History
Give Us Wings was founded in 1999. Initially, we worked in Kenya and Uganda. We are now focusing our work in rural, eastern Uganda. We partner with grassroots community groups as they work to improve their access to quality health care, education and economic opportunities. Through our health program we operate a clinic that provides medical services to over 18,000 each year. Through our Family to Family program, we partner with families, helping them work toward self-sufficiency. The program sponsors the educational tuition and fees or one child in each family (usually the youngest girl). 8 members of each partner family receive health insurance at our clinic. We offer positive parenting training and other instructive training for guardians and Children’s Forums that include career guidance, youth sexual and reproductive health education and community service projects to build leadership skills. We also provide our community-based partners with business training and financial literacy.
Strategic Priorities
Our current health goals include upgrading the health center so that it can serve more patients and provide a wider variety of medical service. Our economic development program is focused on assisting small local agricultural cooperatives expand their operations and improve the production and distribution of their agricultural products. We are also working to recruit more US sponsor families so that we can increase the number of Ugandan families participating in our Family to Family program.
Budget Size: $425,000 – Foundations, Individual Contributions
Skills
Give Us Wings is seeking board members with skills in the following areas:
- Board Governance
- Financial Management
- Fundraising
- Marketing and Communications
Information
- Number of members currently: 10
- Meeting time and frequency: 6 meetings annually
- Meeting location: St. Paul
- Does nonprofit carry liability insurance? Yes
Expectations
- Time Expectation: Up to 5 hours/month
- Financial Contribution Required: Yes, at a level reflective of personal means. We do not want this to be a barrier to participation.
- Service on Committee Required: No
- Length of Term: 2 Years
- Renewable: Yes