Humanitarian Opportunities

A couple of weeks ago I got a World Vision humanitarian catalog in the mail-- they use donations to (among other things) purchase animals for families in poverty-stricken countries. I thought it was a great idea, but was a little disappointed at the prices involved-- and discovered that not all of the money went directly to helping the people in need. A portion of the donations pay for fund-raising and administration costs... certainly it is still a very good cause...but I discovered that perhaps one of the best humanitarian efforts to support is Latter-Day Saint Charities.

I was curious if Latter-day Saint Charities had any similar programs to those of World Vision, or if they were limited to emergency relief, and a few special projects. I was happy to discover that they work with many other agencies to provide a wide range of humanitarian services. To see a list of worldwide projects click the link here. I'd recommend browsing through; it's quite interesting! Because other Church funds pay for administration and fund-raising, 100% of any donations to the Humanitarian Fund go directly to purchasing items or services for the needs of individuals. Through the web-site ldsphilanthropies.org you can donate online, and may even specify which program you would like your contribution to go toward. Neat, eh?

Another interesting web-site to look at is Kiva.org --Rather than giving money, a short-term loan enables people in need to invest in their livelihood and lift themselves out of poverty. For example: a woman could use a small loan to purchase a sewing machine and some fabric--an initial investment that would allow her to sell her work for a profit, repay the loan, and continue to have an income. Loan increments can be as small as $25, and you can chose who will benefit from the loan. When the loan is re-payed (generally within a few months), you can loan again to a different entrepreneur, or you may withdraw your money.