Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a universal humanitarian support agency involved in intermediary environments that have occurrence some types of shock: conflict, economic collapse, or natural disaster. People working under it budge as fast as possible from fetching in food and supplies to enabling people to reconstruct their nation with society-driven and market-led programs. To arrange the groundwork for long-term revival, Mercy Corps centers on inter-connecting to both government and business for the transformations they would like to see. "We truly center on access to financial services as the vital element for helping to shift people out of poverty", Nancy Lindborg stated who is also Mercy Corps President. Mercy Corps provides an area for unlimited periods of time to promote local entrepreneurship, recreate social capital, and motivate markets on the basis of "cash for work" programs and a range of lending models. Mercy Corps, in the past 14 years, has established 12 different finance organizations. Ever since 1979, Mercy Corps has distributed more than US$1.95 billion in support to people in more than107 nations. Sustained by headquarter offices in North America and Europe, the organization's cohesive worldwide programs provide work for 3,700 staff globally and get in touch with nearly 16.7 million people in over 40 countries. 

History

The organization was established as Save the Refugees Fund in 1979, a task force structured by Dan O'Neill in reaction to the troubles of Cambodian refugees escaping the food shortage, war and genocide of the Killing Fields. By 1982, the organization had extended its work to other nations, was united by Ellsworth Culver (Mercy Corps co-founder) and was renamed Mercy Corps International to echo its wider mission. Following a move from merely distributing relief aid to centralize its mission on long-term resolutions to hunger and poverty, Mercy Corps' foremost development project started in Honduras in 1982. Commencing 2009, Mercy Corps' international headquarters are located in the Old Town locality of Portland, Oregon, at 45 SW Ankeny St. 97204 at present. Opened October 9, 2009, the building addresses the agency's headquarters offices, The Mercy Corps Action Center (a cohort center to The Action Center to End World Hunger opened, October 2009 in Manhattan), Mercy Corps Northwest and The Lemelson Foundation. Also, Mercy Corps has a European Headquarters at 40 Sciences, Edinburgh, Scotland EH9 1NJ. In 1996, Mercy Corps combined with Scottish European Aid and shaped an organization registered as Mercy Corps Scotland in 2000.

Activities

The U.S. economic development office of Mercy Corps aids low-income individuals in Oregon and Washington who have trouble receiving finances because of credit history, lack of guarantee, or unfortunate state of affairs. The loan program offers funding to entrepreneurs with concrete business proposals and helps them to expertise business plans and launch a coordinated savings account. Mercy Corps Northwest works as a petite business incubator and guides new business owners through the start-up stage. MCNW also provides  loan to existing businesses that generate jobs for low-income people. Associating with banks and launching banking institutions, Mercy Corps aids microfinance all around the world.

Finances

The agency's competence has facilitated Mercy Corps to accomplish Charity Navigator's "Four-Star" charity rating (out of four possible stars). At the end of Fiscal year June 30, 2006, Mercy Corps' revenue was US$205 million among which US$81 million (40%) was grants from government, US$63 million (31%) was from in-kind donations ("material aid") in the structure of food, medical, linens, and other supplies and services. Mercy Corps' operating costs were US$191 million, which was spent mainly on the program but comprises salaries and other reimbursement for 3,200 paid staff. Mercy Corps' total assets were greater than US$98 million in 2006.