Self-Development of People (SDOP) is a mission program that aims to ameliorate poverty and powerlessness by providing grants to organizations committed to diminishing the effects of poverty, oppression, and injustice. The Presbyterian Church (USA) founded the program in 1970.

Central Virginia Self-Development of People is an authorized affiliate of this program and is supported by the Presbytery of the James.

Self-Development of People is founded on the conviction that the poor, oppressed, and disadvantaged possess a unique perspective on the kinds of conditions that facilitate poverty and powerlessness, and they have a legitimate sense of what is needed to promote and encourage change.

Self-Development was founded to assist organizations involved in such efforts. The program’s core beliefs recognize the potential of the poor and disenfranchised to speak truth to power through community organizing, and for this reason, SDOP focuses its funding support on organizations committed to initiating change and subsequently encouraging self-development. SDOP does not fund individuals but targets organizations seeking effective change.