Please be patient while the
2012 CRS Annual Report loads fully

The 2012 CRS Annual Report is optimally viewed on large screen sizes in the latest versions of Firefox, Safari and Chrome.

Please wait approximately 10 to 15 seconds for the interactive annual report to fully load.

You download the full print version of the 2012 Annual Report as a PDF file here.

The guarantee of one's prayer is very easy to know:
How do I treat the poor?-because that is WHERE GOD IS.
What you do to them, you do to God.
The way you look at them is the way you look at God.

— Archbishop Oscar Romero (1917–1980)

Read Dr.
Woo's Letter

Read Bishop
Kicanas' Letter

Read Cardinal
Dolan's Letter

Where God is,
We Find Purpose

As the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States, Catholic Relief Services eases suffering and provides vital assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world.

Through your generosity, we have the resources to bring innovative solutions to the toughest humanitarian problems—poverty, hunger, drought, disease and emergencies. In every effort we undertake, CRS works with local Church partners and grassroots agencies to enable communities to meet their own needs. We uphold the sacredness of human life and foster peaceful and just communities.

In 2012, 93% of our expenditures benefited more than 100 million of our poor brothers and sisters overseas.

Where God is,
We Find Promise

Families in the developing world prize education because they know what research shows us time and again: Education helps children learn their way out of poverty.

For Catholic Relief Services, increasing access to education for the world's poorest people means many things. That's why our approach to education involves integration with other programming, including livelihoods, water and sanitation, and peacebuilding.

Getting an education helps children learn their way to brighter futures. Education also benefits health, leads to economic growth and reduces chronic poverty.

IN LESOTHO, a CRS-supported program called Whose Child Is This? helps young children get a strong start.

Each day, 3-year-old Malifomo Rametsi and her brother Molefe, 4, attend the comprehensive preschool run by CRS local partner the Good Shepherd Sisters.

"This program is going to be the foundation for their education," says their grandmother, Rosa Maria Rametsi, who has been raising the preschoolers and their six siblings since their father died and their mother left to find work. "We want to say thank you. Now the children can go to school."

IN VIETNAM, we have offered inclusive education for children with disabilities for more than a decade.

Using grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Caritas Australia and private donors, CRS has piloted projects ranging from early childhood education to vocational training.

In the provinces where we work, at least 70 percent of children with disabilities are in school. More than 80 percent of graduates from our youth training program have found positions with government and in 150 companies.

CRS Education Statistics | 130 PROJECTS

‹ PREV NEXT ›

Where God is,
We Find Care

Catholic Relief Services brings health programs to impoverished communities with limited access to quality care, focusing on those at greatest risk—mothers, infants and very young children.

IN RURAL NICARAGUA, many women give birth at home without a doctor, prenatal checkups, postnatal care or health education. The CRS-supported Child Survival project, which focuses on reducing mother and newborn deaths in 125 rural communities, reached 113,560 women and children by using a network of trained community volunteers. Key to the project's success was teaching fathers how to take part in planning for the birth and care of their babies.

IN SOUTHERN HAITI, our Maternal and Child Health Nutrition program reduced the child malnutrition rate in targeted communities from 30 percent to 3 percent. The program strengthens the region's 22 health centers through community volunteers who organize mothers' clubs and health information posts in remote areas.

CRS Health Statistics | 172 PROJECTS

In fiscal year 2012, we worked with local public, private and Church institutions on 172 health projects in 41 countries.

‹ PREV NEXT ›

Where God is,
We Find Determination

For the world's poorest people, financial institutions are often too far away, and bank fees, loan interest and savings minimums are too high.

Catholic Relief Services Savings and Internal Lending Communities, or SILCs, provide extremely poor people with a way to save their own money—often penny by penny—and provide opportunities to invest, borrow and meet emergency needs. For vulnerable women, poor farmers, orphans and young people, SILC offers a safe, flexible financial solution.

IN 2012, SILC REACHED A MAJOR MILESTONE: 1 million members in 35 countries since the project began in 2006. That means that 1 million of the world's poorest people have learned to rely on their own resources—to start small businesses, pay their children's school fees, see a doctor or repair a leaky roof.

IN MALAWI, the Miyombe group was formed by men and women who couldn't afford to invest in their farms. Together, the group learned farming techniques from CRS field agents and invested in their own small enterprises. After 18 months, they had enough food to meet their families' needs, savings to divide among members and a social fund to help sick people at two nearby health facilities.

Where SILC Is...

1 million group members
49,907 groups
35 countries
$10.7 million in total savings
$558,594 in savings for emergencies

CRS Small Enterprise Statistics | 44 PROJECTS

‹ PREV NEXT ›

Where God is,
We Find New Beginnings

Thanks to the support of our donors, Catholic Relief Services helped save millions of lives in 2012 by responding to a range of emergencies in 18 countries, from Sierra Leone to the Philippines.

Thirty-one percent of CRS' programming in fiscal year 2012 went toward emergency response, which is at the heart and history of our mission.

We address major crises covered extensively by the press and "silent emergencies" that never make headlines.

Once we meet immediate needs for food, water and shelter, we transition to rebuilding and reconstruction, supporting the survivors of natural disasters, chronic emergencies and conflict in reclaiming their lives.

CRS Emergency Statistics | 363 PROJECTS

IN 2010, HAITI WAS DEVASTATED by an earthquake that took 230,000 lives and left more than a million people homeless. Today, work continues on our 5-year program of relief and recovery.

In partnership with the Catholic Health Association of the United States, CRS is supporting reconstruction of the destroyed St. François de Sales Hospital into a state-of-the-art teaching facility.

We also supported the Haitian Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education and partnered with the University of Notre Dame to assess and create a GPS map of Haiti's Catholic schools. The result: A map of all 2,315 schools that will help determine priorities for Catholic education over the next 5 years.

‹ PREV NEXT ›

Where God is,
We Find Sustenance

Each day, 884 million people live without access to clean water. For far too many women and children, that means hours spent walking to and from rivers and ponds carrying heavy jugs. And more often than not, the water they labor so hard to bring home is not safe to drink.

Catholic Relief Services partners with groups such as local water associations and international organizations to increase and improve water supplies. Integrated with sanitation, education, agriculture and livelihoods, clean water changes lives.

IN TANZANIA, the Qaru Lambo Primary School was one of many in East Africa that lacked a water supply and effective sanitation. With the Catholic Diocese of Mbulu, CRS connected the Qaru village water supply system to the school, painted murals about hygiene, constructed hand-washing stations and made improvements to the school's latrines. In a healthier environment, students stay in school longer and share their knowledge about hygiene with families and neighbors.

In Bolivia

IN BOLIVIA, CRS eco-latrines improve sanitation and health in every environment. From desert highlands to lowland jungles, the waterless system prevents disease, conserves resources and protects underground water reserves.

Water and sanitation programs in schools significantly reduce disease, increase student attendance and academic achievement, and allow girls to continue going to school after reaching puberty.

‹ PREV NEXT ›

Where God is,
We Find Resilience

Catholic Relief Services and our partners bring agricultural programs to the poorest farm families and communities. And while we are at the forefront of putting new technologies to use in agricultural programming, innovation sometimes comes in low-tech packages.

"Before, my whole family had to work in the fields to grow enough food," says Haji Mohammad Ali. "Now we grow bigger potatoes and they do not spoil over the winter. My children have time to go to school, and we will still have enough to eat."

Haji Mohammad Ali, a farmer in Dahan Takaghal, lost none of his potatoes last winter in the storage pit CRS helped him modify. Combined with new planting techniques taught by local CRS agriculture experts, the amount of food he is able to store for his family has nearly doubled.

IN RURAL AFGHANISTAN, potato farmers traditionally store their harvests in dugout pits over the long, harsh winters. The pits keep the potatoes from freezing but don't protect them from rot, leaving food and seed scarce by spring planting season.

In response, some aid groups built storage facilities that were too costly to replicate and too difficult to reach by wheelbarrow or donkey.

CRS took a different approach. With just $10 in local materials and some training, a farmer can now successfully store potatoes in his own traditional pit, fitted with a CRS-designed ventilation system. In Dahan Takaghal, a 7-hour drive from the nearest paved road, farmers using this system report a loss of only 5 percent of their harvest, compared to 30 percent in years past. Less rot means more food for their children in winter months and seed potatoes come spring.

CRS Agriculture Statistics | 305 PROJECTS

‹ PREV NEXT ›

Where God is,
We Find Solidarity

Catholic Relief Services works in the United States to offer Catholics tangible ways to "contribute to the progress of the world," as Pope Benedict XVI urged and our faith compels us.

"Sometimes our children do not quite understand when we tell them about people in other countries who don't have anything to eat. Whenever our children say they don't like or want the food we serve, we say, 'Other children would like to eat what you have, but they can't because they don't have it.' "
— Félix González of Baltimore, Maryland

U.S. Operations Statistics

8.6 million Catholics engaged
14,962 parishes, dioceses and schools
$6.5 million raised by CRS Rice Bowl
20,012: the number of times CRS supporters contacted elected officials

CRS RICE BOWL is a program that parishes, schools, religious education programs and families use during Lent to learn about hunger and poverty in the world. Seventy-five percent of CRS Rice Bowl donations go to support CRS programming overseas and 25 percent stay in U.S. dioceses to support local hunger projects. In 2012, we raised $6.5 million to support CRS programming in the world's poorest countries, including Madagascar, Zambia, India, Vietnam and El Salvador

CATHOLICS CONFRONT GLOBAL POVERTY is an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, CRS and Catholics in the United States to defend the lives and dignity of people living in poverty throughout the world, and to urge the U.S. government to respond through advocacy and action.

In 2012, the number of supporters who responded to our action alerts grew by 50 percent. We influenced 15 federal policy issues that address global poverty, and we worked to secure increased U.S. government funding for humanitarian assistance.

‹ PREV NEXT ›

Where God is,
We Find Forgiveness

Peace is a process, not a single act or event. That's why our peacebuilding projects are rooted in our relationship with a vast network of local partners and a focus on strengthening their ability to resolve conflicts.

Catholic Relief Services takes a holistic approach that improves social unity, promotes justice for poor and marginalized people, and increases Church interfaith engagement.

Ghassan and Ophir, a Palestinian student and an Israeli student, enact a moment of genuine connection.

CRS in the Philippines, East Timor & the Holy Land

IN THE PHILIPPINES, a 3-year project called Peace Governance in Mindanao promotes sustainable peace by strengthening the capacity and authority of local communities to resolve conflicts, includes training in the "culture of peace," as well as identifies issues, solutions and opportunities for ongoing dialogue.

IN EAST TIMOR, the Church Action for Peaceful and Democratic Elections project successfully mobilized Church leaders—bishops, parish priests, catechists, teachers, religious congregations and youth leaders—to inspire peaceful and democratic presidential and parliamentary elections in 2012.

IN THE HOLY LAND, the GEMINI project establishes groups of Jewish and Palestinian young people to engage in discussions and activities on 10 college campuses in several cities. GEMINI promotes common spaces for civic, political and social conversation about ongoing conflict and encourages participants to become engaged and to take responsibility for their social and political environment.

Students and teachers gather around the "peace table" they built to help students resolve conflicts through dialogue.

Peace & Justice Statistics | 180 Projects

‹ PREV NEXT ›

Where God is,
We Find Inspiration

More than 6 billion people have access to cell phones—nearly 5 billion of them in the developing world. Catholic Relief Services is a leader in using mobile technology for projects in health, education, agriculture and emergencies.

"Before [this project began], I would ask [a pregnant woman] whether she had her tetanus injections and whether she was taking her iron and folic acid," says a community health care worker in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. "Now I also talk to her about the importance of good nutrition and about danger signs."

Those who used mobile phones learned faster, scored higher on writing and math tests, and retained their literacy skills better—months after the end of classes.

Mobile Technology Statistics

$2.3 million investment
72 projects
24 countries
5 program sectors (agriculture, emergency response, food security, health and microfinance)
$66 million in program value to the people we serve

Innovation in the Field

IN NIGER, as part of an adult literacy program serving 6,700 farmers in 134 villages, CRS piloted the use of mobile phones to teach basic language and math skills. Participants increased agricultural production as they learned to read and write via text messaging, and accessed market information using their mobile phones.

IN INDIA, CRS partnered with a technology innovator to improve mother and newborn survival in rural Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state. The project uses basic mobile phones and a pregnancy checklist to help community health workers collect data and handle cases more efficiently.

IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, CRS is using technology at seed fairs, putting farm families, local seed producers and sellers on the path to recovery following natural disasters and conflict. Using iPods, along with solar-powered barcode readers and printers, we've streamlined the cumbersome registration process and can now collect, store and analyze data in real time. This helps us rapidly address challenges and make program changes that will benefit more people-and the lessons we've learned can be applied to larger, multiservice programs.

‹ PREV NEXT ›

CRS 2012 Financials

We extend our deepest thanks to the thousands of individuals, families and organizations that supported the work of Catholic Relief Services in fiscal year 2012. Each year, you have demonstrated your concern for others who are less fortunate by steadfastly and continuously supporting CRS programs.

Your generosity helps make it possible for us to ease human suffering and provide assistance to poor and vulnerable people in the world.

CRS ensures the funds you have so generously entrusted to us go where they are needed most. In the interest of stewardship, only summary financial information is provided in this annual report. Please see the complete 2012 financial statements.

Where God Is,
There is Hope

ASIA • Afghanistan • Bangladesh • Cambodia • China • East Timor • India • Indonesia • Japan • Kyrgyzstan • Laos • Mongolia • Myanmar • Nepal • North Korea • Oceania • Pakistan • Philippines • Sri Lanka • Tajikistan • Thailand • Vietnam • AFRICA • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Central African Republic • Chad • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Djibouti • Eritrea • Ethiopia • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Republic of the Congo • Rwanda • Senegal • Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • South Sudan • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania • Togo • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe • EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Egypt • Iraq • Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza • Jordan • Lebanon • Moldova • Serbia • Syria • Turkey • LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN • Bolivia • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Costa Rica • Cuba • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • El Salvador • Grenada • Guatemala • Guyana • Haiti • Honduras • Jamaica • Mexico • Nicaragua • Peru • St. Lucia

Thank you for helping us transform lives in 91 countries!

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. We ease suffering and provide assistance to people in need in 91 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality.

228 West Lexington Street • Baltimore, MD 21201-3443
1-877-435-7277

crs.org • crsespanol.org

Operating Revenues (in Thousands)

PRIVATE SUPPORT AND REVENUE
CRS Collection	$13,292	1.90%
CRS Rice Bowl	$6,554	0.93%
Other Private Contributions	$109,616	15.63%
Foundation and Other Private Grants	$42,633	6.08%
Bequests	$22,066	3.15%
Private In-kind Gifts	$1,934	0.28%
Total Private Support and Revenue	$196,095	27.97%

PUBLIC SUPPORT AND REVENUE
Commodities and Freight	$175,858	25.08%
U.S. Government Grants	$270,642	38.60%
Other Public Grants and Contributions	$52,350	7.47%
Public In-kind Gifts	$2,468	0.35%
Total Public Support and Revenue	$501,318	71.50%

OTHER
Investment and Other	$3,711	0.53%

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUES

$701,124

100.00%

Operating Expenses (in Thousands)

PROGRAM SERVICES
Emergency	$232,830	31.78%
Agriculture	$146,175	19.96%
HIV and AIDS	$106,953	14.60%
Health	$88,038	12.02%
Education	$48,026	6.56%
Welfare	$28,581	3.90%
Peace and Justice	$25,407	3.47%
Small Enterprise	$7,361	1.01%
Total Program Services	$683,371	93.30%

SUPPORTING SERVICES
Fundraising	$21,747	2.97%
Management and General	$20,449	2.79%
Public Awareness	$6,851	0.94%
Total Supporting Services	$49,047	6.70%

TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES

$732,418

100.00%

Please be patient while the2012 CRS Annual Report loads fully

Read Dr. Woo's Letter

Read BishopKicanas' Letter

Read CardinalDolan's Letter

Where God is,We Find Purpose

Where God is,We Find Promise

CRS Education Statistics | 130 PROJECTS

Where God is,We Find Care

CRS Health Statistics | 172 PROJECTS

Where God is,We Find Determination

Where SILC Is...

CRS Small Enterprise Statistics | 44 PROJECTS

Where God is,We Find New Beginnings

CRS Emergency Statistics | 363 PROJECTS

Where God is,We Find Sustenance

In Bolivia

Where God is,We Find Resilience

CRS Agriculture Statistics | 305 PROJECTS

Where God is,We Find Solidarity

U.S. Operations Statistics

Where God is,We Find Forgiveness

CRS in the Philippines, East Timor & the Holy Land

Peace & Justice Statistics | 180 Projects

Where God is,We Find Inspiration

Mobile Technology Statistics

Innovation in the Field

CRS 2012 Financials

Where God Is,There is Hope

Thank you for helping us transform lives in 91 countries!

Please be patient while the
2012 CRS Annual Report loads fully

Read Dr.
Woo's Letter

Read Bishop
Kicanas' Letter

Read Cardinal
Dolan's Letter

Where God is,
We Find Purpose

Where God is,
We Find Promise

Where God is,
We Find Care

Where God is,
We Find Determination

Where God is,
We Find New Beginnings

Where God is,
We Find Sustenance

Where God is,
We Find Resilience

Where God is,
We Find Solidarity

Where God is,
We Find Forgiveness

Where God is,
We Find Inspiration

Where God Is,
There is Hope