Giving while your living...

So you're knowing where its going

Many non-Latter-day Saint philanthropists are aware of the church's charitable arm of our organization because and how efficient it is. Many charitable organizations today have a huge overhead so not much of your donation dollars actually reach the people in need. I've heard as little as 15% for some organizations. If you donate through the church humanitarian/ philanthropy branch One hundred percent of all donations are used to help the needy (overhead for administering aid is paid from the general funds of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

 Humanitarian donations are used to provide assistance in countries around the world to people without regard to race or religion. These donations provide assistance to victims of natural disasters, including aid such as hygiene kits, food and water, and blankets. Current humanitarian projects include neonatal resuscitation training, wheelchair placement, eye surgery initiatives to help the blind, well drilling projects for water sources, and other health and wellness projects.Humanitarian aid deliveries are supervised by service missionaries who live and serve in countries around the world. In some parts of the world their efforts are best known by the volunteers in yellow t-shirts that say "Mormon Helping Hands".

The same holds true for the LDS PEF(Perpetual Education Fund) 100% of your donation to the PEF will go towards loans helping people obtain educational or vocational training. These people in turn are expected to pay back the loan when they can to help others in need- hence "perpetual".

I've made a case for donating to the clean water initiative here in a previous post, costing about 7$ a person to provide clean water.  Now I'm going to make a plug for wheelchairs. The church distributes 4 different kinds of wheelchairs, according to the needs of the individual, and the average cost is only 116$. This is my Christmas gift this year (not Zach's by the way, this if my own contribution) Who will join me? Donate Here

Wheelchair Distribution

What It Is

Latter-day Saint Charities (Humanitarian Services), working in partnership with local organizations that serve the disabled, distributes about 40,000 wheelchairs each year in 70 countries. Those who have witnessed a disabled person receiving a wheelchair for the first time report that the joy and tears of gratitude shown by the recipient are often overwhelming.

Why It Is a Priority

Only about one percent of the roughly 100 million disabled people worldwide own or have access to a wheelchair.* Many have lost the use of one or both legs due to war, birth defects, or disease. In most developing countries, there are few social supports to help the disabled. They are highly dependent on family members for support and 24-hour care. For the adults, being without mobility often means being without work. In addition, UNESCO estimates that 98 percent of children with disabilities in developing countries are unable to attend school.

What It Does and How It Helps

For the disabled, mobility is the key to independence, education, and self-reliance. A person given the gift of mobility is freer to travel, work, and go to school. Additionally, their caretakers are also more free to spend time on other productive activities.

Did I mention Donate here?

The Vision of Our Leaders

Presiding Bishop H. David Burton

"To help relieve suffering is to cultivate a Christlike character. We are charged, as were those who listened at the feet of the Savior 2,000 years ago, to 'go, and do thou likewise.' The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that it is our responsibility 'to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this church or in any other, or in no church at all, wherever he finds them' (Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1842, 732). "May we be generous with our time and liberal in our contributions for the care of those who suffer. May we commit to the principles of Good Samaritanism and be ever mindful of the need to 'go, and do thou likewise.'" So in conclusion, how many of you are going to donate here this Christmas season?