Because land access remains the single greatest barrier for the next generation of young agriculturalists, we are proud to have provided in-depth, one-on-one technical assistance to 27 farmers this year, guiding them through the complex legal and financial hurdles of securing land. To scale this impact, we have developed a Program Guidebook that allows other organizations to build similar programs utilizing our learned expertise in navigating this complex and taxing process. As we look toward 2026, we are excited to expand our regional partnerships and offer a replicable model that pairs deep technical knowledge with the personalized coaching necessary for long-term farming success.

At Growing Gardens resilience isn't individual, it's collective. This year, it looked like families growing food through hardship, students finding joy in school gardens and adults in correctional facilities discovering purpose through the soil. Together, we're not just growing food, we are transforming the system that determines who has access to it. 

 We included a new program, Nutrition Inside, into our Lettuce Grow program where we have recovered and delivered over 70,000 pounds of fresh food to Oregon Correctional Facilities. 

 Our Greenhouse project kept on growing this year. We installed the 1st greenhouse at OSP (Oregon State Penitentiary). In addition build 5 greenhouses that are located in a decentralized model spread across the city to increase food access and sovereignty. 

 Our amazing educators in our Youth Grow program developed and delivered over 2000 fresh cafeteria tastings with our 10 school partners. 

 The Home Gardens program responded quickly and respectfully with our community to offer more fresh food access through a year-end fill your party event with local farmers.  

The Coalition to Advance Food Equity (CAFE) bulk food sourcing pilot demonstrated that when nonprofits work together, they can weather the hardest storms. By coordinating shared labor and bulk purchasing, our partners at Lift Urban Portland, who lead CAFE, successfully kept shelves stocked for member agencies during the critical gap created by the government shutdown and withholding of SNAP benefits. This collective energy led to an expanded strategic partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. What began as an agreement to purchase at cost has blossomed into a stream of in-kind donations benefiting the wider coalition. With these initial wins, CAFE is moving into its next phase: shifting from emergency response to actively rebuilding local food systems for lasting equity and resilience.

In fall 2025, OCF learned that the federal government shutdown would seriously impact 757,000 Oregonians dependent on SNAP food benefits, sending demand at food pantries sharply upward and leaving many families unsure where their next meal would come from. In a matter of weeks, OCF supporters responded with extraordinary generosity. Millions of dollars poured into hunger relief efforts! Gifts came through OCF’s Stronger Together Fund alongside other donations, and this support helped nonprofits and food pantries with food assistance including fresh produce, emergency food boxes, and culturally specific foods for families across Oregon.  

2025 was an amazing year of seeing thousands of precious lives changed. One of the most exciting highlights of 2025 was seeing dozens of graduates of the Overcomer Scholarship Program return from their universities to their villages and immediately begin helping the suffering around them. For example in Liberia, West Africa, one nursing graduate is helping abandoned and neglected children of drug addicts. Another education graduate is leading a school in the jungle for hundreds of children who have never been given the opportunity to learn how to read and write. A third graduate returned to the slum he grew up in and is helping provide food and medical care to children on the streets. These are just three examples among dozens more we can celebrate!

Pan-African Surgical Conference: Celebrating Partnership, Empowering Local Leadership

Africa is facing a critical shortage of surgical care providers—with over 6 million more needed by 2030. In response, Operation Smile and our partners proudly supported the inaugural Pan-African Surgical Conference, a groundbreaking event created by and for the continent’s surgical community.

Held in Kigali, Rwanda, and co-organized with the Rwanda Surgical Society, the University of Rwanda, and the Ministry of Health, the conference brought together 500+ delegates, 300+ surgeons, and 30+ speakers from across Africa and around the world. Over seven days of expert panels, interactive sessions, and collaborative workshops, participants focused on building resilient and sustainable plastic and reconstructive surgical systems in Africa.

This milestone gathering reflected the power of locally led innovation, globally supported collaboration, and a shared commitment to ensuring that every district has access to safe surgical care. Many presenters were graduates of fellowships and training programs supported by Operation Smile—now leading efforts to train the next generation of surgical providers.

Together, we are strengthening the future of surgery in Africa, one partnership—and one surgeon—at a time.

Learn more: panafricansurgicalconference.com

The GlobalGiving Hurricane Helene Relief Fund has been instrumental in providing both immediate and long-term assistance to underfunded and overlooked communities devastated by the storm. The fund has supported community-based response and recovery across multiple states, including the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, supplying essential resources in the early response phase and long-term support for those recovering in close partnership with organizations like MANNA Food Bank of Asheville and the Housing Collaborative of North Carolina. Donations to the Fund have collectively enabled GlobalGiving to address the evolving needs of affected communities, ensuring sustained support throughout the recovery process.

The GlobalGiving Middle East Crisis Relief Fund has provided rapid and sustained support to community-based organizations serving millions of people in Gaza, Lebanon, and neighboring countries. Through this fund, essential emergency aid—including food, clean water, medical supplies, and shelter—has been delivered to communities in dire need. Anera, just one of the fund's partners, has distributed over 14 million meals and nearly 30,000 hygiene kits to Palestinians across Gaza. GlobalGiving remains committed to addressing diverse needs, including mental health services and long-term recovery initiatives, aiming to alleviate the suffering of displaced families through direct support to local-led response.

In 2024, Centurion freed its 71st innocent client, Jose Carrion, from prison in the Bronx, NY; Mr. Carrion spent 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. On August 1, he was released into the loving arms of his family and is working on rebuilding his life post-release, including marrying his high school sweetheart in December of 2024. We are currently working on behalf of 20 innocent individuals who remain wrongfully imprisoned.

 Continuing our efforts to help the community we serve, identify and manage the PTSD they experience as a result of their wrongful incarceration, Centurion hosted its 3rd Annual Exoneree Retreat in April of 2024. We gathered 21 freed clients to spend 3 days in Princeton, NJ to work with practitioners in a variety of modalities that are proven to help people manage PTSD. We look forward to our 4th Annual Retreat in April of this year.

Finally, Centurion Founder Jim McCloskey, and Board Member John Grisham released their NY Times best selling book, Framed, highlighting 10 stories of wrongful conviction, and shining a much needed light on the crisis of wrongful conviction across the country.

We are a team of volunteers who travel to Guatemala annually and provide free medical care to the citizens. Half of our volunteers are medical professionals, including general practitioners, surgeons, dentists, and nurses. The other half, “Helpers,” serve as translators and assist the medical professionals.

For one week a year, we take over a school or military base that we turn into a temporary hospital, as we go more remotely into areas where there are no hospitals. While there, we will see about 1,000 patients in the clinic for wellness checkups, general ailments, and dental issues. On average, our surgical staff will perform 135 surgeries, such as gallbladder removals, tubal ligations, and hernias. When the size of our team allows, we also send an outreach team into a local village so people who don’t have access to transportation can see a clinic doctor or a dentist.

In 2024, we did 138 life changing surgeries in 4 1/2 days! We did more gynecological surgeries than any other year and there were quite a few cleft lip/palates and large neck masses.

Rogue Farm Corps is a statewide organization, reaching 15 counties through three regional chapters. We train and support beginning farmers and ranchers. In 2024, we served 335 beginning farmers and ranchers. Our newest Regenerative Farming Fellowship program, which provides paid on-farm training for entry-level farmers in the Rogue Valley, produced 14,000 pounds of fresh produce for 3,387 low-income families in Jackson County. RFC envisions a world in which land is deeply cared for, power is equitably shared, and farms, ranches, and the people who work them flourish.