Lutheran World Relief

Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is an international non-governmental organization that focuses on sustainable development projects and disaster relief and recovery. The organization was founded in 1945 to collect and send aid to people living in post-World War II Europe. Today, LWR helps communities living in extreme poverty adapt to the challenges that threaten their livelihoods and well-being, and responds to emergencies with a long-term view. It is a member of the Corus International family of faith-based international development organizations, which include IMA World Health, CGA Technologies, Ground Up Investing, and LWR Farmers Market Coffee.
One of LWR's flagship programs – started in 1945 and continuing today – is its Quilt and Kit Ministry. Each year Lutherans across the United States assemble and donate LWR Mission Quilts, as well as several kinds of care kits to assist people living in poverty in times of emergency or great need.
LWR continues to receive high rankings from Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, GreatNonprofits, and the Better Business Bureau.
LWR is a member of the ACT Alliance, a global alliance of churches and related agencies working on development that are committed to working together.
History.
Lutheran World Relief was officially founded in 1945, as Lutherans in the United States began responding to the refugee crisis in post-World War II Europe by sending food, clothing and quilts. By the end of the decade, LWR was also sending relief aid to those affected by conflicts in Palestine, Hong Kong, Korea, and Bangladesh. In the 1960s and 1970s, LWR began forming methodologies of working in agriculture and with farming cooperatives to increase rural incomes and food security in the developing world, eventually changing its articles of incorporation to reflect its work in international development. In 1979, LWR opened it first regional office in Peru.
In the 1980s, famine in Africa made international headlines, especially the plight of people in Ethiopia. In response, LWR shipped 5,000 tons of wheat to northern Ethiopia and also opened a regional office in West Africa. For its work in responding to the Ethiopian Civil War and famine, LWR became the first faith-based development agency to receive the Presidential End Hunger award. In 1999, LWR moved its headquarters from New York City to the newly built Lutheran Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
Since 2000, LWR has increased its emphasis on sustainable agriculture and climate adaptation while continuing to respond to major natural disasters and humanitarian crises around the world.
Organizational structure.
In its founding structure, Lutheran World Relief was originally led by a secretary. In 1953, the organization changed its top leadership position to an executive director. In 1996, LWR transitioned to being led by a President and CEO, the structure that remains in place today. LWR's President and CEO reports to a 15-member board of directors, including representatives from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), the two largest Lutheran church bodies in the United States.
LWR is divided into four departments:
Core program areas.
LWR's projects are structured to address three core program areas:
Agriculture.
LWR's programs in agriculture focus on improving the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers and their families by through sustainable agricultural practices that build food security and increase rural incomes. Some approaches LWR uses to carry out this work are:
Climate.
LWR's programs in climate change focus on helping rural communities adapt to changing climates by:
Emergency operations.
LWR's emergency operations focus on helping rural communities prepare for disasters before they happen and cope with and recover from emergencies in ways that promote lasting improvements in living conditions by: 
LWR has implemented significant response programs to natural disasters, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Super-Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, as well as crises caused by conflict in South Sudan, Iraq, and Syria.
Where LWR works.
LWR works in 21 countries with 16 field offices in three regions: Asia and the Middle East; Africa; and Latin America.