7 Things to Know about The Borgen Project

1. The Borgen Project has a long history of success. With more than 17 years of experience advocating for the world’s poor, the organization has a substantial track record of results. For example, during a five-year period four of the bills that The Borgen Project advocated for were signed into law. Collectively, these bills — the Water for the World Act, the Global Food Security Act, the Electrify Africa Act and the READ Act — have reached at least 165 million individuals in developing countries.
2. Our esteemed Board of Directors provides strategic leadership, governance and works to build the organization’s resources. This is just one example of The Borgen Project’s commitment to transparency and accountability at every level of the organization. Speaking of transparency, The Borgen Project publicly shares its financial data and our annual IRS 990 filings on our site’s financial page. This isn’t a requirement, but we do it to be as straightforward as possible.
3. Our donors have confidence in our innovative approach to advocacy. Although The Borgen Project is one of the most politically influential humanitarian groups and operates with volunteers in more than 2,000 cities, behind the scenes there are only 5 full-time staffers and more than a dozen part-time staffers. By comparison, many similar organizations operate with several hundred staff members. It’s also worth noting that the Founder of The Borgen Project didn’t draw a salary for the first decade of the organization’s existence.
4. Clint Borgen founded The Borgen Project after volunteering in refugee camps in Kosovo. Learn more about Clint’s story from his 2020 C-SPAN segment.
5. The Borgen Project is a national campaign with volunteers in all 50 states and supporters across the globe. In addition to teaching basic advocacy skills, we help to create a more engaged and informed public through our online publications — the Blog and BORGEN Magazine — and mobilize people worldwide behind efforts to make poverty reduction a political priority.
6. The Borgen Project is delivering justice for the world’s poor by working with U.S. Congressional leaders. Every year, The Borgen Project meets with around 90% of the Senate and a majority of the House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees. Our impressive grassroots network of volunteers helps us to gain considerably high Congressional visibility year after year.
7. Our internship programs offer a front-row seat to policymaking. Past successful interns have gone on to careers with USAID, the FBI and the Peace Corps.

It’s easier than you think to join the fight to end poverty. One of the most simple (but effective) ways to become an advocate and amplify voices from the global south is to call or write Congress. Congressional leaders often support poverty-reduction legislation when as few as 7-10 people in their district contact them in support of it. You can check out 29 more ways to get involved here.