Mission & History

What We Do

IPM accompanies the materially poor and socially marginalized in their struggle for justice and peace. We provide seed money to help small-scale, community-based and democratically governed programs initiate and implement projects by creating personalized partnerships among donors, friends, project coordinators, and participants.

Mission & Vision

Mission Statement

IPM bridges the borders, identities, and realities that so often divide our global community and natural world by accompanying children, women, and youth to nurture partnerships that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice through transformational learning opportunities and sustainable community-based programs.

Vision Statement

In the complex and interdependent world in which we live, IPM provides opportunities & programs—grounded in equity and resiliency–that affirm & promote the inherent human dignity of all persons.

Core Principles

  • Shared Partnership lived out through transformational learning and solidarity where we receive more than we may ever hope to teach or give.
  • Global Awareness of our shared human dignity within an interconnected world community where equity should be guaranteed for all.
  • Personalization by accompanying one another to decolonize philanthropy and utilize our assets and/or privilege in the servant leadership of others.
  • Facilitation of trust-based relationships that build personal capacity and organizational resiliency.
Left to right: Marion Kretzschmar, Paul Strege, Jim Mayer, Bernie Marquardt-Wilde

History of IPM

IPM was founded by returning Lutheran missionaries Jim Mayer, Paul Strege, and others in 1974 as Partners in Mission (PIM). Dissatisfied with the predominant model of mission at the time, PIM began with the belief that mission should be personal and a two-way street. In 1988, PIM changed its name to Christians Linked in Mission (CLM) in recognition of the ecumenical nature of its work. During 2001, CLM moved its international headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio from its original location in St. Louis, Missouri.

In 2002, the organization returned to its roots, changing its name to International Partners in Mission (IPM) to more ably reflect its international and interfaith identity. In the years since IPM’s headquarters relocated to Cleveland, IPM has more than doubled the number of Project Partners with whom it provides funding and technical support, quadrupled our annual operating budget & staff, built a small but growing endowment, expanded our programmatic offerings with a special emphasis on Immersion Experiences, and built a growing regional and indigenous staff presence in El Salvador, India, Italy, and Kenya.

In 2003, IPM’s Immersion Experience Program was created to provide donors and friends with short-term travel opportunities to visit with and learn from IPM’s Project Partners.

Today, IPM continues to build upon its history among both local and global communities. Using the original model set forth by its founders, IPM accompanies the materially poor and socially marginalized in their struggle for justice and peace. IPM provides seed money to help small-scale, community-based and democratically governed programs initiate and implement projects by creating personalized partnerships among donors, friends, project coordinators, and participants.

Please enjoy this video from the early 2000's for a glimpse at how we operated at the time.

Financial Information

IPM is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization. We are pleased to partner with Guidestar to provide our friends and donors with a more complete financial picture of our operations.

If you would like more information on IPM’s financials, you may contact our International Headquarters directly at +1.866.932.4082. IPM’s Annual External Financial Audit is available through the IPM Office. To request a copy please contact Douglas Lonero, Director of Accounting, at [email protected].