About the Firm

who we are

COPE-USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was incorporated in Virginia in 1999 to perform international humanitarian work. The idea for the organization emerged in a Kurdish refugee camp in southern Turkey in the aftermath of the First Gulf War.

what we do

We build sustainable, indigenous capabilities to solve problems at home and in emerging democracies, where resources are few and people are vulnerable.

philosophy

We do not dwell on philosophy. We do not have an agenda except accomplishing program objectives. We develop and implement practical, feasible, sustainable, long-term solutions to real problems in the developing world and in the USA. Our perspective is that people are inherently capable of handling their own problems if they have a practical means (capability), a feasible way to apply the capability (opportunity), and a viable way of sustaining themselves (typically, long-term, paid employment). Our role is to create the opportunities, develop the means and methods, guide and implement efforts, and leave a self-sustaining capability in place when people can handle it all without us. We are always at the end of the phone or a plane ride away if needed, but success is defined as leaving in place a long-term, self-sustaining capability.

our model

One size does not fit all but our model works pretty well for a broad range of needs and issues, from construction to applied medical research. We design and adjust the program to fit reality and the situation and to accomplish the program objectives. Basically, we think that if people can obtain the skills, education, and training necessary to address the problems they confront, and can then earn a living by applying what they learned, they will ratchet themselves out of poverty and the issues that hinder their community or their country will be reduced. That is why we do not think training is enough. Trained people will migrate to any job that enables them to support themselves and their families, so we align training and education with long-term employment. We "graduate" people into real jobs. Sometimes we find the jobs, and sometimes we build a company that is owned and run by local or indigenous people to create the jobs. Viable, profitable, long-term employment at the end of training is probably the best way to keep trained people in the field for which they were trained, and provide the services that their communities and country need.