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World Vision International
Founder	Bob Pierce
Type	Non-Government Organisation
Founded	1950
Headquarters	Monrovia, CA - U.S.(Partnership Office/Global Centre), Federal Way, WA - U.S.(US Headquarters), Geneva - Switzerland (International Liaison), Nairobi - Kenya (Africa Region), Nicosia - Cyprus (Middle East and Eastern Europe Region), Bangkok - Thailand (Asia Pacific Region), San José - Costa Rica (Latin America and Caribbean Region)
Key people	Denis St. Armour (Chairperson Int'l Board), Dr. Dean R. Hirsch (President)
Area served	97 countries
Focus	Well being of all people, especially children.
Method	Transformational Development through emergency relief, community development and policy and advocacy
Revenue	USD $2.6 billion (2007)
Employees	26,000 (2006)
Slogan	Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness; Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so.
Website	www.wvi.org

World Vision, founded in the United States in 1950, is an international Christian relief and development organization whose stated goal is "working for the well being of all people, especially children." Working on six continents, World Vision is one of the largest Christian relief and development organisations in the world with a $2.6 billion budget (2007). Image File history File links Mergefrom. ... World Vision India is a partnership office of World Vision International, a grass roots, child-focussed Christian relief and development agency, serving the poor without regard to religion, caste or gender, operating in India. ... World Vision Australia, a part of World Vision, is an international aid and development organisation in Australia. ... Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... WorldVision Enterprises, Inc. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... An entrepreneur (a loanword from French introduced and first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon) is a person who operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. ... Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Federal Way is a city located in King County, Washington, United States. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German:   //, Italian: Ginevra //, Romansh: Genevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). ... Nairobi (pronounced IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. ... District Nicosia District Government  - Mayor Eleni Mavrou Population (2004)  - City 270,000 (Greek part) 85,000 (Turkish part) 355,000 (Total) Time zone EET (UTC+2) Website: www. ... Location within in Thailand Coordinates: , Country Settled Ayutthaya Period Founded as capital 21 April 1782 Government  - Type Special administrative area  - Governer Apirak Kosayothin Area  - City 1,568. ... Nickname: Location of San José Canton between provinces Coordinates: , Country Province Canton San José Canton Founded circa. ... Look up revenue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... Look up slogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Humanitarian aid arriving by plane at Rinas Airport in Albania in the summer of 1999. ... For other meanings of development used in and outside social sciences, see development. ... Dymaxion map by Buckminster Fuller shows land mass with minimal distortion as only one continuous continent A continent (Latin continere, to hold together) is a large continuous mass of land on the planet Earth. ...

History

World Vision was founded in 1950 by Dr. Bob Pierce, a young pastor and missionary, who had first been sent to China and South Korea in 1947 by the Youth for Christ missionary organization. Pierce remained at the head of World Vision for nearly two decades, but resigned from the organization in 1967. Pierce also founded the evangelical organization Samaritan's Purse. Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Youth for Christ is an international Christian ministry program that promotes youth evangelism and biblical Christianity. ... Look up Evangelical in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Samaritans Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization engaged in crisis relief and community development. ...

World Vision began caring for orphans and other children in need first in South Korea, then expanding throughout Asia and, eventually, in more than 90 countries, embracing larger issues of community development and advocacy for the poor as part of its basic mission to help children and their families build a sustainable future. For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Advocacy is the act of arguing on behalf of a particular issue, idea or person. ...

Organizational structure

World Vision International operates as a federation of interdependent national offices, each overseen by their own boards or advisory councils. A common mission statement and shared core values bind the partnership offices and members together. Each national partner abides by common policies and standards and holds each other accountable through an ongoing system of peer review.

The partnership offices – located in Geneva, Bangkok, Nairobi, Cyprus, Los Angeles, and San José, Costa Rica – coordinate strategic operations of the organization and represent World Vision in the international arena. Each national office, whether in the developed or developing world, enjoys an equal voice in the organization's governance of world vision. Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German:   //, Italian: Ginevra //, Romansh: Genevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). ... Location within in Thailand Coordinates: , Country Settled Ayutthaya Period Founded as capital 21 April 1782 Government  - Type Special administrative area  - Governer Apirak Kosayothin Area  - City 1,568. ... Nairobi (pronounced IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Nickname: Location of San José Canton between provinces Coordinates: , Country Province Canton San José Canton Founded circa. ... A developed country is a country that has achieved (currently or historically) a high degree of industrialization, and which enjoys the higher standards of living which wealth and technology make possible. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ...

An international board of directors oversees the World Vision partnership. The full board meets twice a year to appoint senior officers, approve strategic plans and budgets, and determine international policy. The current chairperson of the international board is Denis St. Armour of Canada. The international president is Dr. Dean R Hirsch

Funding

According to World Vision,Inc.'s 2006 Consolidated Financial Statements, around 40% of World Vision,Inc.'s revenue comes from private sources, including individuals, World Vision clubs in schools, corporations and foundations. 27% comes from governments and multilateral aid agencies such as USAID. 30% comes from other World Vision programs and nonprofit organizaion as Gift in Kind. Aside from cash contributions, World Vision accepts gifts in kind, typically food commodities, medicine, and clothing donated through corporations and government agencies.

Approximately half of World Vision's programs are funded through child sponsorship. Individuals, families, churches, schools, and other groups sponsor specific children or specific community projects in their own country or abroad. Sponsors send funds each month to provide support for the sponsored children or projects. Child sponsorship allows an individual, typically in a developed country, to sponsor, or fund a child in a developing country until the child becomes self sufficient. ...

World Vision Famine events like the 30 Hour Famine and 40 Hour Famine also help to raise money for impoverished countries. Typically, a group signs up to organize such an event, and then spends the next 30 or 40 hours abstaining from food, technology or other things that are taken for granted and increasing awareness about world hunger. Many schools and individuals are annually successful with this fundraising activity. The World Vision organization have developed several famine events that spread throughout the globe, notably the international 30 Hour Famine, also the regional 40 Hour Famine in Australia and 24 Hour Famine in the United Kingdom. ...

According to World Vision's annual report, in 2005, 87% of its funding was spent on programs, 8% on fundraising and 5% on management and general overhead. World Vision has announced a goal of reducing the fundraising and overhead costs from the current 13% to 10%.

Activities

World Vision aims to contribute to people’s needs in five major areas; emergency relief, education, health care, economic development, and promotion of justice. World Vision activities include transformational development, emergency relief, strategic initiatives, public awareness campaigns and promoting Christianity.

Transformational development occurs through focusing on improvement of children's lives. This process first helps people and their communities recognize the resources that lie within themselves to make change possible. With support from World Vision, communities transform themselves by carrying out their own development projects in health care, agriculture production, water projects, education, micro-enterprise development, advocacy and other community programs.

World Vision provides emergency relief to people whose lives are endangered by disasters or conflict and who need immediate, skilled assistance. World Vision attempts to respond to all major emergencies around the world themselves or in cooperation with their partner agencies. For example, World Vision has responded to famine in Ethiopia and North Korea, hurricanes in Central America, the tsunami in the Indian Ocean nations, earthquakes in El Salvador, India, Taiwan and Turkey, and war refugees in Kosovo, Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Angola, and East Timor. For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Kosovo (disambiguation). ... The Chechen Republic (IPA: ; Russian: , Chechenskaya Respublika; Chechen: , Noxçiyn Respublika), or, informally, Chechnya (; Russian: ; Chechen: , Noxçiyçö), sometimes referred to as Ichkeria, Chechnia, Chechenia or Noxçiyn, is a federal subject of Russia. ...

World Vision also addresses the complex, systematic factors that perpetuate poverty by promoting justice. World Vision supports community awareness of the collective ability to address unjust practices and begin working for change. World Vision speaks out on issues such as child labor, debt relief for poor nations, and the use of children as combatants in armed conflict. World Vision International has endorsed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as fundamental expressions of the freedoms and responsibilities that should exist in every country. World Vision fosters opportunities to help reduce conflict levels and to contribute to the peaceful resolution of hostilities and reconciliation of disputes. is the employment of children under an age determined by law or custom. ... Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. ... The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (abbreviated UDHR) is an advisory declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). ... UN and U.N. redirect here. ... Convention on the Rights of the Child Opened for signature 20 November 1989 in - Entered into force September 2, 1990 Conditions for entry into force 20 ratifications or accessions (Article 49) Parties 193 (only 2 non-parties: USA and Somalia) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child...

As a Christian organization, World Vision participates in strategic initiatives with Christian leaders and lay people of all denominations through conferences, consultations, training programmes and various educational opportunities. World Vision is an ecumenical organization willing to partner with all Christian churches. Yet, World Vision is respectful of other faiths.

World Vision encourages public awareness about the needs of others, the causes of poverty, and the nature of compassionate response. These efforts include collaboration with media and community participation in fundraising. In all its communications, World Vision upholds the dignity of suffering children and families in presenting explanations of the causes and consequences of poverty, war, neglect, and abuse.

World Vision believes witnessing from Christ is a fundamental part of their relief work. The organization believes that God, in the person of Jesus, offers hope of renewal, restoration, and reconciliation. World Vision seeks to express this message through "life, deed, word, and sign". World Vision's programs and services are provided without regard to race, ethnic origin, gender, or religion. This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... For other uses, see Race (disambiguation). ... The concept of ethnic origin is an attempt to classify people, not according to their current nationality, but according to where their ancestors came from. ... Gender in common usage refers to the sexual distinction between male and female. ...

World Vision offices often hire non-Christian staff, and in some countries the majority of staff may be people of other faiths who are sympathetic to World Vision's ethos and objectives. However, in the US all staff are required to sign a statement affirming their belief in Jesus Christ and background checks are often made with a candidate's pastor or priest.

References

External links

• World Vision International Web site
• Charity Navigator Rating of World Vision

Other articles

• The Colossus of Care: World Vision has become an international force—and a partner with the poor, Tim Stafford, Christianity Today, March 2005
• Imperfect Instrument: World Vision's founder led a tragic and inspiring life, Tim Stafford, Christianity Today, March 2005