Plan USA
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| Type | 501(c)(3) charitable organization |
|---|---|
| Focus | child sponsorship, child poverty, global development |
| Location | |
Area served |
Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Philippines, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
Key people | John Langdon-Davies, Laurie Metcalf, Tessie San Martin |
Revenue | US$ 63.5 Million (2010) |
Employees | 97 |
| Website | www.planusa.org |
Plan International USA is an international charity with offices in Warwick, Rhode Island and Washington D.C., United States. It is part of Plan International, a global organization founded more than 70 years ago. The stated goal of the organization is to end the cycle of poverty for children.[1]
History and development
Plan was founded in 1937 by British journalist John Langdon-Davies and refugee worker Eric Muggeridge.[2] Originally named “Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain,” the aim was to provide food, accommodation and education to children whose lives had been disrupted by the Spanish Civil War. During the Second World War, under the name "Foster Parents Plan for War Children,"[3] the organization expanded to work with displaced children throughout war-torn Europe. By the 1970s, Plan gradually began working with children throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. 1970s
Plan International USA, was originally incorporated as "Foster Parents Plan, Inc.,"[4] in 1939 in New York [5] to help connect U.S. donors to a continuously growing number of sponsored children in developing countries. It was one of the first Plan International federation members. By 2010, Plan’s donor countries had increased to 21.[6]
Name Change
In 1974, the international parent organization Foster Parents Plan shortened its name to become simply Plan International.[7] In the 1990s the U.S. organization followed suit, with a name change to “Childreach/Plan International”[2] to avoid the program confused with local foster care programs,[8] and then simply to "Plan USA."
Finances
Plan International USA is a publicly funded American non-profit charitable organization, deriving its income from a combination of individual contributions and private and federal grants.[9] It is exempt from both United States federal and Rhode Island state income tax.[10] The total operating revenue in 2010 for the organization was approximately $63 million. 77% of the organization’s funding was reported to go to programs, while 23% was reported as support for programming through fundraising and administrative expenses.[11]
Programs
In coordination with Plan International and its other chapters, in 2010 Plan International USA helped fund and organize the following combined international programs and activities:
- The construction or rehabilitation of 1,935 health or early childhood care and development centers, 1,251 schools and 7,531 water points;
- Improvement of sanitation facilities for 90,882 households;
- Support for 767 microfinance organizations and 13,636 local savings and loan groups;
- Training for 150,007 professional and volunteer health workers;
- Training for 58,229 professional and volunteer education workers;
- Training for 70,917 workers and farmers;
- Vocational and business training to 26,770 people;
- Training for 43,124 members of staff or partner organization staff and 106,544 community members in child protection;[12]
- Increased disaster relief activities in Haiti;[13]
- The beginning of a program to prevent and treat HIV and other related diseases in Benin, Togo and Cameroon, funded by the Global Fund.[14]
U.S. programs
YUGA, Youth United in Global Action, is a program sponsored by Plan International USA. YUGA aims to educate and involve young people in the United States in issues that affect children and youth around the world. The program’s main focus areas are: climate change, global poverty, HIV and AIDS, child rights and child exploitation, and gender equality.[15]
Child sponsorship
The child sponsorship program links each sponsor to an individual child in one of the 48 countries where Plan International works. Sponsors contribute money and have an opportunity to correspond with the child and his or her family. Donations are not given directly to the child but are used to support projects for entire communities.[16] Along with microloans, direct sponsorship projects have been described to be an option for people interested in contributing to a do it yourself style of foreign aid.[17]
Board of Directors
Plan International USA employs 97 staff and has a separate governing body and Executive Team from Plan International. As of 2010, the members of the Board of Directors include:
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Tessie San Martin, Ph.D. is the current President/CEO.
Notable associations
Laurie Metcalf, actress known for playing “Jackie Harris” on ‘’Roseanne’’, is a spokesperson for Plan International USA and a child sponsor through the organization.[18] Other notable persons who have publicly given their support for Plan International USA include Jacqueline Kennedy, who was honorary chairwoman during Plan's Silver Jubilee, David Elliot, Beau Bridges, Dina Eastwood, Scott Bakula,[19] and Nicholas D. Kristof, also a child sponsor.[20]
In Popular Culture
The organization was featured in the 2002 film About Schmidt.
References
- ↑ www.planusa.org/what we do
- 1 2 "Plan International USA (formerly Childreach)" summary on Universal Giving page (accessed Oct. 9 2012)
- ↑ Foster Parent’s Plan for War Children Letters 1942-1997, University of Rhode Island Special collections (page accessed Oct. 9, 2012
- ↑ Plan International USA, Celebrating our 75th Anniversary (accessed Oct. 9 2012)
- ↑ "Involving communities key to Plan USA success abroad," Providence Business News
- ↑ Plan USA Where We Work
- ↑ Plan's Story (accessed Oct. 9 2012)
- ↑ Lippincott Brand Strategy and Design, "Childreach" (accessed Oct. 9 2012)
- ↑ Overseas spending by nonprofit a boost to U.S. security | Providence Business News
- ↑ Better Business Bureau, Tax Status
- ↑ Better Business Bureau, Plan USA Profile
- ↑ Plan USA Annual Report 2010
- ↑ Plan International USA's Stepped Up Relief Operations in Haiti Continue to Make Progress | Reuters
- ↑ Global Fund awards Plan 52 million for international health programs | PNN Online
- ↑ Overseas spending by nonprofit a boost to U.S. security | Providence Business News
- ↑ How child sponsorship works| www.planusa.org
- ↑ Tips for do it yourself foreign aid | Chronicle of Philanthropy
- ↑ Laurie Metcalf: sponsor a child today | YouTube
- ↑ Plan to change the world| YouTube
- ↑ Changing Lives Mit by Mit | New York Times Opinion Pages