What Misean Cara does

Misean Cara is an Irish charitable organization, incorporated in January 2004 as a Company Limited by Guarantee (Company No. 381117; Charity No. 20055325; Revenue CHY No. 15772) and headquartered at Callaghan House, 13–16 Dame Street, Dublin 2. The organization functions as an intermediary funder and capacity-builder for 77 Irish and international missionary congregations, channelling donations and grants — primarily from Irish Aid (the Irish government's Department of Foreign Affairs development programme), supplemented by individual donations, major gifts, legacy bequests, corporate partnerships and foundation grants (notably GHR Foundation and ElectricAid) — into development and humanitarian projects implemented by member organizations across more than 40 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

In 2024 Misean Cara distributed €13.8 million across 344 projects in sectors spanning Education (€4.97M), Health (€3.37M), Sustainable Livelihoods (€2.50M), Human Rights & Advocacy (€2.06M), Emergency Assistance (€0.63M) and Member Capacity Development (€0.27M), reaching approximately 1.13 million beneficiaries according to its own impact reporting. Service delivery is organized around five core programmes (Education, Health, Sustainable Livelihoods, Human Rights & Advocacy, Humanitarian & Emergency Response) plus Member Capacity Development, and increasingly around branded initiatives such as the 2023–2026 Children with Disabilities Programme and the May 2024 SafeBirth4All coalition campaign aimed at eradicating obstetric fistula by 2040.

Operationally, Misean Cara runs a small Dublin-based secretariat of roughly 24 staff positions covering funding management, learning and capacity strengthening, donor engagement, safeguarding, finance, communications, grants administration, and four regional Development Mentors (Latin America, West Africa, Eastern Africa, Southern Africa). Its technology footprint is standard non-profit infrastructure — WordPress on WP-Engine, a Salesforce CRM administered in-house, Stripe and PayPal for donation processing, MailChimp for the MissionAid newsletter, Vimeo/YouTube for video, Google Analytics, Cloudflare, and Cookiebot — with no proprietary technology products or AI/ML capabilities. Governance is exercised through a Board elected by the 77 member organizations, and the organization holds 2025 Charities Institute Ireland Triple Lock status, Dóchas Safeguarding Charter and Ethical Communications signatory status, and an NGOsource Equivalency Determination.

Name

Misean Cara

Legal name

Misean Cara

Website

https://miseancara.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Misean Cara is an Irish charitable intermediary that funds and builds capacity for 77 missionary member organizations delivering international development and humanitarian projects across 40+ countries, distributing €13.8M in 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development and Humanitarian Aid

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF)

Keywords

• International development funding
• Humanitarian assistance programmes
• Missionary capacity building
• Charitable grant management
• Community development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin 2

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: Primary funding from Irish Aid (Department of Foreign Affairs), which provides ongoing programmatic support for missionary development work across education, health, livelihoods, human rights and emergency assistance sectors
2. Individual Donations: Online donations from individual supporters through the website, supporting general organizational operations and specific project appeals
3. Major Gifts & Philanthropy: Large-scale donations from high-net-worth individuals and philanthropists, with current focus on Girls' Education initiatives and specific project support
4. Legacy Giving: Bequests and legacy gifts left in supporters' wills to provide long-term sustainable funding for organizational mission
5. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsorships and charity partnerships including payroll giving, staff fundraising, project sponsorship, and specific need funding aligned with company ethos in health, education, human rights, livelihoods, and climate response
6. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations including GHR Foundation for specific programs such as the Children with Disabilities Programme, and other charitable trusts

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Misean Cara raises and distributes charitable funding on behalf of 77 member missionary organisations delivering international development and humanitarian projects. It combines grant-making, capacity strengthening, monitoring and results measurement, and accompaniment support to members running projects in education, health, sustainable livelihoods, human rights, and emergency response across more than 40 countries in the Global South.

Product overview

Misean Cara is a non-profit charitable organization that supports Irish and international missionary organizations working in international development. The organization does not offer a single unified product but rather provides a portfolio of services and programmes including funding support, capacity development, and accompaniment for member organizations. Core programming areas include Education, Health, Sustainable Livelihoods, Human Rights & Advocacy, and Humanitarian & Emergency Response. Additional initiatives include the SafeBirth4All Campaign, Children with Disabilities Programme, and Climate Action Awards. The organization also produces Learning Briefs, Research Reports, and Policy Briefs as knowledge resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SafeBirth4All: A campaign to raise awareness about obstetric fistula and work to eradicate it through prevention and treatment by 2040. A coalition of Misean Cara, Medical Missionaries of Mary, Association of Leaders of Missionaries & Religious of Ireland (AMRI), and Geneva for Human Rights.

Products and services

• Education Programme
• Health Programme
• Sustainable Livelihoods Programme
• Human Rights & Advocacy Programme
• Humanitarian & Emergency Response
• Member Capacity Development
• SafeBirth4All Campaign
• Children with Disabilities Programme
• Climate Action Awards

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.13 million lives transformed in 2024
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint partnership in the SafeBirth4All campaign to prevent and eradicate obstetric fistula in developing countries. Campaign launched in Ireland in May 2024, aiming to raise awareness and support treatment and rehabilitation efforts.
• Association of Leaders of Missionaries & Religious of Ireland (AMRI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Coalition partner in SafeBirth4All campaign alongside Misean Cara and Medical Missionaries of Mary, providing leadership and advocacy for preventing obstetric fistula globally.
• Geneva for Human RightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024International human rights organization partnering in SafeBirth4All campaign coalition, contributing advocacy expertise and global reach for obstetric fistula prevention and treatment efforts.
• Catholic Care for Children InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partner in Children with Disabilities Programme, working with Misean Cara and GHR Foundation to advance disability inclusion and family-based care reform across African member projects.
• DóchascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIrish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations. Misean Cara is a signatory to Dóchas Safeguarding Charter and Guide to Ethical Communications, demonstrating commitment to sector standards.
• Charities Institute IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOversight body for Irish charities. Misean Cara holds Triple Lock status (governance, fundraising, financial management) and participates in Charity Excellence Awards programme.
• NGOsourceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization providing equivalency determination services. Misean Cara has NGO Source Equivalency Determination on File, facilitating cross-border charitable giving.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Self Help Africa: Irish INGO focused on sustainable livelihoods and smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Directly comparable — Misean Cara's CEO John Moffett was previously Programme Director at Self Help Africa, and the organizations share Irish Aid funding and African geographic focus.
• Trócaire: Irish Catholic INGO funded by Irish Aid working in international development across education, health, livelihoods, human rights, and emergency response. Most comparable peer given shared Irish Catholic identity, Irish Aid funding, similar sectoral focus, and prior employment pipeline between the two organizations.
• Concern Worldwide: Major Irish INGO operating in emergency response, education, health, and livelihoods across the Global South. Comparable as another Irish government and donor-funded development organization with overlapping programmatic areas and shared senior leadership pipeline.
• Tearfund Ireland: Irish Christian relief and development agency working through local partners in the Global South. Comparable faith-based INGO model with similar reliance on individual donors, institutional funders, and partner-implemented project delivery.
• CAFOD (Catholic Fund for Overseas Development): UK-based Catholic development agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, funding long-term development and emergency response. Closely comparable as a Catholic faith-based INGO distributing grants through partner organizations across education, health, livelihoods, and rights.
• World Vision Ireland: Irish affiliate of the large faith-based international child-focused development and humanitarian organization. Comparable in faith-based positioning, donor-funded project model, and similar sectoral programming across education, health, livelihoods, and child protection.

Others

• Dóchas: Irish umbrella association of development NGOs and humanitarian organizations. Misean Cara is a member and signatory of Dóchas Safeguarding Charter and Code of Ethical Communications; the two are comparable as sector infrastructure rather than direct programmatic peers.
• Irish Aid (Department of Foreign Affairs): Irish government's overseas development cooperation programme and Misean Cara's primary institutional funder. Not a peer but a key counterparty whose funding decisions directly determine Misean Cara's grantmaking capacity.

Broad incumbents

• Oxfam Ireland: Irish office of the large global Oxfam federation working on poverty, inequality, and humanitarian response. Comparable as a large Irish-headquartered development INGO with overlapping programmatic areas but a much broader secular scale and reach.

Emerging players

• Viatores Christi: Irish Catholic overseas volunteer sending agency. Adjacent and partially comparable given shared faith-based identity and Irish missionary heritage, though its model focuses on volunteer placement rather than project grantmaking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MiseanCaraIreland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/misean-cara
• Instagraminstagram.com/miseancara

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Misean Cara