What Crossing Borders does

Crossing Borders is a 501(c)(3) faith-based non-profit organization founded in 2003 in Glenview, Illinois, dedicated to serving North Korean refugees who cross the border into China for food and medical assistance. The organization operates a portfolio of humanitarian programs including Refugee Care (providing safety, spiritual counseling, medical care, financial assistance, micro loans, and an "Underground Railroad" transit pathway to South Korea), Orphan Care (a group home and family support program that was retired around 2022 as children reached adulthood), Elim House (a shelter for abused North Korean women in South Korea opened July 2020), and Elim Community (a post-arrival support program). The organization also generates content offerings including books, podcasts, and documentary video series to raise awareness.

The organization's core operational model is a distributed safe house network of small homes and apartments scattered across Northeast China, architected for operational security against Chinese authorities rather than centralized facility-based care. Service delivery is carried out by missionaries overseeing local Korean-Chinese workers, with US-based staff making regular visits. Programmatically, the organization emphasizes a "teach them how to fish" approach to self-sufficiency, avoiding dependency-creating aid models. The organization is ECFA accredited and holds 501(c)(3) status (EIN: 20-1607748).

Commercially, Crossing Borders is donation-funded with no commercial pricing model. Revenue streams include voluntary contributions from individuals, churches, and organizations (including monthly donor programs and program-specific funding), earned revenue from book and merchandise sales, and annual report-driven donor engagement. Go-to-market is community- and event-driven: the organization speaks at approximately 25 churches and conferences annually, reaching over 3,000 people, and maintains local chapters at Northwestern University, Wheaton College, and Los Angeles. The leadership team is led by Executive Director Dan Chung, author of 'A Hard Freedom.' The beneficiary population includes the estimated 200,000 North Korean refugees still in hiding in China, with 70% being women and 80% of women having been trafficked.

Name

Crossing Borders

Legal name

Crossing Borders

Website

https://crossingbordersnk.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Crossing Borders is a 501(c)(3) faith-based non-profit founded in 2003 that provides safety, medical care, counseling, and shelter to North Korean refugees in China and South Korea through a distributed safe house network and the Elim House women's shelter.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Community Housing Services (62422), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Refugee & Migrant Integration Enterprises (Livelihoods, Services) (BPAGALAN)

Keywords

• Refugee humanitarian assistance
• Faith-based nonprofit services
• Refugee resettlement support
• Humanitarian aid programs
• North Korea relief work

Headquarters

HQ city

Glenview

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit funded primarily through charitable donations from individuals, churches, and organizations. They accept general donations as well as specific program support.
2. Merchandise and Publications: Crossing Borders sells books (including 'A Hard Freedom' by Dan Chung, Executive Director) and merchandise through their online store to generate revenue.
3. Annual Report Distribution: They publish and distribute annual reports, which serve as both accountability documents and engagement tools for supporters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Crossing Borders is a 501(c)(3) faith-based non-profit that delivers humanitarian services to North Korean refugees who flee across the border into China. Its core offerings include refugee care (safety, spiritual counseling, medical care, financial assistance, micro loans, and Underground Railroad transit to South Korea), orphan care for stateless children of North Korean mothers, and Elim House — a shelter for abused North Korean women in South Korea. The organization also publishes books and produces media content (podcast, documentary video series) to raise awareness about the North Korean refugee crisis and generate donations.

Product overview

Crossing Borders is a 501(c)(3) faith-based nonprofit organization that operates a portfolio of humanitarian programs for North Korean refugees and their children in China and South Korea. Core services include Refugee Care (providing safety, counseling, medical care, and micro loans), Orphan Care (supporting children through group homes and family support programs), and Elim House (a shelter for abused North Korean women in South Korea opened in 2020). The organization also publishes books and produces media content including documentary videos and podcasts to raise awareness about the refugee crisis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Elim House: A shelter for abused North Korean women in South Korea, opened in July 2020
• Elim Community
• The Modern Day Underground Railroad

Products and services

• Refugee Care

Quantifiable outcome

• Refugees report feeling healthier and safer as a direct result of Crossing Borders' work
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ethnic-Korean Churches in Northeast ChinacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrossing Borders partners with Korean churches in Northeast China to find and identify North Korean refugees. When a partnering church identifies a North Korean, they call Crossing Borders and they work together to care for these refugees. Northeast China has approximately 2 million ethnic Koreans who own businesses and live in certain neighborhoods together.
• MPAKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMPAK is mentioned in a video about adopting North Korean children. Steve Morrison of MPAK was interviewed about the possibility of adopting North Korean orphans.
• ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability)minorOthersCrossing Borders is ECFA accredited, indicating financial accountability standards.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Compassion International: A faith-based child sponsorship non-profit providing holistic support to children in poverty globally, with sponsorship model and donor engagement approach similar to Crossing Borders' fundraising.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): One of the largest global refugee resettlement and humanitarian aid organizations, comparable mission to Crossing Borders in serving displaced populations but with international scope and institutional scale.
• Mercy Corps: A major global humanitarian organization delivering emergency relief and development programs in fragile states, comparable in mission but operating at vastly larger scale than Crossing Borders.
• World Vision International: A large international humanitarian organization running child-focused programs globally, with faith-based orientation similar to Crossing Borders and overlap in serving refugees and vulnerable families.
• Refugee International: An advocacy and policy-focused refugee organization generating reports and influencing donor/government responses to displacement crises — comparable mission in advocating for refugee populations.

Direct peers

• Liberty in North Korea (LiNK): A U.S.-based non-profit dedicated to supporting North Korean refugees through rescue, resettlement, and media advocacy programs — the closest direct peer given overlapping beneficiary population, mission, and fundraising approach.
• Korean American Sharing Movement (KASM): A non-profit serving North Korean refugees in China with shelter, education, and resettlement support, sharing Crossing Borders' faith-based orientation and beneficiary segments.
• Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR): A South Korea-based NGO focused on protecting North Korean refugees' human rights, providing documentation, advocacy, and resettlement support comparable to Crossing Borders' mission.
• Durihana Mission: Faith-based organization operating safe houses and Underground Railroad routes for North Korean defectors in China, with comparable operational model and target population as Crossing Borders.

Emerging players

• Open Doors USA: A faith-based organization supporting persecuted Christians including in North Korea, with overlapping advocacy and donor constituencies with Crossing Borders' faith-based refugee support work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CB_NK

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Crossing Borders