Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief organization that had a remarkable success story to tell before consulting ESC for an organizational checkup on its rapidly expanding operations.
“The guided organizational assessment provided a useful framework to assess what we need to address going forward,” said Rod Brooks, president and CEO of Stop Hunger Now. “I’m confident it will greatly enhance our effectiveness.”
A fascinating story, the organization was founded in Raleigh in 1998 and now has branches in 20 American cities and four foreign countries. Stop Hunger Now’s stated mission is to end hunger in our lifetime, and it concentrates on chronic malnutrition and disaster relief needs, partnering with a network of organizations that now reaches into 40 nations. Brooks said Stop Hunger Now has been growing at a rate of 57 percent a year over the past eight years, which has been “an incredible time for us.”
The Stop Hunger Now staff has grown from five people in 2006 to about 100 full-time and part-time staff now. Managing that magnitude of growth would be a major challenge for any organization.
The Assessment Process
The Stop Hunger Now Board of Directors asked ESC for its advice, and a team of three consultants went to work early in 2014 to provide a guided organizational assessment. ESC uses a survey consisting of 131 questions as part of its assessment process. Brooks said that the ESC consultants were knowledgeable, experienced and efficient.
“The effort was enhanced by the skills of the ESC consultants,” Brooks said. “I certainly would recommend ESC to other organizations.”
The ESC team made nine recommendations regarding auditing, management of local advisory boards, a three-year strategic plan and other fronts.
“They helped us prioritize what we need to be doing to strengthen our organization,” Brooks said.
Hunger Relief Work Continuing
A meal-packaging program created by Stop Hunger Now in 2005 is the central part of its hunger relief work now. The packages include rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and flavoring in small packets. Each meal costs 29 cents and has a shelf life of two years.
“It is a direct, hands-on way to fight hunger,” Brooks said. “You do a lot more than write a check – although we hope for that, too, as people understand the sustainable development we are also doing.”
The Stop Hunger Now statistics on the meal program include that, worldwide, more than 500,000 volunteers have contributed to the packaging of nearly 172 million meals distributed in 65 nations.