An important step in defining our goals and efforts as Tandem Fund was a reflection on what we have accomplished and the values we have held as a team since we began as AID Project. We wish to continue to share that history here as we focus our efforts going forward.

We set out with broad ideas about how to run the organization and enthusiasm for new projects. Our mission was to empower community organizations in Haiti by supporting local development projects focused on: Community Involvement and Engagement; Local Leadership and Ownership; and Strategic Regional and International Partnerships.

We discussed and developed ideas during weeks-long workshops with teams in Ile-à-Vache, and we pursued funding for many of these efforts. Following Hurricane Matthew, we spent two years supporting recovery efforts and identifying the new opportunities we could pursue as Tandem.

The defining moment of our experience as the Advancing International Development Project team — AID Project as we were known — was our response to Hurricane Matthew.

While we had set out with broad intentions to reinvent international development, the "aid" in our acronym drew out the difficulties of responding to both our long-term goals and the current crisis.

Focusing on 'advancing international development' broadly no longer made sense when the stories we were hearing from our community were so urgent. For the many supporters who responded to our calls to action, we are continually grateful. We learned from this period new perspectives on sustainability, resiliency, and community.