True Charity Network

Principles and Policy

Fighting poverty is tough and there should always be healthy discourse about how to do it best.

However, we at True Charity believe that some principles are foundational, and we want all of our members to agree on them.

Statement of Foundational Principles

All people are created equally, in the image of God, and we ought to treat them with dignity and respect. We have a moral obligation to help those in need as best as we can, as per the Biblical mandate to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The causes and nature of poverty are complex and there are no easy answers.
Relief (short-term aid in response to crisis), rehabilitation (restoration to a previous pre-crisis position), and development (advancement to new levels of flourishing) are all different needs that usually require different responses.
The best form of charity is one which is:

Voluntarily Resourced: People giving their own time and money out of a heart of compassion.
Challenge Oriented: Leverages relationship and accountability to challenge recipients to help themselves.
Outcome Driven: Achieves long-term, measurable results.

Organizations should embrace opportunities to work with others to further the goal of resolving all forms of poverty. This includes both networking within their own communities and sharing encouragement and insight with organizations outside of their communities.

Member Policy

True Charity is a subsidiary of Watered Gardens Ministries and holds a Christian worldview. This worldview provides us with the backbone of our philosophy and practice and includes foundational concepts such as the dignity of work, the moral necessity of justice, the sanctity of every human life, and the value of a strong nuclear and extended family.

Because we would like our poverty resolution framework to be understood and practiced broadly, we do not require our network members to agree on issues not directly related to resolving poverty. Consequently, our network members are required to agree to a set of principles, which are essential in the field of poverty resolution (as outlined in our statement of foundational principles). Members are also required to respect True Charity’s statement of faith.

Additionally, our moral framework makes it impossible for us to knowingly support any activities, programs, or organizations which are antithetical to our Christian faith and worldview. We firmly support the freedom that others have to hold and express fundamental beliefs or religious precepts that are contrary to our own. However, as a private organization, it would not be reasonable for us to knowingly advance values and causes contrary to our own moral framework.

Consequently, we reserve the following rights, and will exercise them in as reasonable and considerate a manner as we can.

True Charity reserves the right to deny network membership to either an applicant organization or an existing member organization based on a determination that the member or applicant is not adequately aligned with the values of our faith. (In the event of a dismissal of a member, membership dues would be refunded on a monthly pro-rated basis for each full month remaining in the term of membership.)
True Charity reserves the right to deny certification to organizations whose objectives are in opposition to our core faith values, even if they meet other requirements of certification.
True Charity reserves the right to deny grants and prizes to organizations whose objectives are in opposition to the core values of our faith, even if they meet other requirements of the grant or prize.