World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their families reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty.  World Vision serves the poor in over 100 countries, including the United States, regardless of a person’s religion, race, ethnicity or gender.  World Vision carries out its mission through community development activities by targeting critical needs: clean water and reliable food supplies; providing access to basic health care and education; and promoting microeconomic income generation.  Another aspect of World Vision is providing disaster relief by responding to sudden natural disasters and slow-building emergencies.  Recently in the tsunami affected regions of India, World Vision distributed relief aid for 45,000 families. Families received seven-day emergency packs consisting of clothing, rice, lentils, cooking oil, cooking utensils, and soap.  As displaced tsunami victims return home, World Vision will provide further relief aid for 20,000 families.  Since most of those affected were from fishing communities, World Vision is preparing to provide 1,000 fishing boats and nets as well as small business loans to help adults start working and generating income.  In addition, World Vision addresses global issues such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic with programs such as the AIDS Hope Initiative of prevention and care.

Dr. Bob Pierce founded World Vision in 1950 to help children orphaned in the Korean War.  To provide long-term, ongoing care for children in crisis, World Vision developed its first child sponsorship program in Korea in 1953.  The sponsorship program expanded over the next decades into other Asian countries and eventually into Latin America and Africa.

World Vision began its relief efforts in the 1960’s, delivering food, clothing, and medical supplies to victims of disaster.  The aftermath of a devastating earthquake in northern Iran in 1962 prompted the World Vision leadership to create a separate nonsectarian agency, World Vision Relief Organization, to secure ocean freight and food grants from the U.S. government.  Now called World Vision Relief and Development, this organization solicits gift-in-kind donations that account for more than 25 percent of World Vision’s income.

As World Vision has tapped into various revenue sources, they have taken pro-active measures to reduce overhead costs.  In 1995, World Vision moved its offices from Monrovia, California to Federal Way, Washington.  This move reduced operating costs by millions of dollars annually, a savings which translates into an additional 140,000 children that World Vision can reach each year.

According to World Vision’s 2004 Annual Report and Financial Statements, total contributions and revenues in 2004 were US$806,843,000, an 18% revenue growth over 2003. This included accounts receivable from USAID of $16,102,000, a whopping 378% increase over 2003.  World Vision takes its stewardship responsibility seriously and has decreased its overhead rate from 21% in 1995 to 13% in 2004, while enjoying increased revenue growth.

World Vision partners with dozens of international agencies, corporations and foundations such as UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Wal-mart Stores Inc. and International Justice Mission.  About 80% of World Vision’s funding comes from private sources including private individuals (sponsorship), corporations and foundations.

World Vision’s current board of directors includes Ambassador J.Brady Anderson, a former ambassador to Tanzania and former director of USAID.  World Vision has several celebrity endorsements including who is…… Alex Trebek, of Jeopardy fame. In conclusion, World Vision is a relatively high profile relief and development agency that, as stated in their core values, is dedicated to serving the poor as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people.