The Network
The Bridges of Hope Network
Join a network built for your calling.
Perhaps you have been called to serve children, families and communities, but the paperwork, the receipts, the banking across borders and the loneliness of the work keep pulling you away from the people you came to serve. Join a network of missionaries, churches, local leaders and donors that has done this together for 24 years.
We work with missionaries and those called to this work to carry forward the mission of Bridges of Hope, so that together we go further than any of us could alone.The Bridges of Hope Network
The problem
You were called to serve people, not spreadsheets.
Receipting, compliance, cross-border giving and reporting can swallow the hours that belong to your calling. Going it alone is costly, slow and risky.
“How do my supporters get receipts?”
When your work is carried out as a Bridges of Hope program, donors give to Bridges of Hope and receive official receipts for eligible gifts.
“How do I stay compliant?”
Written agreements, approved budgets and regular reports keep the work accountable and within CRA rules.
“Who walks with me?”
A team and a network of leaders in 21 countries who understand the joys and the weight of the work.
Who is in the network
Four ways to join.
Whoever you are, there is a place for you in the network.
Missionaries & field teams
Serving in education, health, relief and community development
- Carry out your work as a Bridges of Hope program under a written agreement
- Your supporters give to Bridges of Hope and receive official receipts for eligible gifts
- A program page and secure giving, in Canada and the USA
- Donor care, financial administration and reporting
- Coaching, care and a network of leaders in 21 countries
Churches
Sending, giving and serving their communities
- Adopt a Bridges of Hope program and follow it through the year
- Hold a Gift Catalogue Sunday or an Advent giving campaign
- Host an event, from Comedy for a Cause to a community barbecue
- Send a team to serve alongside a program
- Carry out community outreach, like food support or newcomer welcome, as a Bridges of Hope program
Charities & NGOs
Working alongside us on programs we direct
- Carry out a Bridges of Hope program with us as our agent or contractor
- Clear written agreements, budgets and milestones
- Regular narrative and financial reporting
- Shared learning across more than 50 programs
- Every program remains a Bridges of Hope activity under our direction and control
Donors & gift planning
Individuals, families, advisors and foundations
- Give once, monthly, or to a specific program
- Gifts of securities and donor-advised fund grants
- Legacy gifts in a will, insurance or registered plans
- Giving in US dollars through Bridges of Hope USA
- Personal donor care from our team
Imagine a different future
Beyond charity. Beyond poverty.
Charity as usual keeps people waiting for the next gift, and dependency grows quietly, one handout at a time. We believe in a different ending: the day a mother no longer needs help, because she has become the one who gives it.
becomes a benefactor
The girl who once received a school uniform grows up to pay a teacher’s wage. The family that once received food now feeds its neighbours.
can care for themselves
Skills, health and education let a mother and father provide for their own children, with their heads held high.
becomes a livelihood
A small loan becomes a tailor’s shop or a market stall. The loan is repaid, and it lifts the next family.
This is already happening. Through Hope Enterprises, our economic development programs, Bridges of Hope works in Burkina Faso with our microfinance partner ACFIME, in a wider network of partners that includes Kiva. Together, more than 14,000 entrepreneurs have received a loan to start or grow a business, nearly 9 in 10 of them women, with a repayment rate of 99.97%. Thousands of microcredits are freeing families from poverty. Meet ACFIME See Hope Enterprises
That is the moment we move beyond charity. When one family takes that step, its children inherit a different story. When a whole community takes it, a thousand generations inherit a different future. That is how we move beyond poverty.
Every Bridges of Hope program exists for one purpose, our mission: To promote poverty relief and community empowerment among the poorest nations of the earth.
What you receive
We carry the load so you can carry the mission.
For every approved Bridges of Hope program, our team provides:
Receipts and donor care
Official receipts for eligible gifts, thank-yous and answers for your supporters.
Financial administration
Budgets, disbursements under your agreement, and clear financial reporting.
Canada and the USA
Secure online giving in both countries, one-time or recurring.
A program page
A beautiful page on our website that tells your story and invites support.
Governance and compliance
Board oversight and CRA-compliant practices that protect you and your donors.
Coaching and care
Training, leadership development and a network of people who understand your work.
The plan
Four steps to launch.
Start a conversation.
Tell us about your work. We will explore together whether it fits the purposes of Bridges of Hope.
Sign the agreement.
We agree on activities, budget, roles and reporting, and Bridges of Hope keeps direction and control of the program.
Launch your program.
Your program page and secure giving go live, and your supporters give to Bridges of Hope.
Serve and report.
You do the work, report on activities and spending, and we share the story with donors.
Why the rules protect you
Accountability is a gift.
Canadian charity law requires a registered charity to carry out its own activities. That is why every partnership is a Bridges of Hope program, not a pass-through.
- A written agreement for every program, with a budget we approve.
- Regular narrative and financial reports that we review.
- Bridges of Hope makes the final decision on the use of all funds.
- We issue receipts only for gifts to Bridges of Hope, never on behalf of another charity.
Our flagship partner
CREDO, Burkina Faso.
Founded in 1993 by Dr. Moïse Napon, CREDO works in 9 regions and reaches more than 400,000 people a year. CREDO and ACFIME both grew out of our CEO Daniel Zopoula’s home church in Burkina Faso. Daniel served with CREDO before coming to Canada, Dr. Napon has been his mentor and, in his words, a spiritual father, and Daniel still walks with both as a leader, coach and partner. Today they are trusted implementing partners, carrying out Bridges of Hope programs under written agreements. For microfinance, our Hope Enterprises programs work with ACFIME, born from CREDO’s microfinance program in 2007. With a network of partners that includes Kiva, more than 14,000 entrepreneurs have received loans, nearly 9 in 10 of them women.
Our roots in Burkina Faso
Rooted together. Trusted to deliver.
Some partnerships are signed. Ours was grown. CREDO, ACFIME and the leader of Bridges of Hope come from the same home church in Burkina Faso. Decades later, that shared root has become a network that reaches hundreds of thousands of people.
CREDO is born
Dr. Moïse Napon founds CREDO to serve children and families across Burkina Faso.
ACFIME is born
CREDO’s microfinance work becomes its own institution, putting credit within reach.
A son goes further
Daniel Zopoula serves with CREDO, mentored by Dr. Napon, then carries the vision to Canada.
A bridge is built
Bridges of Hope joins donors in Canada and the USA to programs in 21 countries.
14,000+ and growing
Entrepreneurs funded, children in school, families moving beyond charity.
Give
to a Bridges of Hope program you choose.
Directs
purpose, budget, results and accountability.
Deliver
CREDO and ACFIME carry out the work under written agreements.
Flourish
and move from beneficiary to benefactor.
“These are not partners we found. They are partners we were formed with.”Daniel Zopoula, CEO, Bridges of Hope
Daniel continues to walk with CREDO and ACFIME as a leader, coach and partner. Gifts are made to Bridges of Hope for its own programs.
A church in Lethbridge, a mission in Haiti, a lender in Ouagadougou, a donor at a kitchen table. Different places, one purpose. When one of us moves forward, all of us do.
Programs in the network
Meet a few of our programs.
Questions
Before you take the next step.
Can Bridges of Hope issue receipts for gifts to our church or charity?
No. We issue receipts only for gifts to Bridges of Hope and its own programs. If your work becomes a Bridges of Hope program, donors give to Bridges of Hope and we direct the funds under the program agreement.
What kind of work fits?
Work that relieves poverty and builds lasting opportunity: education, health care, orphan care, clean water, income generation, leadership development, and support for newcomers and refugees. We will talk through the fit with you.
Who controls the funds?
Bridges of Hope does. Funds are released for the activities and budget in the agreement, and you report on how they were used.
Are there costs?
We will walk you through any costs and the full terms in your agreement before anything begins.
Can our supporters give from the United States?
Yes. American supporters can give in US dollars through Bridges of Hope USA.
Join the network
Tell us about your calling.
Share a little about yourself and your work. A member of our team will reach out to talk it through with you.
- Email [email protected]
- Call 877 460 6036
Disclaimer: Bridges of Hope International Network of Development Agencies (BOHINDA) is a registered Canadian charity. Donors may indicate a preference for how their donation will be used; however, the final decision on the use of all funds rests with BOHINDA. In accordance with CRA guidelines, if BOHINDA is unable to use the donation as the donor prefers, the donation will not be returned, but will be applied to the organization’s charitable purposes where it is needed most.
Join the Bridges of Hope Network.
Whether you lead the work or fuel it, there is a place for you.
Why we do what we do
In Jesus’ name. For the glory of God.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me… Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”Matthew 25:35–36, 40 (NIV)
Six people Christ asks us to see. Six ways we answer.
Matthew 25 is our inspiration: we answer the call of Christ to care for the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger and the prisoner, with compassion, love, justice and mercy, and we serve every person with dignity, whatever their faith. Every plate, well, classroom and loan is an act of worship. To God be the glory.