NEW YORK — Earlier this year when Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that a significant majority of programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development would be canceled, it sent shockwaves of uncertainty through the global community of non-governmental organizations.
For World Vision, one of the world’s largest Christian humanitarian operations with more than 34,000 people working in nearly 100 countries, the move created what the organization’s president and CEO, Edgar Sandoval Sr., called a “meaningful disruption.”
It was meaningful because in 2023 alone, according to financial statements from World Vision, the U.S. government contributed some $661 million in grants of food and cash to their more than $1.5 billion life-saving and development work. This represented more than a third of operating revenue. In 2022, that contribution was $491 million, while in 2021, it was $421 million.
Though the disruption was short-lived — as the State Department granted waivers to keep funding much of the organization’s relief and emergency assistance work — World Vision was forced to stop work in 20 countries, resulting in about a million people not receiving emergency help, according to Sandoval.
“We have a portfolio of funding sources that include the U.S. government, private donors, major donors, sponsors, churches [and] corporations. [While] the vast majority does not come from the U.S government, a meaningful chunk does,” Sandoval told The Christian Post in an interview on the 19th floor of an office tower in Midtown, Manhattan, on Tuesday. “With the initial stop work orders, we weren’t exactly sure how much was at stake. Some were stopped, but they were reinstated.”
Sandoval explained that funding from government grants is generally used for relief and emergency assistance, and development work. Most of the cuts in funding were development-related grants.
“The relief and the life-saving assistance programs were the ones that the vast majority were able to stay,” Sandoval said. “The development programs, which are a smaller percentage of what we do with the government, were the ones that were mostly affected and stopped.”
Sandoval said he had to go deeper in his faith to steer the Christian organization, which has been saving lives for 75 years, through the period of uncertainty.
“When the challenges come, it’s like storms with strong winds. So you need to be rooted in solid ground. And that solid ground is our faith, and Christ is our calling by God to serve the most vulnerable,” Sandoval told CP. “You’ve got to remind yourself every day of why you’re here. … Then remind the rest of the staff of the organization, they have the same calling that I do.”
While World Vision ended up cutting about 11% of its staff, Sandoval said he pointed to God’s sufficiency as a provider and communicated regularly with employees as they dealt with the confusion and uncertainty that unfolded over the last several months.
“I like to say that I learned from one of my mentors that strong leaders absorb fear and exude hope. And in a time of challenge, that’s a really good recipe. It’s a good recipe for any time, but particularly for a time of challenge,” he told CP.
“We’re committed to this mission. In an interesting way, it’s a perfect time for us to remember that God has been faithful to World Vision for 75 years. We’ve worked with 15 different administrations. We’ve been through highs and lows, but our God is the same, and He’s a good God.”
And it’s because of this commitment to the organization’s mission, along with their faith in God, that Sandoval says they have launched the “most ambitious” fundraising campaign in World Vision’s history, called Everyone Needs a Believer. It calls on “more of the American public, the faith community in particular, to step into the gap” and help.
Everyone Needs a Believer hopes to reach 300 million people in more than 70 countries by 2030. The campaign seeks to empower people with LIFE (Water and Health); HOPE (Child Protection, Christian Discipleship, and Emergency Response), and a FUTURE (Economic Empowerment and Education).
“There’s no more timely moment in history to do that than at a time where the needs are increasing and the funding is decreasing, and we’re excited to do that,” Sandoval said. “We’re calling on all people, caring and compassionate people, to create a movement and let’s go do some really good stuff for the precious, vulnerable children of the world.”
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