Nonprofit’s global review finds family-led development creates lasting pathways out of poverty

More than a decade of evaluations across Africa, Asia, and Latin America found that family-led development is a consistent driver of lasting progress for families experiencing poverty in Unbound’s programs.

Unbound, an international nonprofit founded by lay Catholics and grounded in Catholic social teaching, centers its numerous programs on alleviating poverty by allowing families to identify their own priorities and lead their personal development.

The organization, which is approaching its 45th anniversary in November, helps families remain in charge through direct cash transfers. Since it was established, Unbound has raised $3 billion, $2.5 billion of which has gone directly into families’ bank accounts.

The findings draw from 13 years of evaluations across 16 countries, spanning programs focused on women’s empowerment, education, elder support, leadership development, and community engagement.

The evaluations serve as a way to examine what is working and where the organization can make changes and updates to better serve families.

Just like its programs, the evaluation process is “quite decentralized” with dozens of “local internal evaluators embedded within each…