International Samaritan

What International Samaritan does

International Samaritan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1994 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that serves families living in settlements next to municipal garbage dumps in developing nations. The organization operates across Central America (Honduras, Guatemala), the Caribbean (Jamaica), and East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia), delivering a portfolio of programs anchored by a Holistic Scholarship Program that currently supports approximately 1,000 scholars from kindergarten through college. Complementary programs include the Samaritan Growth Fund (savings and loan groups for parents), Safe Water and Safe Spaces initiatives, Family Life Centers with digital hubs, the Learn, Serve, Grow year-long partnership model linking U.S. churches and schools with communities, Vision Trips to Honduras and Kenya, and a children's book series.

The organization generates revenue entirely through donations and grants, with monthly recurring giving as the primary pricing mechanic. Founding families have covered all overhead since 1994, enabling a stated 100% pass-through of donations to services since 2019. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations rely on direct community service delivery, scholarship management, partnership coordination, and donor engagement via website, email, podcast, and social channels. Country-level execution is carried out through wholly-owned local entities (Fundación Buen Samaritano in Guatemala, Kiteezi Samaritan in Uganda) and staffed by a team of 11-50 employees including country and regional directors.

The organization is governed by a Board of Trustees with local advisory committees in Kenya and Ethiopia, holds a four-star Charity Navigator rating, a GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, and UN ECOSOC Special Consultative Status granted in 2011. Recent strategic activity has centered on geographic expansion (Ethiopia, Uganda), programmatic diversification (Digital Hub, economic empowerment), and a generational leadership transition in 2018 when Mike Tenbusch succeeded founder Fr. Don Vettese, S.J.

Name

International Samaritan

Legal name

International Samaritan

Website

https://intsam.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

International Samaritan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1994 that delivers holistic scholarships, clean water, and economic empowerment programs to approximately 1,000 students and families living in garbage dump settlements across Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid and Poverty Alleviation Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based & Mission Service Programs (EDAIAGAI), Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG), Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Partnerships (HLAJAOAG)

Keywords

• Poverty alleviation services
• Humanitarian nonprofit programs
• Community development aid
• Scholarship funding programs
• Clean water initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: International Samaritan generates revenue through donations from individual supporters, monthly giving programs, and institutional grants. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a commitment that 100% of donations since 2019 go directly to services in developing nations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

International Samaritan is a Christ-centered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers holistic support to families living in settlements next to garbage dumps in Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa. Its core offerings include K-12 and college scholarship support, savings-and-loan economic empowerment for parents (Samaritan Growth Fund), clean water provision, safe community spaces, and Family Life Centers. The organization is funded through individual donations, monthly giving, grants, and proceeds from the Samaritan Adventure Book Series, with 100% of donations since 2019 going directly to services in developing nations.

Product overview

International Samaritan is a Christ-centered nonprofit organization that operates a portfolio of interconnected programs serving families living in settlements near garbage dumps in developing nations. The core offering is a Holistic Scholarship Program covering kindergarten through college education, complemented by the Samaritan Growth Fund (economic empowerment through savings and loan groups for parents), and Safe Water & Safe Spaces initiatives. Supporting programs include the Learn, Serve, Grow year-long partnership model connecting U.S. groups with scholarship communities, Vision Trips to Honduras and Kenya, and the Samaritan Adventure Book Series for children. The organization also operates Family Life Centers as community facilities, including the recently launched Pauline Beh Digital Hub in Uganda, which provide digital skills, libraries, and psychosocial support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Holistic Scholarship Program Comprehensive scholarship program covering school fees, supplies, uniforms, food baskets, and basic health and wellness services for students from kindergarten through college in garbage dump communities.
• Samaritan Growth Fund Savings and loan group program that empowers parents of scholarship students, particularly single mothers, to start their own businesses and achieve economic independence.
• Learn, Serve, Grow Program Year-long partnership program connecting families, schools, and churches in the United States with scholarship communities abroad, supporting scholars' education and engaging U.S. partners in service.
• Vision Trips Curated humanitarian service trips to Honduras and Kenya that allow supporters to visit garbage dump communities, meet scholarship students and their families, and participate in service activities.
• Samaritan Adventure Book Series Children's book series that tells the real stories of scholarship students overcoming hardship in garbage dump communities, designed to expand children's worldviews while raising funds for the mission.
• Safe Water and Safe Spaces Initiative that brings clean water infrastructure and safe community meeting places to settlements adjacent to garbage dumps that struggle with sanitation challenges and violence.
• Family Life Centers Community centers that provide digital hubs, libraries, psychosocial support, and practical life skills training to young people living in garbage dump communities.
• Pauline Beh Digital Hub Digital hub at the Samaritan Family Life Centre in Kiteezi, Uganda, providing a library and computer section with digital skills, research tools, and global connectivity to young people in the community.
• Monthly Giving Program Recurring donation subscription program in which monthly supporters provide ongoing support covering tuition, school uniforms, supplies, food baskets, and basic health and wellness services for scholarship students.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Trinity HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024Partnership takes Trinity Health doctors and residents to Ethiopia for medical service trips, providing healthcare support to garbage dump communities while offering medical professionals hands-on humanitarian experience.
• St. John's Jesuit High School (Toledo)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe founding school partner - students from St. John's Jesuit have been returning annually since the early 1990s to serve garbage dump communities in Guatemala, establishing the model's foundation.
• University of Detroit Jesuit High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partner school participating in Learn, Serve, Grow program and vision trips, with students spending winter breaks learning and serving in Jamaica and Honduras.
• University of Toledo Honors StudentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHonors students maintaining a 10-year partnership with International Samaritan, participating in service trips and fundraising efforts.
• Detroit Lions PlayerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFL player joined friends on a service trip to Honduras, bringing visibility and celebrity support to the organization's mission.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/InternationalSamaritan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-samaritan
• Instagraminstagram.com/intsamaritan
• Xx.com/intsamaritan

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Samaritan