About Covenant World Relief

Partners in World Relief

CWR works largely in partnership with other relief agencies. We work closely with Community Development groups that have the guidance of staff persons/missionaries from the Department of World Mission of the ECC. Some of our other long-term partners are World Relief (to which CWR is the largest denominational donor), Church World Service, Bread for the World, Mercy Ships, Project Mercy (Ethiopia), and Foods Resource Bank. These partnerships enhance CWR’s ability to maintain a very low overhead cost.

	Covenant World Mission facilitates intercultural ministries around the world and partners with churches and international believers to glorify God’s name by bringing the whole gospel to the whole world. www.covchurch.org/mission.
	The Paul Carlson Partnership is a not-for-profit organization that works closely with like-minded persons and organizations across North America. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church through the ECC's compassionate outreach initiatives. www.covchurch.org/pcp.
	Bread for the World is a non-partisan, US Christian citizens' movement devoted to encouraging public policy decisions aimed at alleviating domestic and global hunger. www.bread.org.
	Church World Service is the relief, development and refugee assistance ministry that works in partnership with indigenous organizations in more than eighty countries, working worldwide to meet human needs and foster self-reliance. www.churchworldservice.org.
	Foods Resource Bank works to mobilize and increase the resources needed to support smallholder, agricultural, food security programs in some of the world's poorest villages. www.foodsresourcebank.org.
	Founded in 1978 by Youth With A Mission, Mercy Ships operates a fleet of hospital ships to provide free healthcare and community development to developing nations. www.mercyships.org.

Financial Information  

Funding

Covenant World Relief (CWR) depends upon the greater Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) constituency for its annual donations. Annual funds are raised through a fall CWR campaign in local Covenant churches, monthly donors, bequests, and special disaster response projects. Annual distributions have ranged from 1 to 1.5 million dollars in these past years.

Stewardship

In the past ten years, overhead has varied between 3 and 12% of annual collected receipts, depending upon income and staff composition. Because we maintain only one part-time director, this allows CWR to place about 95 cents of every donated dollar directly into ministry. 

Distribution Guidelines

In general, donations made to CWR projects are distributed through the CWR Grant process in the first six months of the following year. Special provisions are made for emergency natural and man-made disasters. The CWR Fund Distribution Guidelines are available for download below. 

CWR Fund Distribution Guidelines

Grants

The CWR Grant Request Application and a sample CWR Grant Request are available for download below. Recommendations for grant approvals are made by the CWR Commission. Prior grant reports and new grant requests are due in the end of March, for action by the Executive Board the following June. Approved CWR Grant funds are available in mid-July.

CWR Grant Guidelines 

CWR Grant Request Form 

CWR Sample Grant Request

How you can give:

There are many ways you can give to support the work we do together through Covenant World Relief. Click here for more information. 

Leadership

Covenant World Relief employs a single half-time staff person, Jim Sundholm. As of September 2007, CWR is now a part of the ECC's new Department of Compassion, Mercy, and Justice (CMJ).  This does not change our overhead - CWR does not maintain an office or secretary, apart from CMJ, but is a collective ministry  of the Evangelical Covenant Church with a part-time director paid from long-term investment funds. All correspondence should be directed to the offices of the ECC (see below). 

Contact Information