LEADERS IN THE FIGHT TO END POVERTY

Since 1980, RESULTS volunteers have secured billions of dollars in new funding for health, education, and economic opportunity programs worldwide. They have helped pass groundbreaking legislation that will help kids in low-income countries go to school and get life-saving medical treatment. They have mobilized against cuts to vital anti-poverty programs that help millions here in the U.S. put food on the table and get health insurance. They have done it all by building relationships with members of Congress, engaging with the media, and taking their message straight to Capitol Hill.

RESULTS Since 1980

6500

0+

face-to-face meetings with members of Congress

16000

0+

pieces of media

168000

0+

meetings and phone conversations with congressional staff

RESULTS Timeline

1980 - 1985
  •  - 

    Our advocacy is central to securing $60 million in funding for oral rehydration therapy, a simple treatment for children who might otherwise die from diarrhea-induced dehydration.

  •  - 

    Volunteers generate 42 editorials nationwide to help save the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

  •  - 

    RESULTS grows to 50 chapters in 33 states.

  •  - 

    Ninety-five volunteers gather in Washington, DC, for the first annual RESULTS conference.

  •  - 

    Fourteen members of Congress attend three forums on ending hunger organized by RESULTS.

  •  - 

    RESULTS’ very first newspaper editorial runs in the Los Angeles Times.

  •  - 

    12 people gather in a living room in Los Angeles to write letters to Congress urging action on global hunger. RESULTS is born.

1986 - 1990
  •  - 

    RESULTS affiliates take shape in Canada, Australia, and the UK.

  •  - 

    RESULTS introduces microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus to Congress and the U.S. media. Our advocacy helps pass the Self-Sufficiency for the Poor Act, a $50 million initiative to provide small loans to the world’s poorest families.

  •  - 

    Volunteers organize candlelight vigils to pressure leaders at the UN World Summit for Children to help stop preventable child and maternal deaths, reduce child malnutrition, and provide universal access to primary education. More than one million people attend vigils in over 75 countries. 

1991-1995
  •  - 

    The World Bank agrees to increase the share of its lending targeted to health, education, and other investments to benefit the very poor after RESULTS gathers support from nearly 1,400 members of Congress and parliamentarians around the world.

  •  - 

    RESULTS launches its campaign focused on ending poverty in America and adds 15 local groups in the first year.

  •  - 

    RESULTS volunteers successfully support Congress to create a special account for global child survival and health programs, expanding these lifesaving efforts and protecting them from future budget cuts. The account receives $300 million of initial funding.

1996-2000
  •  - 

    RESULTS Educational Fund convenes the first global Microcredit Summit and then launches a campaign to reach 100 million of the world’s poorest families with small loans and other financial services.

  •  - 

    Our volunteers begin advocating for tuberculosis funding to address this major cause and consequence of poverty. At the time, the U.S. is contributing less than $1 million annually to fight TB worldwide.

  •  - 

    RESULTS volunteers help push Congress to increase funding for Head Start programs by $933 million and Food Stamps (now SNAP) by $1.6 billion.

2001-2005
  •  - 

    RESULTS is pivotal to expanding the Child Tax Credit to low-income families, lifting 500,000 American children out of poverty.

  •  - 

    RESULTS volunteers work with Congress to successfully pressure the World Bank to reverse its policy of supporting primary school fees in developing countries.

  •  - 

    Following a major advocacy push, Congress commits $550 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

  •  - 

    RESULTS works with Congress to pass a new bill to ensure that half of all microenterprise funding reaches the very poor, mandating better measurement tools so we know if the poorest are benefitting.

  •  - 

    RESULTS helps protect critical policies governing Head Start so that comprehensive services — from education programs to dental screenings — continue for millions.

  •  - 

    RESULTS Educational Fund and its global partners launch ACTION, a partnership of advocacy organizations across five continents fighting diseases of poverty.

  •  - 

    RESULTS helps craft critical provisions to eliminate school fees and other barriers to education as part of legislation to protect orphans and vulnerable children in developing countries. The bill becomes U.S. law in November 2005.

2006 - 2010
  •  - 

    The Microcredit Summit Campaign achieves its goal of reaching 100 million of the world’s poorest families with microfinance loans and other key services.

  •  - 

    RESULTS volunteers secure dozens of cosponsors for the Stop TB Now Act, which is eventually incorporated into the historic Lantos-Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act. The legislation sets bold targets and reinvigorates U.S. support for all three diseases.

  •  - 

    RESULTS helps expand the domestic Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover 4.1 million additional American kids. 

  •  - 

    Working with congressional allies, RESULTS helps boost annual U.S. funding for TB to a record $225 million.

2011-2015
  •  - 

    U.S. funding for child survival and nutrition programs passes the $700 million mark.

  •  - 

    Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus accepts the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC, citing RESULTS as having “built up tremendous momentum” for the microfinance movement.

  •  - 

    RESULTS plays a critical role in stopping proposals that would have slashed SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) funding and removed four million people from the program.

  •  - 

    RESULTS volunteers are instrumental in securing a landmark U.S. commitment of up to $5 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

  •  - 

    RESULTS volunteers successfully pressure the U.S. government to more than double its annual contribution to the Global Partnership for Education to help the poorest countries get all of their kids in school. 

  •  - 

    On its 10th anniversary, ACTION has grown to include 11 partners on five continents. Together they have helped mobilize billions of dollars for global health and nutrition.

  •  - 

    The Microcredit Summit Campaign secures its 65th commitment from international organizations and governments to help end extreme poverty, lifting more than 150 million people above the poverty line.

  •  - 

    Working with our ACTION partners worldwide, RESULTS Educational Fund helps Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, exceed its global goal of raising $7.5 billion from donor governments and others. The funding will support developing countries to save the lives of more than five million children.

  •  - 

    Through 225 meetings with members of Congress and 145 media pieces, RESULTS volunteers play a key role in Congress finally making permanent crucial provisions of pro-work tax credits that raise roughly 16 million people above or closer to the poverty line. This is one of the biggest anti-poverty legislative victories in twenty years.

2016-2020
  •  - 

    RESULTS launches the Right to Education Index (RTEI), a groundbreaking global report card that aims to ensure that all people, no matter where they live, are able to enjoy their right to a quality education.

  •  - 

    The READ Act was signed into law after years of persistent efforts by RESULTS volunteers and partners around the country. This legislation ensures that U.S. investments in global basic education are having the greatest impact, while also advancing quality education services for children affected by conflict and emergencies. 

  •  - 

    With Medicaid under dire threat, RESULTS volunteers fought back with more than 250 pieces of media, hundreds of meetings with Congress, and thousands of calls, letters, and emails. Their work paid off — the plan to gut Medicaid failed in the Senate.

  •  - 

    From an op-ed in The Washington Post to an intensive storytelling workshop with The Moth in New York City, RESULTS’ Experts on Poverty are raising their voices and influencing policy discussions at the highest levels.

  •  - 

    The UN holds its very first high-level meeting on TB after decades of advocacy by RESULTS advocates and partners in the United States and around the world.  Global leaders pledge to reach 40 million people with treatment by 2022 and secure $13 billion in annual funding. 

For 20 years, RESULTS hosted the Microcredit Summit Campaign, which helped drive the massive scale-up of access to microfinance for people in poverty, while identifying innovative pathways to transformative financial and social inclusion. Learn more!

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