Founded | 1982 |
---|---|
Founder | Ferdinand Mahfood |
Type | Non-profit organization |
Focus | Impoverished people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean |
Location |
|
Area served | Seventeen countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean |
Method | Direct assistance of churches and charity organizations operating within in-need areas through the delivery of food, medicine, housing, and other vital goods |
Key people |
|
Employees | 300+ (2020) |
Website | www |
Food For The Poor, Inc. (FFP) is an ecumenical Christian nonprofit organization based in Coconut Creek, Florida, United States that provides food, medicine, and shelter, among other services, to the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In 1982, Ferdinand Mahfood began Food For The Poor [2] to aid the poor and downtrodden in Latin America and the Caribbean. Clergy members from Episcopalian, Lutheran and Catholic churches are the core of the organization, preaching throughout the United States about the need in the countries they serve.[ citation needed ]
Since 1982, Food For The Poor has distributed more than $12 billion worth of food, medicine, housing materials, water, and other aid to the poor of the Caribbean and Latin America.[ citation needed ] In 2007, the charity migrated its headquarters from Deerfield Beach, Florida to Coconut Creek, Florida.[ citation needed ] As of 2020, Food For The Poor employs more than 300 people out of its Coconut Creek location, [3] in addition to employing members of the Clergy as speakers across the United States.[ citation needed ]
The President of Food For The Poor is Ed Raine. [4] Ed joined Food For The Poor in October 2017 and was appointed Executive Vice President in May 2018. In that role, he oversaw many aspects of management for the organization, focusing on organizational development and strategy.
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Food for the Poor aids the poor through donations of money and supplies, mostly from the United States. A majority of the organization's revenue is from donated goods.
Champions For The Poor is a personal fundraising program that was founded in 2009 and lets supporters create webpages to raise funds for the poor in the Caribbean and Latin America. [5] [6] The micro-site is hosted by personal fundraising software company Classy.
Angels of the Poor is a monthly giving program that features former Charlie's Angel, Cheryl Ladd, as its spokesperson. [7] [8] Food For The Poor also hosts an annual Building Hope Gala in Boca Raton, Florida. [9]
Food For The Poor provides, as its main objective, nourishment to the poor. The organization also erects homes for homeless families, supplies medicine and health care in hospitals and clinics, subsidizes orphanages, and teaches children and adults by providing training.
Food For The Poor has a child sponsorship program that operates in many of the countries it serves in Latin America and the Caribbean. [10] [11] According to its website, over 7,200 orphaned or abandoned children are sponsored in the program.
In addition to its general community development and direct aid programs designed to reduce poverty and malnutrition, Food For The Poor provides targeted relief for humanitarian crises. On January 11, 2010, it announced initial success in introducing a new food source, the Basa fish, for the critically malnourished nation of Haiti.
On January 13, 2010, it announced a major relief effort directed toward the people of the same nation to help recover from the catastrophic January 12 earthquake which struck Port-au-Prince. Food For The Poor has built 16,204 housing units since the earthquake. Additionally, 44 schools were built or restored in the Port-au-Prince region.
Shortly after Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti on Oct. 3, 2016, the charity set a goal to build 1,000 housing units in 100 days. The charity's teams in Haiti were able to build 1,086 housing units in 114 days, and now are helping storm victims replant crops and rebuild livestock to offset growing food scarcity
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Food For The Poor partners with local organizations in the countries where they work. Jamaica, the first country assisted by Food For The Poor, today includes more than 1,800 churches as partners in the distribution of food, medicine, educational supplies, and other needed items.
Since 1989, the charity's street feeding program in Kingston, Jamaica has been operated in partnership with the Salvation Army. [12]
Haiti, the largest recipient of aid from the charity, has an expansive network of island-wide distribution hubs and supports thousands of partners in feeding the poorest of the poor.
Some of our other major partners include: the American Nicaraguan Foundation, Caritas, CEPUDO, Fundación Nuevos Horizontes, Living Water, and Order of Malta.
As of March 2021, Charity Navigator gives Food for the Poor an Overall Score & Rating of 87.82. [13]
On April 11, 2018, the attorney general for the state of California, Xavier Becerra, filed a limited CEASE AND DESIST order to Food For The Poor, alleging its claim that 95.6% of all donations, including donated goods, to Food For The Poor went directly to programs that help the poor [1] was incorrect and misleading and that the actual number (for 2013) was 66.2% of cash donations. The state also claims that the charity used improper accounting techniques where they would take the inflated US retail value of expiring pharmaceuticals that were donated or made available by Pharma companies for delivery to third-world countries and count that value as the same as cash donations. The state is ordering that the organization pay $1.088 million in fines and stop using the 95% statement. The charity continues to be licensed to solicit charitable funds in the state of California. [14]
Food for the Poor responded that it upholds the highest standards of integrity and honesty and that it is confident that it will demonstrate that its accounting and valuation practices and solicitations meet and often exceed legal requirements, as well as industry best practices. It issued a public statement and is appealing the order. [15]
On September 20, 2019, the California Attorney General's office announced that it had secured a Cease and Desist Order and over $1 million in penalties against MAP International, Food for the Poor, and CMMB (Catholic Medical Mission Board), for deceptive solicitation tactics. [16]
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles starting with Cuba, to the east by the Lesser Antilles, and to the south by the northern coast of South America. The Gulf of Mexico lies to the northwest.
Jamaica has diplomatic relations with many nations and is a member of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Jamaica chairs the Working Group on smaller Economies.
The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states throughout the Americas and Atlantic Ocean. They have primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973, with its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Its primary activities involve:
Compassion International is an American child sponsorship and Christian humanitarian aid organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that aims to positively influence the long-term development of children globally who live in poverty.
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Heifer International is a global nonprofit working to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable, values-based holistic community development. Heifer International distributes animals, along with agricultural and values-based training, to families in need around the world as a means of providing self-sufficiency. Recipients must agree to "pass on the gift" by donating animal offspring, as well as sharing the skills and knowledge of animal husbandry and agricultural training with other impoverished families in the community. The organization receives financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, BlackRock, Cargill, Mastercard Foundation, Walmart and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
Feeding America is a United States–based nonprofit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. Forbes ranks it as the largest U.S. charity by revenue. Feeding America was known as America's Second Harvest until August 31, 2008.
Rice and beans, or beans and rice, is a category of dishes from many cultures around the world, whereby the staple foods of rice and beans are combined in some manner. The grain and legume combination provides several important nutrients and many calories, and both foods are widely available. The beans are usually seasoned, while the rice may be plain or seasoned. The two components may be mixed together, separated on the plate, or served separately.
Charity fraud is the act of using deception to get money from people who believe they are making donations to a charity. Often a person or a group of people will make material representations that they are a charity or part of a charity and ask prospective donors for contributions to the non-existent charity. Charity fraud not only includes fictitious charities but also deceitful business acts. Deceitful business acts include businesses accepting donations and not using the money for its intended purposes, or soliciting funds under the pretense of need.
The Missionaries of the Poor is a Roman Catholic monastic religious institute of Brothers and Sisters dedicated to "Joyful Service with Christ on the Cross" to serve the poorest of the poor. Its members use the nominal letters MOP after their names to indicate membership in the congregation. It was started in 1981 by The Very Reverend Father Richard Ho Lung, M.O.P. in Kingston, Jamaica and has now grown to over 550 Brothers and Sisters from 13 countries.
World Concern is a Christian global relief and development organization operating in Africa, Southeast Asia and Haiti, with its headquarters located in Seattle, Washington. World Concern serves approximately 6 million people worldwide and has a staff of 877, with 846 of those being international and 31 based at headquarters.
Americares is a global non-profit organization focused on health and development that responds to individuals affected by poverty, disaster, or crisis. The organization addresses poverty, disasters, or crises with medicine, medical supplies and health programs.
Charity: water is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 that provides drinking water to people in developing nations. As of 2019, the organization has raised $370 million. According to the organization, it has funded 111,000 water projects in 29 countries though it does not know how many of the projects are still functional.
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit international development and human rights organization that supports community-based organizations in 19 countries in the developing world and works to educate the American Jewish community about global justice. It is the first and only Jewish organization dedicated solely to ending poverty and promoting human rights in the developing world. Its headquarters are in New York City. AJWS has received a Four Star rating from Charity Navigator since 2002.
The humanitarian responses by non-governmental organizations to the 2010 Haiti earthquake included many organisations, such as international, religious, and regionally based NGOs, which immediately pledged support in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Besides a large multi-contingency contribution by national governments, NGOs contributed significantly to both on-the-ground rescue efforts and external solicitation of aid for the rescue efforts.
Child Aid is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Portland, Oregon, working to promote literacy in Latin America. According to Child Aid's mission statement, the organization works to "create opportunity for Latin America's rural and indigenous poor through childhood literacy and education programs."
Matthew 25: Ministries is an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization headquartered in Blue Ash, Ohio, US. Matthew 25: Ministries provides humanitarian aid and disaster relief to the poor throughout the US and around the world. Matthew 25 collects excess products from corporations and manufacturers as well as the general public and ships these donations to those in need.
Convoy of Hope is an American faith-based nonprofit humanitarian and disaster relief organization that provides food, supplies, and humanitarian services to impoverished or otherwise needy populations throughout the world. The organization also engages in disaster relief work. It was founded in 1994 by Hal, Steve, and Dave Donaldson in Sacramento, California, later moved its headquartered to its currently place in Springfield, Missouri, and is associated with the Assemblies of God and its Chi Alpha campus ministries and fellowships.
The Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) is an international, faith-based NGO, providing long-term, co-operative medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and healthcare issues. It was established in 1912 and officially registered in 1928. CMMB is headquartered in New York City, USA, and currently has country offices in Haiti, Kenya, Peru, South Sudan, and Zambia.
The city of Baltimore, Maryland includes a large and growing Caribbean-American population. The Caribbean-American community is centered in West Baltimore. The largest non-Hispanic Caribbean populations in Baltimore are Jamaicans, Trinidadians and Tobagonians, and Haitians. Baltimore also has significant Hispanic populations from the Spanish West Indies, particularly Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans. Northwest Baltimore is the center of the West Indian population of Baltimore, while Caribbean Hispanics in the city tend to live among other Latinos in neighborhoods such as Greektown, Upper Fell's Point, and Highlandtown. Jamaicans and Trinidadians are the first and second largest West Indian groups in the city, respectively. The neighborhoods of Park Heights and Pimlico in northwest Baltimore are home to large West Indian populations, particularly Jamaican-Americans.