Our Vision & Mission

Our vision is to create a global network of individuals and organizations, in coalition with Internet users, to act on making a positive impact on the transformation of lives through humanitarian care.
Our mission is to link existing resources and develop new resources throughout the world with specific health, education, and development needs and concerns.

Our Goals

• to facilitate and expand our contacts in support of humanitarian response
• to leverage our talents and expertise throughout this network
• to become catalysts for finding innovative solutions to social and economic needs

Special Missions believes that accomplishing our vision and mission requires coordination of a constituency that is well informed, active, and committed to helping each other and those in need. We also believe in giving you the choice to decide the extent of your involvement with us or directly with partnering organizations –the end result is the same.

Guiding Principles

Commitment
We believe in positive deviance – helping and inspiring others to help themselves and contributing so that individuals and community strengths can bring about change. People who live in impoverished communities whose lives are touched by specific needs are the ideal source of information on what they need in order to improve their conditions. We do not impose our views on what we think they need. We ask, we listen, we review, we empower, and we partner with them.

Collaboration
We believe that building partnerships among individuals and groups willing to enhance one another’s efforts is the most effective means of accomplishing a strategy. Special Missions facilitates fruitful relationships and exchanges to multiply the value of knowledge, compassion, time, and money.

Transparency
We explain our practices openly, maximize the use of resources, are open to scrutiny, and share not only what works but what does not work as well. We believe that in the process of this unconventional movement, we have much to learn and much to share –and we remain true to this principle by accepting on-going feedback by those who know us and those who do not. All input is welcome.

Opportunity
Special Missions embraces opportunities to help others through contributions that are well defined, relevant, and transparent. We are a dynamic organization and as such, are constantly learning to function in the most effective and efficient ways.

Results
We seek concrete, measurable, and effective outcomes from efforts focused on health, education and community development wherever Special Missions efforts are present. This may take the form of funding projects, improving our network, raising awareness, and increasing world wide information about cause.

User Convenience and Choice
Through the Internet, we offer opportunities for people to make a lasting difference, be it as a donor or philanthropist or other resource provider, to the individual or organization providing direct services through humanitarian response effort. Users can direct their involvement where and when they choose. There are no committees to join, weekly or monthly meetings to attend, nor exorbitant expectations to fulfill. You choose to what extent you become involved.

User Privacy and Safety
We do extend our efforts to safeguard the personal and financial information of Special Missions users on our database. We do not give out user information.

© 2009 Special Missions Foundation. All Rights Reserved.