Hope by Design

Annual Report 2020

Our 2020 Annual Report is entitled ‘Hope by Design’. This title speaks to EMI Canada’s ‘what’ and - most importantly - our ‘why’, and I’m passionate about both.

Since our founding in 2002, our ‘what’ has been serving as a strategic partner to Christian ministries around the world, providing professional design services for capital projects that multiply the capacity and impact of each ministry we serve. Our ‘why’ is simple yet profound: hope. As followers of Christ, we have access to great and unshakeable hope, and we’ve been commissioned to share that hope with others.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." [Hebrews 10:23]

At EMI, we share hope through the medium of design. We know that gospel hope can come alive in schools, hospitals, camps, churches, and community centres; and that these facilities should be appropriately, safely, and sustainably designed and constructed. Over and over again, we hear stories of how God uses places in his work of restoring hope to individuals, families, and communities.

As the calendar turned to January 2020, who could have predicted the year that would unfold? In early March, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold around the world in earnest, we cancelled a project trip destined for Uganda, and began the process of adapting to our new reality. The challenges loomed large: restrictions on international travel and in-person gatherings, decreased revenue streams, and managing a staff team working from home.

In this 2020 Annual Report, you’ll see how EMI Canada continued to design a world of hope in the midst of these challenges. By reimagining how we could serve partner ministries, leveraging technology, modifying project scopes, and capitalizing on collaboration across EMI offices, we were able to continue delivering design services. Staff in our officed worked on design for Bethesda Medical Centre for One Mission Society in Haiti; a needs assessment for Galmi Hospital (SIM) in Niger; and continued a conceptual campus design for Magic Soccer Academy Verrettes in Haiti. They also consulted remotely on projects such as a city park in Uganda and a cafe in Indonesia. You'll learn more about this cafe later in this report.

You'll also discover how your financial support results in impact in the lives of individuals and communities around the world. Our network of partners across Canada is vital to our ongoing ministry, and key to all that was accomplished in 2020. We are grateful to you for your partnership, and to God for His provision as we continue to design a world of hope together.

With great hope,

Greg Young
Executive Director, EMI Canada

Our Staff
Our Finances
How Your Donation Turns Into Impact
A 'Hope by Design' Story
Celebrating Fruitful Service with EMI
The Vida Dream

Click here to download a PDF copy of this Annual Report, or keep scrolling to continue reading online.

EMI is a network of Christian design professionals who impact communities through developing people, designing structures, and constructing facilities. These facilities - hospitals, orphanages, schools, clean water projects, and more - serve communities and the church by meeting physical needs and communicating God’s love in a practical way.

Learn more about EMI Canada's Vision, Mission, and Core Values

Our Staff

Mobilizing professionals around the world

EMI Canada mobilizes full-time, faith-supported staff with various professional design backgrounds to work from our office in Calgary, Alberta, as well as other EMI offices around the world. These staff members recruit and lead design professional volunteers and interns in short-term mission teams to countries where professional-level design is unavailable or inaccessible.

The map below indicates where full-time EMI Canada staff, as well as our engineering and architecture interns from Canadian universities, served in 2020.

Our Finances

EMI Canada's revenue and expenses

Nearly 80% of EMI Canada’s revenue comes from donations and grants. Our generous and faithful financial partners enable all that we do to design a world of hope. Keep scrolling to discover exactly how your donations turn into impact.

Detailed financial statements are available upon request. Please email finance.canada@emiworld.org for more information.

How Your Donation Turns Into Impact

EMI Canada delivers hope through design by mobilizing design professionals who serve partner ministries worldwide. When you donate to EMI Canada, you empower the many facets of our work, and, thereby, deliver hope to individuals and communities around the world. Here’s how:

A 'Hope by Design' Story

“More than anything else, EMI gave me the vocabulary and enough understanding that I could have intelligent conversations with contractors.”

That’s what Lynn told EMI Canada project leader, Steve Ulrich, while describing how EMI helped her navigate the process of designing and constructing her new café, The Well, on the small Indonesian island of Belitung.

The initial plan was for EMI to send a project team to serve Lynn in-person at some point in 2020, a plan that was made impossible by pandemic travel restrictions. Instead, EMI Canada staff met with Lynn remotely to provide guidance on design and contractor selection for The Well.

Lynn describes how God called her into ministry and her experience working with EMI Canada in the short interview below:

The Well is already providing hope to the local people of Belitung. With a good income, useful training, and daily connection with God, Lynn and her ministry are preparing men and women for impactful, sustainable, God-honouring careers. This training is one of the best proactive ways to reduce the exploitation that often comes with a growing tourism industry.

At EMI Canada, we share hope through the medium of design - hope which grows exponentially as God works through partner ministries, just like Lynn’s.

Check out the “More to explore" section below for more about EMI's return to a 2015 design project in Guatemala and a celebration of two important staff milestones!

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