Episcopal Relief & Development

Episcopal Relief & Development is an international humanitarian and development organization associated with The Episcopal Church. Established in 1940 as the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, it was initially created to assist refugees fleeing Europe during the Second World War. Its work later expanded into disaster assistance and, increasingly, long-term community development designed to address poverty, hunger, disease and economic insecurity. The organization works through partnerships rather than relying primarily on a centrally administered field structure. Its principal partners include Episcopal and Anglican dioceses, local churches and related community organizations. Partnership decisions are based on factors such as local need, institutional capacity and available resources. This model is intended to place local knowledge and community leadership at the center of program design and implementation. Its principal program areas are improving food security and alleviating hunger; creating economic opportunities and strengthening communities; promoting health and combating disease; and responding to disasters while helping affected communities rebuild. Programs may combine emergency relief with longer-term measures such as agricultural support, microfinance, sanitation, employment creation, health education and community-based planning. The organization states that its international programs operate in approximately 40 countries and affect the lives of roughly 3 million people. A significant methodological development came in 2012, when Episcopal Relief & Development introduced Asset-Based Community Development more systematically into its work. The approach begins with capabilities, relationships and resources already present in a community. Rather than treating recipients only as beneficiaries, it seeks to help communities identify and organize their own assets and develop locally sustained solutions. Staff monitoring visits to program sites are used to follow implementation and assess progress. The organization's history includes major responses to famine, earthquakes, storms, volcanic eruptions, refugee crises and other emergencies. Its response to Hurricane Mitch in Honduras helped establish an integrated relief-and-development model: reconstruction was combined with housing, education, health services, church facilities, agricultural projects and microfinance. Similar combinations of immediate assistance and longer-term recovery have shaped its work after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Harvey. The Presiding Bishop's Fund adopted the name Episcopal Relief & Development in 2000 to reflect its broadened role. It became an independent 501(c)(3) organization in 2002, while retaining its close relationship with The Episcopal Church. In 2003, its board approved a strategic shift away from primarily administering small grants toward longer-term development programs and structured partnerships. The organization also aligned its international development work with the Millennium Development Goals and later with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Episcopal Relief & Development is not a conventional consumer brand. Its public identity is that of a faith-linked nonprofit whose value proposition rests on trusted local partnerships, community-led development, disaster preparedness and the ability to connect charitable giving with humanitarian and development programs. Its fundraising and communications include emergency response funds, anniversary initiatives and program-specific appeals. The organization remains active internationally, although its headquarters, current leadership roster and detailed corporate structure are not specified in the supplied reference material.

Episcopal Relief & Development began in 1940 as the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, an initiative of The Episcopal Church established in response to the refugee crisis created by the Second World War. Its earliest purpose was to help people fleeing Europe. After the war, the organization broadened its humanitarian role, with disaster relief becoming a major part of its activities. During the 1960s and 1970s, increased financial support allowed the fund to expand its operational capacity and move beyond short-term assistance toward sustainable development. In the 1980s, it supported responses to famine in Ethiopia, an earthquake in Mexico and a volcanic eruption in Colombia. During the same decade, the Episcopal Migration Ministry developed as a separate refugee-focused effort funded through the Presiding Bishop's Fund, allowing the fund to concentrate more heavily on development and disaster programs. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 became an important turning point. In Honduras, the fund combined emergency relief with integrated community development. Over approximately four years, its work contributed to the construction of a community containing 200 houses, a school, a clinic and a church. Agricultural projects and microfinance activities were also introduced to improve food security and create economic opportunities. This experience helped establish the organization's later preference for linking reconstruction with longer-term social and economic recovery. In 2000, the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief was renamed Episcopal Relief & Development. The new name reflected the agency's expanded emphasis on both disaster assistance and development. In 2002, it was incorporated as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, although it continued its close institutional relationship with The Episcopal Church. In 2003, the board adopted a strategic change from administering relatively small grants for domestic and overseas projects toward implementing longer-term development programs through partnerships. The organization also formally endorsed the Millennium Development Goals, using them as a framework for international efforts to reduce extreme poverty. By 2004, the organization was working in 21 countries and reaching nearly 250,000 people each year. It later undertook major responses to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A malaria initiative known as NetsforLife began as a pilot in 2006 and expanded through partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa. Beginning in 2010, the U.S. disaster program was strengthened through the Disaster Preparedness Initiative, which helped Episcopal Church leaders prepare for and respond to emergencies in their own communities. The 2010 Haiti earthquake prompted immediate assistance through collaboration with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti. Early support included food, medicine and help finding shelter for people whose homes had been destroyed. The response subsequently shifted toward longer-term sanitation, shelter and employment programs. In 2011 alone, the organization reported assisting more than 40,000 people in Haiti, working with partners including World Health, Idjen and the Bishop Tharp Business and Technology Institute on education, business development and microcredit activities. The organization's 75th anniversary was marked during 2014–2015 with a traveling photo exhibition, the 75 Stories Project and fundraising campaigns. In 2017, it established a Hurricane Harvey Response Fund after the storm damaged or destroyed large numbers of homes in Texas. Its partners used flexible assistance, including gift cards for local stores, to allow affected residents to select the supplies they considered most urgent. From 2012 onward, Asset-Based Community Development became an important part of the organization's development practice. This approach emphasizes the abilities, resources and relationships already present in a community and seeks to facilitate local solutions instead of imposing externally designed ones. The organization's stated program model now combines food and livelihood security, economic opportunity, health and disease prevention, disaster response and community rebuilding. It reports activity in approximately 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America and the Middle East, with programs affecting approximately 3 million people. Its international work is also described as being aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

• 2017

  Hurricane Harvey Response Fund launched

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  A dedicated fund supported recovery in communities affected by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

• 2014

  Seventy-fifth anniversary period begins

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The 2014–2015 anniversary included a traveling exhibition, the 75 Stories Project and fundraising campaigns.

• 2012

  Asset-Based Community Development introduced

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted a more systematic community-led development model based on locally available assets and capabilities.

• 2010

  Disaster Preparedness Initiative expands

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The U.S. disaster program expanded support for Episcopal Church leaders preparing for local emergencies.

• 2006

  NetsforLife malaria initiative begins

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The organization began a malaria-fighting partnership as a pilot in sub-Saharan Africa.

• 2004

  Expansion to 21 countries

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The organization reported work in 21 countries and annual reach of nearly 250,000 people.

• 2003

  Shift toward long-term development partnerships

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The board moved the organization from primarily administering small grants toward longer-term development programs and partnerships.

• 2002

  Independent nonprofit incorporation

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  It was incorporated as an independent 501(c)(3) organization.

• 2000

  Renamed Episcopal Relief & Development

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted a name reflecting its broader disaster-relief and development mission.

• 1940

  Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief established

  [1]Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The Episcopal Church established the organization to assist refugees fleeing Europe during the Second World War.

A faith-affiliated, partnership-based relief and development organization focused on combining emergency response with sustainable, locally led solutions.

• Humanitarian relief

  Disaster Response and Recovery

  Emergency and recovery assistance delivered with local Episcopal, Anglican and community partners after storms, earthquakes, floods, famine, volcanic eruptions and other crises. The model increasingly combines immediate relief with reconstruction, livelihoods, health services, sanitation and community rebuilding so that disaster programs support longer-term resilience.

• International development

  Food Security and Livelihoods

  Programs designed to reduce hunger and improve local food supplies through agricultural activities, livelihood support and community-based planning. These initiatives seek to mobilize local knowledge and resources rather than rely solely on externally supplied aid.

• Economic development

  Economic Opportunity and Community Strengthening

  Community development activities that may include microfinance, microcredit, employment creation, business development and local institution building. The programs are intended to help households and communities generate income and maintain improvements after external assistance ends.

• Public health

  Health and Disease Prevention

  Health-focused partnerships addressing disease prevention and community health, including malaria-related work in sub-Saharan Africa. The organization connects health activities with broader development priorities such as sanitation, education and local capacity.

• Malaria prevention · 2006

  NetsforLife

  A malaria-fighting partnership that began as a pilot in 2006 and was subsequently established in an increasing number of countries. It represents Episcopal Relief & Development's use of church and community networks in public-health programming.

• Development methodology · 2012

  Asset-Based Community Development

  A facilitation-based development model introduced in 2012. It starts with a community's existing gifts, skills, relationships and resources, helping residents identify and implement their own solutions to poverty, hunger, disease and other challenges.

• 2017Hurricane Harvey Response Fund

  United States

  A dedicated fundraising and response effort supporting communities in Texas affected by Hurricane Harvey. Local partners used flexible assistance, including store gift cards, to help residents obtain needed goods.

  Outcome. Provided immediate support while contributing to broader community recovery efforts.

  Source
• 201475 Stories Project

  United States · International

  A storytelling and communications initiative associated with the organization's 75th anniversary, documenting representative experiences from its relief and development work.

  Outcome. Presented as part of the anniversary program alongside a traveling photo exhibition and fundraising activities.

  Source

• 2012

  Introduced Asset-Based Community DevelopmentStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought development methods that could produce durable results by building on capabilities already present in local communities.

  Action taken

  It introduced Asset-Based Community Development as a framework for facilitating locally identified and locally managed solutions.

  Aftermath

  The model became an important part of the organization's stated international development approach.

  Source

• 2003

  Shifted toward long-term development partnershipsStrategy

  Background

  The organization had traditionally administered small grants for domestic and overseas projects.

  Action taken

  Its board decided to prioritize long-term development programs and structured partnerships over primarily administering small grants.

  Aftermath

  The decision reinforced a partnership-based model focused on sustainable, community-led solutions.

  Source

• 2000

  Adopted the Episcopal Relief & Development nameStrategy

  Background

  The former Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief had expanded beyond its original refugee-relief mandate into disaster response and development.

  Action taken

  The organization changed its public name to Episcopal Relief & Development.

  Aftermath

  The new identity emphasized the combined relief and development character of its work.

  Source

1. 1Episcopal Relief & Developmenten.wikipedia.org