2013 ANNUAL REPORT THIS IS TO MY FATHER S GLORY, THAT YOU BEAR MUCH FRUIT SHOWING YOURSELVES TO BE MY DISCIPLES. JOHN 15:8

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1 2013 ANNUAL REPORT Quenched Their Thirst Healed the Sick Rescued Orphans Fed the Hungry Sheltere d the Catholic Education Destitute THIS IS TO MY FATHER S GLORY, THAT YOU BEAR MUCH FRUIT SHOWING YOURSELVES TO BE MY DISCIPLES. JOHN 15:8

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3 A Message From Our President Thank you for helping make 2013 another year of tremendous growth for Cross Catholic Outreach! Your Christ-like compassion enabled us to distribute more aid last year than ever before in our history record numbers in both grants and the value of donated goods. God has used your generosity to produce a miraculous harvest of lives saved and communities transformed in some of the poorest areas of the world. I am humbled as I consider how the seed that was planted 12 years ago by a few concerned laypeople and a group of compassionate Catholic bishops has grown into a thriving international ministry. We have connected tens of thousands of American Catholics like you with the needs of the global Church and delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in food, water and other crucial aid to the poor. These works of mercy testify to your living, active faith. This is to my Father s glory, Christ says in John 15:8, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Now, as then, Jesus Christ s disciples are producing the fruit of righteousness and compassion and the world is taking notice. This report on our 2013 programs and financial activities is a celebration of the fruit of your generosity. It is a story of needs met, hope restored, love poured out, poverty overcome and lives transformed. It is also a story of your solidarity with Christ and his suffering children. John 15:4 says, No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. In Christ, we are one. We share a common faith and cooperate in a common mission. Demonstrating this spirit of unity, your prayers and self-sacrifice have watered this ministry and empowered us to spread our branches across the seas, touching some of the most remote outposts of the developing world. Through your support of Cross Catholic Outreach, the poorest of the poor have reaped a truly bountiful harvest. So on their behalf, please accept my sincere thanks for your generous gifts and prayers. God bless you, James J. Cavnar 29 the number of countries that received our aid 253 the number of projects we supported with the help of generous Catholics Cross Catholic Outreach at a Glance 4.2% the percentage of expenses used for overhead costs $7,001,979 the total value of grants in aid given to the poor $233,670,785 the total value of goods shipped to the poor PAGE ONE $240,672,764 total aid provided to the poor

4 Inside: A Message from Our President Cross Catholic Outreach at a Glance How You Helped Us Serve Feeding page 4 Malnourished children have been freed from their hunger pangs and now have the strength to grow and thrive. Water page 5 Clean, abundant water is flowing to remote villages and quenching the thirst of families once threatened by dehydration and waterborne illness. Education page 8 Orphans page 6 Housing page 9 Orphans and vulnerable children have received refuge from the streets and encountered their Heavenly Father s love. Medicine page 7 Lives are being saved as compassionate health workers bring basic medicines and quality care to the sick. Catholic schools are raising up a generation that can read, write, study God s Word and provide for their families. With the gift of a sturdy new home, destitute families no longer need to fear the wind and rain. Microenterprise.... page 10 The poor have been empowered to feed their families and rise out of poverty through livelihood support. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulne PAGE TWO

5 Total Aid Cash Gr Grants an and d Goo Goods Good od Di Dis Distributed Disaster Relief page 11 When natural disasters strike, the poor have a reliable friend to turn to for sustenance, healing and total restoration. Financials Ways You can Serve The Joy of the Gospel A Message from Our Board.16 Cross Catholic Outreach 2014 Board of Directors. 16 Afghanistan $33,750 Belize $91,734 Bolivia $105,150 China $50,256 Dem. Republic of Congo..$20,000 Dominican Republic. $71,223,876 Ecuador $86,667 El Salvador $55,300,190 Ethiopia $316,393 Grenada $5,481,008 Guatemala $68,343,143 Guyana $5,220,831 Haiti $18,733,246 Honduras $2,565,750 India $25,000 Jamaica $70,336 Kenya $427,720 Malawi $22,000 Mexico $178,260 Mozambique $220,501 Nicaragua $2,289,686 Pakistan $30,000 Peru $429,882 Philippines $8,976,639 Saint Martin/Saint Maarten $30,000 Uganda $98,113 United States $11,713 Vietnam $195,359 Zambia $95,561 TOTAL $240,672,764 ess, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ~ Galatians 5:22-23 PAGE THREE

6 YOU FED THE HUNGRY AND NOURISHED STARVING SOULS When a daily, nutritious meal is received from the hands of a local priest or teacher, the poor experience the fruit of self-sacrificial faith. This gift expresses Christ s love in communities where hunger is so severe, the poorest families resort to eating dirt just to fill their bellies. Many Cross Catholic Outreach ministry partners run vital feeding programs that save impoverished children and families from virtual starvation while also providing nourishment for the soul. Regular food distributions give children the nutrients they desperately need, while strengthening them to participate in educational outreaches that help them combat poverty. In 2013, your generous gifts helped ship donated food supplies and fund nutrition costs for poverty relief projects in 20 countries. For example, this support included an effort to rehabilitate starving children living in poor, remote villages in the mountains of Guatemala. Esperanza de Vida (Hope of Life) sends rescue teams to locate the most severely malnourished children and transport them to an emergency nutrition center. With your support, Cross Catholic Outreach helps provide the food, medicine and loving care needed to save these children s lives. PAGE FOUR

7 YOU SHARED LIVING WATER AND QUENCHED THEIR THIRST Safe, accessible water can transform a poor village like spring rains bring a meadow to life. This crucial resource enables families to quench their thirst without fear of cholera. They can grow food for their daily meals and bathe at home instead of in filthy streams. Clean water also creates a sanitary living environment and saves lives. Delivered from the burden of walking miles each day just to fetch dirty water, children can go to school, and mothers can focus on other tasks such as income generation. The fruits generated by such projects are both tangible and profound. Last year, Cross Catholic Outreach used your gifts to fund seven water projects in five countries. Among these projects was a partnership with FUNDASEP, the outreach arm of the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana in the Dominican Republic. With your help, FUNDASEP continued the construction of a fresh water aqueduct system designed to send 150-gallons-per-minute to hundreds of poor families living near a contaminated river. This new resource is a long-term solution to rural water needs and a tangible fruit of deep faith nourished by the Living Water of Christ. PAGE FIVE

8 YOU RESCUED ORPHANS WITH THE FATHER S LOVE Like a vulnerable seedling, an orphaned child needs special care and protection. A young boy or girl who has lost parents through death or abandonment is especially at risk from the effects of poverty. They need nurturing and positive role models, and they need to know they have a Heavenly Father who loves them. The earlier children are reached, the more likely they will be spared from the self-destructive behaviors created by life-altering trauma. Cross Catholic Outreach partners with churches and ministries throughout the developing world to meet the basic needs of orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children and to cultivate young hearts and minds for a prosperous future. You generously helped us provide grants for 26 projects, and ship material aid to seven partners, to support orphans and vulnerable children in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. A portion of that funding helped St. Pierre Parish in central Haiti minister to the physical and spiritual needs of poor local children many of whom are either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Through this outreach, about 300 atrisk children received access to food, education, health care, counseling and a solid Catholic foundation for their lives. PAGE SIX

9 YOU HEALED THE SICK AND MENDED BROKEN HEARTS In St. John s Revelation, the tree of life brought forth leaves for the healing of the nations. Today, we re helping the Church spread fruitful healing around the world through medical projects that alleviate suffering and save lives. In communities without health care services or medicine, minor injuries can become infected, scarring or maiming the poor. The prospects are even worse for people suffering from AIDS or other life-threatening diseases common in developing countries. By funding free health clinics or shipping medicines to the poor in remote regions, we are able to reduce infant mortality, prevent or treat common diseases and respond to injuries before lives are lost. In the healthier environment this creates, hope grows. In 2013, your gifts helped Cross Catholic Outreach meet the medical needs of the poor in 19 countries, providing life-saving medications and supplies that are often locally unavailable. In Kenya, you provided continued support for the St. Raphael Dispensary maternity ward, which Cross Catholic helped build in Run by the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, this crucial service is helping reduce infant and maternal mortality by offering affordable prenatal care, safe birthing and after-care for families from the slums. PAGE SEVEN

10 YOU EMPOWERED THE POOR WITH CATHOLIC EDUCATION An education is the seed from which opportunities bloom. Our vision is not only to meet the immediate needs of the poor but also, when possible, to equip them to provide for themselves and achieve independence. This process begins with reading, writing and arithmetic basic academic skills that many poor children never attain, but which are necessary for future success. By giving children an education that is also Christ-centered, we are planting seeds to raise up a godly and empowered generation. The support you provided last year funded dozens of education projects in 14 countries. Among them was a unique outreach of the Daughters of Charity to poor migrant children in Vietnam. With your help, the sisters provided informal instruction and nutritious lunches to children who would otherwise remain uneducated. These children are excluded from their country s schools because without the proper paperwork the Vietnamese government does not recognize their existence. This basic instruction in literacy and other practical skills prepares the students to find work and earn a decent wage in the future. PAGE EIGHT

11 YOU SHELTERED THE DESTITUTE IN SAFE, STURDY HOMES In a safe home, a poor family can lay roots for a stable life and a brighter future. With as little as a few thousand dollars, Cross Catholic Outreach builds simple, sturdy homes for the poor, dramatically improving their standard of living. These families are able to leave behind rickety shanties, patched together from scraps of metal, tarp and cardboard, for structurally sound shelters that keep out the rain and can withstand strong winds. In many cases, the poor being helped contribute sweat equity to the project. This labor creates a sense of ownership over and responsibility for their new homes. The houses are a permanent testimony to God s provision and the Christ-like compassion of our benefactors. Cross Catholic Outreach used your recent gifts to provide grants for 23 housing projects in 11 countries, and ship housing supplies to ministry partners in six countries. These projects included a collaboration with the Kobonal Haiti Mission to construct 53 homes and 25 composting latrines for impoverished Haitian families. Each house has four rooms, cinder block walls, a cement floor and a galvanized steel roof. Families who do not own land are also given titles to new plots on which to build. PAGE NINE

12 YOU LIFTED FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY THROUGH LIVELIHOOD SUPPORT Microloans and self-help programs bear perpetual fruit by lifting families out of poverty. By giving a subsistencelevel farmer seeds to plant and animals to raise, or providing a poor widow with a microloan for a small, home-based business, we unleash their potential to overcome their difficult circumstances and take charge of their future. No longer forced to beg for their daily bread, these hardworking men and women enjoy dignity, stability and peace of mind. They can feed their families, send their children to school, afford safe housing and access basic medical care, while having a positive impact on their local economy. In 2013, you helped Cross Catholic Outreach provide funds and donated goods for microenterprise projects in seven countries. One example is in Ethiopia, where we partnered with the Daughters of Charity to empower marginalized, single mothers. These women some widowed, some abused, some abandoned lacked the education and job opportunities they needed to earn an income. With your help, they were given chickens, goats or sheep, plus the training to raise them. As a result, they are now able to support themselves and provide for their children. PAGE TEN

13 YOU RUSHED DISASTER RELIEF TO STORM VICTIMS A community deeply rooted in God has the strength to withstand life s storms. When an earthquake or other natural disaster strikes, Cross Catholic Outreach stands ready to support the relief and recovery efforts of our partners on the ground. The swift response from our faithful benefactors like you enables us to ship urgently needed food, water and medicine to affected areas, to build homes for displaced families, to restore livelihoods and to help coordinate the activities of local parishes and missions. In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, causing massive devastation. We immediately began contacting local ministry partners and rallying American Catholics to pray and give. With your help, our emergency funds helped distribute 1 million meals to Catholic churches and relief agencies in affected areas, including the only surviving hospital in Tacloban City, which is run by the Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing. You also helped us ship nearly $8 million in food and medical supplies into the country and contribute toward longterm recovery projects focused on housing, livelihood and health care. Cross Catholic Outreach President Jim Cavnar comforts a survivor of Typhoon Haiyan. PAGE ELEVEN

14 Aid Provided by Category 2013 total grants-in-aid and goods distributed Cross Catholic Outreach, Inc. In 2013 Cross Catholic Outreach provided $240,672,764 in aid to the poor. Of this, $7,001,979 was grants-in-aid; $233,670,785 was goods distributed. Medical Care: $218,998,693 Medicines, medical equipment and supplies, clinic and hospital support Disaster Relief: $9,202,176 Food, medical supplies, blankets, etc. Aid to Orphans: $5,323,271 Food, education, shelter, clothing, medical needs, etc. Housing Construction: $2,266,503 Building/repair of houses and shelters Feeding Programs: $2,000,648 Food, cooking equipment, cooks salaries Education: $1,230,097 Support for schools, scholarships and vocational programs Water Projects: $646,993 Wells, cisterns, water distribution systems, latrines General Aid: $510,672 School furniture, mattresses, appliances, construction material, furnishings, etc. Microenterprise: $364,841 Carpentry, mechanics, sewing, agriculture, animal husbandry and other self-help projects Anti-Trafficking: $45,000 Shelter, legal services, remedial education, training, advocacy and awareness Elderly: $42,870 Shelter, food, medical care to the elderly and destitute Agriculture: $41,000 Family gardens, implementation of higher yield agriculture techniques, growing of crops to supplement school feeding programs Balance Sheet As of December 31, 2013 Cross Catholic Outreach, Inc. Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents $7,320,855 Due from Affiliate $3,422,598 Other Assets $159,997 Property and Equipment, Net $427,194 Total Assets $11,330,644 Liabilities Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses $786,038 Total Liabilities $786,038 Net Assets Unrestricted $10,544,606 Temporarily Restricted Permanently Restricted Total Net Assets $10,544,606 Total Liabilities and Net Assets $11,330,644 The Lord answered, Who then is the faithful fu and wise manager, whom the at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom PAGE TWELVE

15 Statement of Activities Year ended December 31, 2013 Cross Catholic Outreach, Inc. Revenue Noncash Contributions $231,586,527 Cash Contributions $25,278,240 Grant from Affiliate $2,084,257 Other Revenue $145,410 Total Revenue $259,094,434 Expenses Program Services Goods Distributed $233,670,785 Grants-in-Aid $7,001,979 Missions Education $3,026,947 Shipping/Fulfillment $2,071,499 Project Development $1,066,856 Total Program Service Expenses $246,838, Audited Financial Statement Program Services 95.8% Administrative Expenses 2.3% Fundraising Expenses 1.9% Expenses continued Administrative Expenses Salaries and Benefits $3,503,477 Data Processing $600,112 Other Expenses $547,476 Occupancy $527,110 Postage $224,780 Merchant Processing and Bank Fees $223,009 Contractors and Consultants $130,559 Travel $84,409 Professional Services $71,155 Printing $38,698 Advertising and Solicitation $1,830 Total Administrative Expenses $5,952,615 Fundraising Expenses Printing $1,611,267 Salaries and Benefits $1,332,498 Postage $861,817 Advertising and Solicitation $277,608 Other Expenses $231,717 Travel $180,974 Contractors and Consultants $157,596 Data Processing $116,187 Airtime $18,700 Occupancy $18,311 Total Fundraising Expenses $4,806,675 Total Expenses $257,597,356 Revenue Less Expenses $1,497,078 Net Assets End Of Year $10,544,606 master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance the master finds doing so when he returns. Luke 12: PAGE THIRTEEN TE

16 WAYS YOU CAN SERVE Parish & School Activities t Engage your group to fundraise for a project or pack meals for the hungry. Giving Options Give through cash, stocks and securities, foundation grants or matching gifts. Outreach Priests Host an Outreach Priest at your parish. THE GOSPEL IS BEARING FRUIT AND GROWING THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD. COLOSSIANS 1:6 Be an Ambassador Connect with us online ne to share and raise awareness ess with your friends and family. Event Hosting Help organize an intimate fundraiser gathering or larger, formal gala. Planned Giving Leave a legacy through a bequest or gift annuity. If you are looking for more ways to serve the needy, Cross Catholic Outreach offers a variety of exciting and impactful opportunities. We value your God-given talents, abilities and resources, and we are eager to sow those gifts into the lives of the poor around the world, so they might reap a harvest of hope. Please contact us at to learn more about any of the opportunities above, as the Lord leads. We are eager to unleash your full potential to touch the hearts, minds and souls of the poorest of the poor.

17 The Joy of the Gospel In late 2013, Pope Francis published The Joy of the Gospel, an apostolic exhortation that challenged Catholics to be a community of missionary disciples who bear fruit and rejoice. Such a community, he said, has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father s infinite mercy. He goes on to instruct, Let us keep marching forward; let us give him everything, allowing him to make our efforts bear fruit in his good time. At Cross Catholic Outreach, we are blessed to be a part of a global community that has risen to the challenge set forth in The Joy of the Pope Francis greets Cross Catholic Outreach President Jim Cavnar. Gospel. Our Catholic ministry partners throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean have touched countless lives through their faithfulness to Christ s call and their passion to sacrificially love the poor and marginalized. With your support, these missionary disciples are growing in their reach and impact around the world. The Joy of the Gospel affirms our ministry s core vision and the Church s historic calling of sharing Christ in word and deed. Cross Catholic Outreach wholeheartedly strives to bear the fruit of mercy by being, in Pope Francis words, an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor. One way we are accomplishing this is through an ongoing collaboration with the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Holy Father s own relief ministry and outreach. This special collaboration, which carries the full endorsement of Cor Unum s president, Cardinal Robert Sarah, enables us to support projects closest to the Holy Father s heart, such as building a hospital in a remote village or providing emergency disaster relief. In many ways, The Joy of the Gospel is a fleshing out of the humble and compassionate tone set at the beginning of Pope Francis pontificate, when he famously called for a poor Church for the poor. We thank the Lord for the inspiring leadership that both men provided in 2013, and we pray that God might strengthen us to enact their global vision in the years to come. L Osservatore Romano Jesus has no home because his home is the people, us ourselves. His mission is to open the doors to God for all, to be the presence of God s love. ~ Pope Francis PAGE PAGE FIFTEEN FIFTEEN

18 A Message from Our Board During my first year as Cross Catholic Outreach s Chairman of the Board, I have been blessed to see so many kind individuals come together in support of our worthy cause. The needs of the poor are immense, but through teamwork and steadfast faith, we have grown in our capacity to be Christ s hands of mercy in serving families on the margins of society. As you have seen in this report, our shared mission to the poorest of the poor supersedes national and ethnic boundaries. By God s grace, we have connected American Catholics to ministries in some of the most remote parishes of the world, including some in inhospitable lands. This global outreach is a Catholic responsibility with roots going back thousands of years. In the Scriptures, when St. Paul called on the early churches to support one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, he demonstrated the power of love in action. As a result of his plea, even the poor were eager to help! They gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability, 2 Corinthians 8:3-4 records. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord s people. This service to the Lord s people remains as relevant today as it was in St. Paul s day. Through this united effort, you have fed the hungry, spread the faith, empowered the powerless and attended to the most urgent needs of the poor in their midst. Thank you for helping us make God s love visible in the lives of many! In Christ, Most Rev. Thomas J. Rodi Chairman, Cross Catholic Outreach Board of Directors Cross Catholic Outreach 2014 Board of Directors His Eminence Cardinal Edwin F. O Brien Patron Grand Master, Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Most Rev. Thomas J. Rodi Chairman Archbishop of Mobile Mr. James J. Cavnar Director President of Cross Catholic Outreach Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson Director Archbishop of St. Louis Most Rev. Richard J. Garcia Director Bishop of Monterey Most Rev. Bernard A. Hebda Director Co-Adjutor Archbishop of Newark Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr Director Archbishop of Cincinnati Most Rev. Kevin W. Vann Director Bishop of Orange PAGE SIXTEEN

19 WE CONTINUALLY REMEMBER BEFORE OUR GOD AND FATHER YOUR WORK PRODUCED BY FAITH, YOUR LABOR PROMPTED BY LOVE, AND YOUR ENDURANCE INSPIRED BY HOPE IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 1 Thessalonians 1:3

20 Our Mission We are a Catholic ministry that serves the poorest of the poor internationally by channeling aid through dioceses, parishes, and Catholic missionaries, cost-effectively helping the poor break the cycle of poverty while advancing Catholic evangelization. How We Serve Rather than create new institutions to distribute aid, we support existing ministries and churches already serving the poor. In addition to being the most cost-effective way of helping the poor, empowering these ministries allows us to support the Church s spiritual mission and its important position of leadership in poor communities. Stewardship We consider every gift we receive as a precious resource from God. We direct every donation to its intended project, provide honest and accurate reports to our donors, and keep overhead costs to an industry low. We handle funds with utmost integrity and hold our ministry partners in the field to the same high standards by asking them to document costs and the impact of their outreach. These detailed accountability measures have earned us ongoing accreditation by the following organizations: 2700 N. Military Trail Suite 240 PO Box Boca Raton, FL blog Cross Catholic Outreach