Foundation and Corporate Partnerships
Ways to Give
Catholic Relief Services is proud to have a diverse range of partnerships with foundations and corporations with whom we share a mission of serving the poor and marginalized overseas. We have several consistent partnerships lasting over 20 years working towards goals based on mutual interests, trust, transparency and positive impacts. This signifies the importance we place on our collaboration with private foundations and the corporate sector to help people transform their lives through sustainable development.
Emergency Response
In the wake of natural disasters, many foundations and corporations have turned to CRS as their preferred agency for providing emergency relief support with a lasting impact. In particular, CRS is known for being among the first to arrive to the frontlines of crisis, having a long-established presence and trusted network of partners in more than 100 countries, and being committed to staying with communities and families until they have rebuilt their lives. These philanthropic initiatives have enabled CRS to build the capacities of our local partners for disaster preparedness and anticipatory actions, reducing the loss of lives in communities affected by natural disasters and increasing their resilience and ability to recover afterwards. CRS often provides cash and vouchers to affected families so that they can purchase needed items – a strategy that immediately reinvests resources in the local market to accelerate recovery.
Development Programs
In addition to emergency response, CRS is widely recognized as a leading development agency in areas such as agriculture, health, education, shelter and water and sanitation. Our demonstrated track record of program quality, efficiency and sustainability is recognized worldwide—from peers and leaders at the highest international levels, to families and grassroots partners living in the communities we serve.
Support from our foundation and corporate partners have enabled CRS to scale our Water Smart Agriculture approach and build solid evidence that the restoration of soil and water resources to increase water and agricultural productivity is a viable solution to the economic and environmental problems associated with smallholder agriculture. Applying these regenerative agriculture practices improves the quality and quantity of produce leading to an improved supply chain for agri-businesses and increased income for farmers. For example, CRS has developed improved value chains of cacao and coffee in Central America that produce high quality, organic products for export.
CRS trained Julissa Hernandez in regenerative agriculture practices because her dream was to recover her family tradition of coffee producing in her native Mercedes, Ocotepeque, Honduras.
Photo by Oscar Leiva/Silverlight for Catholic Relief Services.
Foundation funding gives CRS the flexibility to address diverse and complex needs - from combatting child trafficking and migration in India to improving early childhood development centers in Southern Africa - we strive to achieve transformational change to improve the lives of vulnerable people around the world.
Learn more:
- See a listing of CRS’ current foundation and corporate collaborators in our Annual Reports.
- Check if your company participates in our Matching Gift Program.
- Find out how CRS can help your foundation or corporation fulfill its mission:
Karen Janes Ungar, Director of Foundations & Corporate Engagement
Heather Longley, Leadership Giving
