Nonprofit Performance 360 Magazine Vol 5 No 1

RAY BUCHANAN Featured Contributor

This is Possible

I have a vision of a world without hunger, and I want that vision to become a reality in my lifetime. Rise Against Hunger was founded on that vision and that desire. The vision of a world without hunger has been the focus of my entire adult life. I awaken every morning to that vision, and that’s the vision that is before me when I go to bed at night. I am fine with that. In fact, I think that is exactly as it should be; but not just for me, for everyone on this planet fortunate enough to experience and live with the joy of food security. Rise Against Hunger began operations as Stop Hunger Now on January 2, 1998 in a two-room office above Rapid Printing Office Supplies in Bedford, Virginia. Our staff consisted of Pat Streeter, my Administrative Assistant, and me. We had a budget of a quarter of a million dollars and a mandate to feed the hungry in crisis situations around the world. I never doubted my ability to help feed the hungry. I knew that was what I was called to do.The difficult part was making that happen in the most efficient and effective manner.My international relief experience was extremely limited. I was as knowledgeable about domestic hunger and poverty issues as anyone, but how would that translate internationally? How could a new organization, especially a tiny one like Rise Against Hunger, make a real impact on hungry people around the world? In the three months leading up to our opening, I had not ceased thinking about those questions. Failure was not an option.

Measuring Our Impact Rise Against Hunger has been independently audited every single year of our operation. We do that as a matter of course, as a basic business practice. An annual audit allows us to be both transparent and accountable to all those who generously support our efforts on behalf of the poor and hungry. It also helps the organization measure our impact. At the end of 1998, when we were audited for the first time, the report we received was a clear declaration of the success we had achieved in our first year. That first audit report showed that Rise Against Hunger had distributed over $2,900,000 in relief aid in 1998. The audit also showed that we had distributed aid to 18 different countries. Our audit for 2017 showed that we had impacted 1,404,110 lives (56.2% youth, 35% school, child, and youth development, and 11.6% children under age 5) in 36 countries. We packaged 72,100,000 meals, engaged 392,264 volunteers worldwide, distributed $26,100,000 in in-kind donations, and provided $6,000,000 in crisis assistance. It also showed that 85.5% of donations were invested directly into programs. Keeping Our Philosophy Simple The philosophical foundation of the organization was just as simple as the early goals. I took the lessons I had learned from the Marine Corps and from my 18 years as Founder and Codirector of the Society of St. Andrew, and applied them to Rise Against Hunger.

We had to succeed. And it was incumbent on me to ensure that success. What I did have was a solid knowledge of hunger and poverty, almost 20 years of experience in the nonprofit world, and an unshakable faith that I was doing what I was called to do. When Rise Against Hunger opened its doors in 1998, I had already set our goals for the first year. I had also established a rudimentary philosophical framework in which we would operate. My goals for our first year were simple. In fact, I had only two goals. Mr. John Hewitt committed to provide $250,000 to Rise Against Hunger for international hunger relief. Although that sounds like a large amount of money, the reality is that in terms of international relief, it isn’t. My first goal for 1998 was to double John’s gift. I wanted Rise Against Hunger to distribute at least $500,000 in international relief in our first year. I thought that raising half a million dollars should be possible. My second goal was for Rise Against Hunger to have worked in a minimum of five or six countries by the end of that first year. I didn’t want to focus on only a single country. From the start, I envisioned Rise Against Hunger as a truly global force. I felt that if we could work in a half-dozen countries during our first year, it would establish that global perspective for the future of the organization.

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