Lutheran World Relief

Overview

Mission

Lutheran World Relief (LWR) works with Lutherans and partners around the world to end poverty, injustice, and human suffering. We provide aid in emergencies and help families restore their lives. We partner with communities to build and grow rural economies. We break the cycle of poverty, so families and communities can thrive. Our goal is to help people build self‐sufficiency and create new community‐owned approaches to problem‐solving that will last long after our projects end. Our Mission. Founded by Lutherans in the United States at the end of World War II, grounded in Lutheran theology and building on decades of experience, Lutheran World Relief tackles global poverty by helping people adapt to the challenges that threaten their livelihoods and well-being. We work with people based on need, regardless of race, religion or nationality and we do not evangelize. We provide aid in...

Operating model

Revenue model

Donor-supported. 81% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.

Distribution model

Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

• Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

• Financial Efficiency: 60
• Transparency & Controls: 70
• Accountability: 100
• Sustainability: 81
• Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Details

• What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
• Where the money goes: 55.1% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
• Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported · 0 of 6 affiliation controls reported
• Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $38.6M in reported program spending
• Leadership: top reported pay $603K · 28 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
• Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.4M reported
• Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
• Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
• Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
• Contacts: How to reach this organization
• Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
• Related organizations: 16 filed related-organization links
• Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
• People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

• Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
• High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
• Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
• High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
• Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.
• High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.