Resilience Across Borders Earns a Three-Star Rating From Charity Navigator

Press Release

Silver Spring, MD, November 17, 2022 – Resilience Across Borders is proud to announce that its strong financial health and ongoing accountability and transparency has earned a Three-Star Rating from Charity Navigator. This rating designates Resilience Across Borders as an official “Give with Confidence” charity, indicating that our organization is using its donations effectively based on Charity Navigator’s criteria. Charity Navigator is America’s largest and most-utilized independent charity evaluator. Since 2001, the organization has been an unbiased and trusted source of information for more than 11 million donors annually.

Charity Navigator analyzes nonprofit performance based on four key indicators, referred to as beacons. Currently, nonprofits can earn scores for the Impact & Results, Accountability & Finance, Culture & Community, and Leadership & Adaptability beacons.

“We are delighted to provide Resilience Across Borders with third-party accreditation that validates their operational excellence,” said Michael Thatcher, President and CEO of Charity Navigator. “We are eager to see the good work that Resilience Across Borders is able to accomplish in the years ahead.”

 “Our Three-Star Charity Navigator rating is further validation that our supporters can trust our commitment to good governance and financial health,” said Ariana Lobasso, Executive Director of Resilience Across Borders. “We hope that it will introduce our work to new supporters who can help us advance our mission to increase access to mental health interventions for all children and adolescents.”

Currently, Resilience Across Borders has partnered with three elementary schools serving economically marginalized communities to bring our program to their 5th grade students. Educators trained in our Resilience Builder Program-Universal™ teach children skills that research shows increase both resilience (the ability to adapt to life’s challenges) and academic engagement. Resilience Across Borders looks forward to expanding our impact to more schools each year.

Resilience Across Borders’ rating and other information about charitable giving are available free of charge on charitynavigator.org.


About Resilience Across Borders

Resilience Across Borders is dedicated to increasing access to mental health interventions for all children and adolescents. Our research-based method helps youth build resilience so they can adapt to life’s challenges now and throughout their lives. Connect with us on resilienceacrossborders.org, Facebook, or Twitter.

Resilience Across Borders’ Latest Research Published in Peer-Reviewed Journal

Press Release

Resilience Builder Program® improved students’ resilience and academic engagement

Silver Spring, MD, March 21, 2022 – Resilience Across Borders, in collaboration with Catholic University’s Psychology Department and Alvord, Baker, & Associates, administered the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP) in five schools in the Washington, DC region serving students from economically marginalized communities. RBP is designed to teach children how to cope with disappointments and setbacks, from everyday frustrations to larger obstacles. Clinicians and graduate students delivered the intervention in 12 weekly small group lessons. To assess the effectiveness of the program in schools, 169 students were randomly assigned to receive the intervention immediately or following a one-semester delay. Students, teachers, and parents completed questionnaires at the beginning of the semester and following the intervention or semester delay.

Students who participated in the RBP reported improved self-efficacy and relations to others, both important domains of resilience. Their parents and teachers reported improved resilience. Students’ resilience was also related to academic functioning. Teachers reported that students who participated in the RBP showed significant improvements in study skills, academic engagement, interpersonal skills, and academic motivation. Students who participated in RBP also reported significant improvements in study skills and academic engagement. These findings are now published in the peer-reviewed journal “Evidence Based Practice in Child & Adolescent Mental Health.”

Based on the evidence that this program is effective in school settings, Resilience Across Borders is adapting the intervention so that teachers can administer the new Resilience Builder Program – Universal™ to their entire class. This new approach will reach many more students—about 300 this year alone.


Rich, B. A., Starin, N. S., Senior, C. J., Zarger, M. M., Cummings, C. M., Collado, A., & Alvord, M. K. (2022). Improved resilience and academics following a school-based resilience intervention: A randomized controlled trial. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.


About Resilience Across Borders

Resilience Across Borders is dedicated to increasing access to mental health interventions for all children and adolescents. Our research-based method helps youth build resilience so they can adapt to life’s challenges now and throughout their lives. Connect with us on resilienceacrossborders.org, Facebook, or Twitter.