bangladesh, the project provides financial capital to the deserving poor without requiring collateral. Participants are grouped into cells, each person being liable for the others in the cell. Their enterprises include, among many others, peanut butter making, dried-fish peddling, piglet raising, "sari-sari" retailing, and the buying and selling of bananas and coconuts.
Federation of Mindanao Associations of Southern California The Federation is a new nonpolitical, nonsectarian, and nonprofit corporation composed of several associations whose mission is to aid the underprivileged and underserved minorities in Mindanao. Collectively, these organizations provide humanitarian assistance to foster the socioeconomic, educational, and physical and mental well-being of those minorities in the different regions of Mindanao.
Operation USAOperation USA is a large, U.S.-based nonprofit corporation that provides other 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, both domestic and international, with medical supplies, tools, and equipment.
Pacific Institute for Women's Health The Institute is a U.S.-based nonprofit corporation concerned with issues on women's health and general well-being. It holds seminars, provides trainings, and builds capabilities of nonprofit groups worldwide. In Asia, it has started projects in Indonesia and in Mindanao, Philippines. ICF has begun collaborating with the Institute.
Christian Reformed World Relief CommitteeThe Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) is the relief arm of the Christian Reformed Churches in the U.S. and Canada. It provides aid during disasters, helps build the capabilities of nonprofit organizations, and engages in microlending projects to help eradicate poverty. The CRWRC's Asia chapter is working with ICF on waste management, microenterprises, and relief management. ICF has been designated CRWRC's distribution and monitoring arm in eastern Mindanao in times of disaster.