The Partners Approach

When it comes to changing the world, no one can do it alone. But all too often, the people and institutions working to solve global challenges operate in isolation, leaving community needs unmet and donor dollars underutilized.

At Partners of the Americas, our approach is different. We bring the right mix of players – volunteers, development professionals, governments, businesses, and higher education institutions – to the table in order to match resources, knowledge and passion to need. By connecting local organizations to broader funding opportunities and empowering citizens to become agents of change, we develop lasting solutions to our hemisphere’s toughest challenges, together. It’s the simple notion of partnership, and we believe it can change everything.

Partners’ network of chapters across the Americas forms the core of our work. We also welcome individuals, organizations, and higher education institutions as members.

Inspired by President John F. Kennedy and founded in 1964 under the Alliance for Progress, Partners of the Americas is a 501(c) 3 non-profit, non-partisan organization with international offices in Washington, DC.

The Partners Approach

When it comes to changing the world, no one can do it alone. But all too often, the people and institutions working to solve global challenges operate in isolation, leaving community needs unmet and donor dollars underutilized.

At Partners of the Americas, our approach is different. We bring the right mix of players – volunteers, development professionals, governments, businesses, and higher education institutions – to the table in order to match resources, knowledge and passion to need. By connecting local organizations to broader funding opportunities and empowering citizens to become agents of change, we develop lasting solutions to our hemisphere’s toughest challenges, together. It’s the simple notion of partnership, and we believe it can change everything.

Partners’ network of chapters across the Americas forms the core of our work. We also welcome individuals, organizations, and higher education institutions as members.

Inspired by President John F. Kennedy and founded in 1964 under the Alliance for Progress, Partners of the Americas is a 501(c) 3 non-profit, non-partisan organization with international offices in Washington, DC.

Partners of the Americas inspires through our values in:

Service: We serve individuals and groups by empowering them with the tools and resources to learn, grow, and serve their own local communities.
Partnership: We are committed to mutually beneficial relationships that are multicultural, diverse, and built on empathy, respect, and collaboration.
Impact: We strive to maintain long-term results through lasting commitments, deep-rooted local presence, and evidence-based projects that focus on systems-change.

Resilience: We confront societal challenges with strength and adaptability by building the capacity of people, families, and communities to actively respond to adversity.
Respect: We cultivate an environment of respect through a shared leadership that embraces mutual understanding and compassion across inclusive and diverse communities.
Empowerment: We trust in community-led solutions and encourage and inspire citizens to become agents of change.

Sustainability: We recognize the increasing risks posed by human and environmental degradation, especially to already vulnerable communities, and strive to implement programs with a focus on long-term impact, environmental protection and climate change preparedness.

Partners of the Americas inspires through our values in:

Service: We serve individuals and groups by empowering them with the tools and resources to learn, grow, and serve their own local communities.
Partnership: We are committed to mutually beneficial relationships that are multicultural, diverse, and built on empathy, respect, and collaboration.
Impact: We strive to maintain long-term results through lasting commitments, deep-rooted local presence, and evidence-based projects that focus on systems-change.
Resilience: We confront societal challenges with strength and adaptability by building the capacity of people, families, and communities to actively respond to adversity.
Respect: We cultivate an environment of respect through a shared leadership that embraces mutual understanding and compassion across inclusive and diverse communities.
Empowerment: We trust in community-led solutions and encourage and inspire citizens to become agents of change.
Sustainability: We recognize the increasing risks posed by human and environmental degradation, especially to already vulnerable communities, and strive to implement programs with a focus on long-term impact, environmental protection and climate change preparedness.

Why The Americas?

Bound by shared borders, history, culture, and values, the peoples of the Americas are inextricably linked. Today, more than ever, regional collaboration is critical to our shared security and prosperity. We depend on one another for jobs, natural resources and security; Latin America is the fastest-growing trading partner of the U.S., the largest foreign supplier of oil to the U.S., and the largest source of immigrants to the U.S. Over the past several years, the region has experienced dramatic economic progress and growth:

• 70 million Latinos lifted out of poverty in just 10 years
• Free Trade agreements signed at multiple country and regional levels
• Latin America’s population predicted to surpass China’s by 2060

Despite major growth, however, the Americas still face many challenges. Violence, fueled by an international drug trade, is rampant, forcing many to flee home and migrate north. Social inequality plagues many countries, and climate change poses major risks. The effects of these challenges are felt across the hemisphere, but with our combined expertise, resources and leadership, we can address them. Our prosperity depends on one another, and as neighbors, partners and equals, we can achieve far more together than we ever could apart.

Our Legacy

Inspired by President John F. Kennedy, Partners of the Americas was founded in 1964 as the people-to-people component of the Alliance for Progress. The idea behind Partners came from a Foreign Service Officer named Jim Boren, who was stationed in Peru in the early 1960s. To help meet local needs, Boren often recruited groups in his native Texas to fund projects such as digging wells or fixing battered roads. Connecting people across the hemisphere proved an innovative approach to solving problems. Yet, Boren’s model was more than a one-way transfer of assistance from North to South.

After years of service, Boren understood a crucial aspect of effective international partnership: if solutions were to have a lasting impact, locals would have to be involved in the development process—engaged as active participants and not merely recipients of foreign resources and aid. Boren’s vision complemented Kennedy’s approach to Latin America, and thus Partners of the Alliance was established within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The new organization worked to unite volunteers in U.S. states with their counterparts in countries or regions of Latin America.

Emphasizing people-to-people relationships and operating outside of government-to-government diplomacy, Partners of the Alliance soon shifted to the private sector and changed its name to Partners of the Americas. Since then, Partners has endured military conflicts, natural disasters and political upheavals and remains a key presence in communities throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Our Legacy

Inspired by President John F. Kennedy, Partners of the Americas was founded in 1964 as the people-to-people component of the Alliance for Progress. The idea behind Partners came from a Foreign Service Officer named Jim Boren, who was stationed in Peru in the early 1960s. To help meet local needs, Boren often recruited groups in his native Texas to fund projects such as digging wells or fixing battered roads. Connecting people across the hemisphere proved an innovative approach to solving problems. Yet, Boren’s model was more than a one-way transfer of assistance from North to South.

After years of service, Boren understood a crucial aspect of effective international partnership: if solutions were to have a lasting impact, locals would have to be involved in the development process—engaged as active participants and not merely recipients of foreign resources and aid. Boren’s vision complemented Kennedy’s approach to Latin America, and thus Partners of the Alliance was established within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The new organization worked to unite volunteers in U.S. states with their counterparts in countries or regions of Latin America.

Emphasizing people-to-people relationships and operating outside of government-to-government diplomacy, Partners of the Alliance soon shifted to the private sector and changed its name to Partners of the Americas. Since then, Partners has endured military conflicts, natural disasters and political upheavals and remains a key presence in communities throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Executive Board

Aletha R.
Cherry

President

John J.
Burke

Immediate Past President

Caleb C.
Manoah

Acting Secretary

Matthew
Lee, Jr.

Treasurer

The Partners Approach

The Partners Approach

Partners of the Americas inspires through our values in:

Partners of the Americas inspires through our values in:

Why The Americas?

Our Legacy

Our Legacy