Financial Statements

Building on 65 Years of Help and Hope

In 1943, as war raged across Europe, thousands of bedraggled Polish refugees fleeing Soviet forced-labor camps streamed across the border of Iran. Most were women and children, or very old men, their bodies emaciated, their feet swollen and bleeding. Realizing they had reached sanctuary, many fell to their knees and wept.

There to meet them were representatives of a newly formed agency, War Relief Services, representing the mercy and good will of American Catholics. From these beginnings, that charitable organization would become Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community.

The outpouring of generosity from Catholics in the United States has continued throughout CRS' 65-year history. As part of our mission, CRS provides education and opportunities for the faithful to engage in our work on behalf of the poor overseas. And American Catholics and others of good will have responded: not only to wars and natural disasters, but also to those working for development, justice and peace. Thanks to you, CRS has been blessed to be an agent of help and hope for the poorest of the poor in more than 100 countries around the world.

In 2008, CRS achieved significant milestones, even as we faced some of the most daunting challenges in our history. The issues we confronted were global in scope:

• The food crisis caused prices of basic commodities to double and even triple, stretching poor families to the limit. CRS responded by getting cash, food and vouchers into the hands of the urban and rural poor, enabling them to feed themselves and their families. We provided opportunities for people in hurricane- and cyclone-prone regions to participate in cash-for-work projects that helped their communities prepare for and better withstand disasters.
• CRS is placing major emphasis on emergency preparation, hoping to reduce damage caused by drought, flooding and other natural disasters. This past storm season, a series of hurricanes and tropical storms devastated the Caribbean. Our brothers and sisters in Gonaives, Haiti, really suffered, as an estimated 2.5 million tons of mud and sludge caked the streets, homes, churches and schools of the city. CRS worked tirelessly with our partner Caritas Haiti and hired local workers as part of a cash-for-work program to clear 36 schools of the storms' mucky aftermath.
• Communities owning and managing their own health needs ensure that even the most vulnerable have the means to live healthy lives. One of the first steps in solidifying the health of a community is to ensure safe motherhood and child survival. The CRS-led AIDSRelief consortium marked a milestone of providing more than 100,000 HIV patients with lifesaving antiretroviral therapy and 250,000 patients with related care. One overall goal of CRS health projects is to avoid preventable maternal and child deaths. CRS promotes exclusive breastfeeding to age 6 months, and from 6 months through early childhood, sound nutrition and wellness practices for caregivers of young children.
• After the 1994 Rwandan genocide, CRS recommitted itself to promoting peace and social justice. In Sudan this past year, we conducted extensive leadership training to increase community leaders' ability to peacefully resolve conflicts over the long term—an essential skill in volatile post-conflict environments. In rural Egypt, women have traditionally been excluded from politics. With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, CRS helped courageous women like Huwaida, Fatheya and Hoda overcome social pressure and engage in the political process.
• CRS reached approximately 13,000 U.S. parishes and schools through Operation Rice Bowl. Through this well-known Lenten program, CRS invites Catholics to explore the lives of their brothers and sisters overseas and raises about $10 million annually, 75 percent of which goes to CRS' overseas mission. The remaining 25 percent stays in the local U.S. dioceses.