So... you'll have noticed that things change in the world of Christian humanitarian organizations... the world of the parachurch, like the church itself, continues to evolve. So many changes -- government funding for aid waxes and wains, global initiatives come and silently go, approaches to poverty alleviation mature, books drawing attention to the work and problems and solutions have their day and then are gone, organizations shift focus, priorities, and strategies, websites undergo major redesigns (like our own here at Givers by Design)... you get the idea.
Yet, the underlying issues don't really change that much. Extreme Poverty is still with us. Statistics tout reductions in numbers and percentages, but mask the fact that for those who remain trapped in extreme poverty, absolutely nothing has changed. The church continues to grow in areas where extreme poverty is prevalent, and continues to largely ignore the problem in places that enjoy an easier standard of living. And individuals who want to help still face the same challenges as before -- like how to bring more attention to extreme poverty, and ensure that their gifts make a difference.
For these reasons and others, the need and usefulness of a site like Givers by Design continues -- to provide tools for those who wish to urge their own circles or churches towards a more faithful response to the problem of extreme poverty, and to provide tools for Christ-followers (churched or unchurched) who wish to give more themselves, and want to do so with effectiveness in mind.
Our newly reorganized site addresses these two concerns directly via the Advocacy tab, and the Effective Giving tab. We hope that you'll find it useful.
As part of the reorganization, we are busily refreshing the reviews (our favorite Christian Humanitarian Organizations working to end Extreme Poverty) that we wrote six years ago. We will post the reviews here, but as before, they will be easily accessible from the Top Organizations page under the Effective Giving tab. We will have these reviews refreshed with the most current information available by Thanksgiving.
Finally, here is another thing that hasn't changed -- this site remains zero-revenue, nothing to sell, no advertising, no click-thru income, zip-nada. And the same for sharing personal information -- there is none collected on this site... no information, no problem. That is why you'll find no newsletter signup, comment sign-in, social media buttons, etc. If you find our work here useful, we trust that you'll figure out a way to share it with your friends without all the insane shenanigans that the web involves these days!
Soli Deo Gloria