Covenant of Alignment: Institutional Partnerships
Walking Together in Radical Hospitality and Unconditional Safety
Our Invitation to Shared Ministry
At Diakonia Americas and Ekklesia Iwiga, we believe that the staggering crises facing migrating families, displaced individuals, and marginalized communities across the Western Hemisphere cannot be solved in isolation. We actively seek to support, fund, and partner with grassroots shelters, ecumenical ministries, and community organizations who are doing the brave work of front-line relief.
Because we extend the radical hospitality of the altar into crisis environments, any space that operates under our name, receives our non-profit support, or partners with our network must be a true sanctuary. Therefore, our partnerships are built upon a formal Covenant of Alignment.
We do not enter into partnerships lightly, nor do we make assumptions based on good intentions alone. To protect the vulnerable souls in our collective care, all potential partner organizations undergo a structured process of mutual discernment and compliance verification to ensure our core operational standards are mirrored on both sides.
The Pillars of Our Covenant
Before an organization can receive formal support or affiliation with Diakonia Americas, they must demonstrate a verifiable commitment to our three non-negotiable baselines:
1. Absolute Safeguarding (Child Safety): Partners must enforce a strict child protection policy that matches our own. This includes mandatory background checks for all personnel interacting with youth and an unyielding commitment to mandatory reporting protocols.
2. Trauma-Informed, Non-Judgmental Care: Our partners must provide care that mitigates PTSD and acute stress without dogmatic coercion. We do not partner with entities that utilize humanitarian aid as a tool for forced proselytization or those that discriminate based on race, gender, nationality, ability, or LGBTQ+ identity.
3. Preservation of Human Dignity in Media: Partners must fiercely protect the privacy of those they serve. This means adhering to our face-blurring mandates and actively rejecting any public relations or social media practices that treat the systemic trauma of poverty and displacement as "poverty tourism."
Requesting Affiliation or Support
If your organization, shelter, or ministry aligns with this vision and is seeking the pastoral, structural, or financial support of our network, we invite you to begin our process of mutual discernment.
Review Our Standards: Please thoroughly read our public [Child Safety Policy] and [Governance & Ethics Manual].
Submit an Intake Request: Complete our initial Partnership Inquiry Form outlining your mission, current capacity, and specific areas where you seek collaboration.
Discernment & Verification Site Visit: Our leadership team will review your operational workflows, background-check structures, and physical environments to verify compliance with our safety baselines before any formal covenant is signed.