Mentors is a non-profit organization that provides business training, mentoring and microlending to poor entrepreneurs in developing nations with seven partner organizations.  Since 1990, Mentors has blessed the lives of over 1.1 million individuals through the miracle of microcredit and mentoring. 

Mentors' seven partner organizations in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the Philippines and Peru offer basic business training, personalized consulting, mentoring and small loans to those who have the desire to improve their family's standard of living through entrepreneurship and self-employment.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." --Lao Tzu

Enterprise Mentors adds: "Motivate him to teach others to fish and you feed a nation."

In the 1980’s, St. Louis businessman Menlo Smith’s life changed when he moved to the Philippines for three years.  As Smith worked in the area his eyes were opened to the tremendous load carried by those who have so little.  He returned home a few years later determined to find a proactive way to lift poor entrepreneurs from poverty.   

Smith soon joined with Warner P. Woodworth of the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University and businessman Steven H. Mann, who had experience in international training, to put the process in motion.  Together, they organized a group of graduate students to study opportunities and develop networking contacts in the Philippines.  A strategic planning team met in Manila in September 1989 and concluded that the poor in the country could best be served by a self-help program offering microenterprise training, mentoring and microcredit.   

By January 1990, Enterprise Mentors International (Mentors) was formed and its first partner organization, the Philippines Enterprise Development Foundation (PEDF) was organized in Manila with a local board of volunteer directors and a small staff.  By 1996, PEDF’s organization was completely self sufficient and no longer dependent upon financial assistance from Mentors. 

Today Mentors, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) foundation, has established seven partner foundations in the Philippines, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Peru.    

Through this time, all of Mentors' own administrative and fundraising expenses have been covered by the generosity of the board of directors. This has allowed all other contributions to benefit the programs directly.   

Menlo Smith’s life changed over 20 years ago.  Since that time, his powerful vision of giving the impoverished a hand up instead of a hand out has influenced the lives of over 19,000 families.  Imagine the impact! 

Do you work for this organization? Click here to claim your profile.