World Vision

We think very highly of all of the organizations on our list, and support each of them without reservation.  If we had to choose just one organization to support, our favorite among favorites, this would be the one… 

(Updated October 2018)

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.  Helping to meet immediate needs and promoting lasting changes that will strengthen communities and move families toward self-reliance, World Vision guides and assists communities in transforming themselves by working along side them as they carry out their own development projects.  With an annual budget currently hovering around two billion dollars, World Vision (International) has served over 100 million people in over 100 countries; in 2012, their expert indigenous staff (44,000+) served 4.2 million of the world’s poorest people in over 1600 communities around the globe.  The excellence of World Vision’s work in relief, rehabilitation, and transformational development has earned the trust of more than 3 million donors, supporters, and volunteers; more than half a million child sponsors; thousands of churches; hundreds of corporations; and government agencies in the United States and around the world.

Founded in 1950, World Vision is widely acclaimed for the tremendous resources and expertise that it brings to its work with those living in extreme poverty.  Drawing upon decades of focused, relevant experience, World Vision has been a lead player in writing the book on transformational development, having pioneered and refined many of the best practices (as early as 1970) used by many other effective organizations (and even governments) today.  World Vision has extended its leadership role by promoting and facilitating collaboration between players, advocating for a transformational development approach at all levels as well as actively working to share its experience, develop more effective models, and extend the collective knowledge base in the fight against extreme poverty.  In addition, World Vision is an important and effective advocate for the poor; owing to its enormous presence and impact around the globe, they are able to influence policy for the benefit of the poor at the national level in many countries.  For example, World Vision’s advocacy programs helped to stop the flow of “conflict diamonds” which have fueled numerous civil wars in Africa…  this is another direct outgrowth of their mission statement:  “… tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice.”

World Vision brings a truly comprehensive skill set to the work of transforming communities among the world’s poorest people.  In any given community, they are capable of bringing all of the resources and expertise required to effectively foster transformational development.  Relying on an asset-based approach, which as a first step sets out to discover a community’s hidden skills, strengths, and resources, World Vision’s model is designed to be not just respectful, but immediately empowering.  With this as a dignity-enhancing start, World Vision’s experienced indigenous staff works side by side with community leaders to identify problems and root causes, develop plans to address them in a culturally appropriate context, and anticipate obstacles.  The community participates in and owns the implementation process as well, and is coached in continuous monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment.   This participatory approach is necessarily long term, often requiring 5-10 years before World Vision leaves the community;  recognizing that the local church will continue to play a role in community leadership and care for the most vulnerable after they have left, World Vision pays particular attention to building and strengthening the local church throughout its work.  The end goal is a self-sufficient community with the capacity to address future challenges on its own, and even inspire and lend a hand in neighboring communities.

To learn more about World Vision’s approach to transformational development, we recommend the following resources:

Transforming Lives (an older World Vision video, now archived on vimeo.com, 17:22)

Journey of Transformation (excellent self-paced slide presentation now archived on prezi.com)

Primary Sector:  Comprehensive Community Development

Organization Size:  Powerhouse — programs are supported by cash contributions totaling $200,000,000 or more annually

Key Webpages:  the World Vision US site is extensive; here are some links to help you find what you are looking for…

• the “Our Work” page is the hub for information about World Vision’s core programs.
  • scroll down and select a sector for more information about World Vision’s work in that arena
  • scroll down and select a country to learn about World Vision’s work in a geographic area
• for in-depth information about World Vision’s approach (see especially the tabs under the “How it Works” heading): https://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child/program-implementation-model
• the “Donate” page is the hub for the many ways to support World Vision’s programs.

Financial Statements:  https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/financial-accountability-2#1468438377863-040c8abd-5609

Contact Information:  visit http://www.worldvision.org/,   contact https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/contact-us