ARDF Fund Report Statistics Reveal that 355,000 Lives Have Been Improved
Over $2.2 million in donations has enabled The Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF) to fund 56 relief and development projects, changing the lives of over 355,000 people in 28 different countries since the Fund’s inception in September 2004. The recently-released 2006 Fund Report was applauded by the ARDF Trustees who met in Falls Church, Virginia, for their annual meeting November 13–15, 2006.
Newly-appointed fund chairman, the Rev. Michael W. Murphy, officiated at the meeting attended by five Global South Trustees - Archbishops Peter Akinola, Benjamin Nzimbi, Justice Akrofi, John Chew, and Drexel Gomez - and eight North American Trustees. The trustees approved nine new projects for funding in Burundi, Uganda, Congo, Kenya, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Argentina, and Malawi.
“We encourage local parishes and dioceses to support Global South relief and development through ARDF because our process helps ensure that the donors’ funds accomplish the purpose for which they were given,” said Canon Nancy Norton, ARDF Executive Director. “We work with an independent research group, Geneva Global, to check out each project submitted through trustworthy local Anglican organizations overseas, and to make sure that monies are getting into the hands of the projects’ intended recipients. In addition, our administrative costs are only 7% of our total revenues, which is extremely low by industry standards for non-profits.”
ARDF funds projects in the Global South that produce high-impact results and provide permanent life-changes. ARDF works directly with local Anglican churches, dioceses, and provinces. Roughly, 64% of the projects funded have been in Africa, 34% in Asia and 2% in South America. ARDF projects encompass a variety of categories including evangelism and discipleship, health, economic empowerment, human liberty, education and disaster recovery.
Projects must meet certain guidelines such as honoring local communities by partnering with community-based organizations, focusing on measurable life-change, and adopting a holistic approach addressing the needs of the whole person - physically, spiritually and emotionally. ARDF projects contribute to the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals outlined by the United Nations (UN). Comparing ARDF-funded projects with the UN Development Program Countries, 89% of ARDF projects have been funded in countries the UN deemed the neediest.
“For the first time in the history of giving within the (Anglican) church, we see true partnership, not patronage,” said the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of the Province of Uganda and former ARDF Global South Trustee.
The full report will be available shortly on the ARDF website. For more information or to donate to an ARDF project, go to www.anglicanaid.net. ARDF operates as a division of the Anglican Communion Network, which operates under the legal name of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes as a tax exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code.