Partner with Mercy Ships as a company, foundation or institution
Organisations can commit at a scale and over a timeframe that individual giving cannot reach.
A field service is planned years ahead. Partners who commit over several years are what makes that planning possible.
Why multi-year commitment changes what is possible
Mercy Ships agrees a field service with a national government long before the ship arrives. Surgeons are recruited, patients are screened, supplies are ordered, and training programmes are designed around what that country's health ministry has asked for.
All of that is committed before a single operation takes place. An organisation that can say what it will contribute across three years lets us make commitments to a country and keep them. A large one-off gift, however generous, does not.
Funding a defined part of the programme
Partners frequently fund something specific rather than contributing to general income: a surgical specialty, a training programme, the dental programme, or a field service in a particular country.
This works for both sides. The partner can see exactly what their commitment produced, and we can report against something concrete rather than against a proportion of a total.
Gifts in kind, and where they genuinely help
In some categories, goods are worth more to us than money. Medical equipment and consumables, marine spares, freight and logistics, IT hardware and software licensing all reduce costs that would otherwise be met from donations.
Gifts in kind only help when they match what is actually needed. Equipment we cannot maintain, or supplies that do not fit the clinical protocols in use, create work rather than capacity. A short conversation before shipping anything saves everybody time.
Professional expertise given pro bono
Engineering, naval architecture, logistics, procurement, healthcare consulting, law and audit are all areas where partners have contributed specialist work directly. A hospital ship is a technically demanding operation, and expert time is often the scarcest thing we can be given.
Employee engagement
Workplace fundraising, matched giving, team challenges and payroll giving are the familiar routes. The less familiar one matters more: employees with professional qualifications can volunteer on board, where their skills apply directly.
Companies that send skilled staff tend to find the engagement runs deeper than any campaign, because the person comes back and tells their colleagues.
What we ask of partners
Alignment with how the work is actually done. Mercy Ships operates at the invitation of national governments and in partnership with local health systems. A partnership that would compromise that relationship, or that would require us to represent the work as something it is not, is one we would decline.
We also ask for realism about attribution. Surgery aboard a hospital ship is the product of hundreds of people and many funders, and no single partner made a specific patient's operation happen.
Accountability and reporting
Partners receive reporting on what their support funded and what it produced, agreed at the outset rather than improvised afterwards.
Mercy Ships is registered as a charity in a number of countries, each publishing annual financial reporting under local regulation. Organisational partners can expect governance, safeguarding and stewardship documentation as part of any agreement, and due diligence in both directions is normal.
How impact is measured
Where a partnership funds surgery, the count of procedures is a reasonable measure. Where it funds training or capacity-building, it is not.
The measures that matter there are how many local professionals were trained, what they are able to do afterwards, and whether they are still practising in the country. Those take longer to report and are worth more.
Starting a conversation
Partnerships are agreed through the Mercy Ships office in your country, which can discuss what is possible, what is already committed by others, and where support is most needed rather than most visible.
What partners contribute
Money is one of four things an organisation can give, and not always the most useful.
- Multi-year funding of a defined programme, which converts directly into surgical capacity that can be scheduled.
- Gifts in kind - medical equipment and consumables, marine spares, freight, IT - matched to what is actually needed.
- Pro bono professional expertise in engineering, logistics, procurement, healthcare, law and audit.
- People - employees who fundraise, and qualified staff who volunteer on board in their own profession.
Questions organisations ask before partnering
Is there a minimum commitment?
There is no fixed threshold, and it varies by country and by what is being funded. What matters more than size is duration: a smaller commitment across three years is usually worth more to the programme than a larger single gift.
Can we fund a specific country or surgical specialty?
Usually yes, and many partners prefer it. Restricted funding works best when it is agreed against a programme that is already planned, rather than one designed around the restriction. Your national office can explain what is committed and where the gaps are.
What reporting will we receive?
Reporting is agreed at the outset and matched to what the partnership funds. Surgical programmes report procedure volumes and patient outcomes; training programmes report who was trained, in what, and what they can do afterwards. Annual financial reporting is published separately by each registered Mercy Ships entity.
Can we donate equipment or products?
Often, but please ask before shipping. Equipment has to match the clinical protocols in use, be maintainable with parts we can obtain, and fit a ship with finite storage. A donation that cannot be used or serviced costs us more than it gives.
Can our employees volunteer on board?
Where they hold relevant professional qualifications, yes. Clinicians, marine engineers, electricians, IT specialists and biomedical technicians all serve as volunteers. Placements follow the standard recruitment process and the same requirements as any other volunteer.
How is Mercy Ships governed and regulated?
Mercy Ships is registered as a charity in a number of countries, each governed by its own board and reporting under its national regulator. Governance, safeguarding and financial documentation is provided as part of partnership due diligence.
Do you decline partnerships?
Yes. A partnership that would compromise the relationships with host governments and local health systems that the work depends on, or that would require the work to be represented as something it is not, is one we would turn down.
What long-term commitment produces
The outcomes worth funding are the ones still visible after the ship has gone.
