ERDO is a 5-star charity. It is financially transparent, has a good results reporting grade, and has reasonable overhead costs. Ci has given ERDO a Good impact rating.

Founded in 1983, the Emergency Relief and Development Overseas (ERDO) is an international Pentecostal charity. It works to provide crisis support, community development, and sponsorships to families in impoverished countries. ERDO is a member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities.

A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity

In F2023, ERDO ran three main programs. The largest is its Crisis Response program, which provides food, medicine, and housing support to people affected by natural disasters and war. The second is its ChildCARE Plus program, which sponsors impoverished children. The program provides food and funding for education. The last is its Community Development program. This program organizes educational, sanitary, and nutritional programs for communities. ERDO provides a detailed spending breakdown in its annual report. In F2023, ERDO spent $16.2m on its programs.

The Crisis Response program received $10.3m in F2023, comprising 63% of ERDO’s spending in F2023. In F2023, ERDO ran 53 projects in 27 countries. Programs include building 20 disaster resistant homes in Haiti, providing psychosocial support for 949 children in Myanmar, and supplying 69,110 people in Ukraine. ERDO provides a breakdown of program activities by crisis in its annual report. ERDO reports that its Crisis Response program reached 343,438 people in F2023. 

The ChildCARE Plus program comprised 24% of ERDO’s spending, receiving $3.9m in funding in F2023. ERDO ran programs in 41 locations in 28 countries. ERDO reports that 62% of sponsorship locations offered children extra tutoring outside school. Additionally, 85% of locations taught children about proper nutrition in school. ERDO reports that it sponsored 7,698 children in F2023.  

ERDO’s Community Development program comprised the remaining 12% of program spending. It received $2.0m in F2023. ERDO ran 28 projects in 14 countries. ERDO ran a large number of Community Development programs. Some examples include job training and microloans to 4,837 people in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh. ERDO distributed 10,000 menstruation and hygiene kits to women in Iraq. ERDO reports that it reached 157,462 people with its community development programs.

In F2023, ERDO received $9.9m in donations. It received $4.4m in government funding, comprising 26% of total revenue. Fundraising costs are 12% of donations, and administrative costs are 4% of revenues. Total overhead spending is 16% of revenue. For each dollar donated, 84 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

ERDO has total reserve funds of $8.4m, which can cover its program costs for 6 months.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to ERDO for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 4, 2024 by Ben Dobozy.