What is ARDF?
Strengthening Communities
by Coming Alongside the Local Church.
ARDF
The Anglican Relief and Development Fund has been around since 2004, but with this long name, it can sometimes be confusing to know who we are and what we do. We like to describe our mission by explaining our acronym: ARDF.
Anglican
First, we are Anglican. There are over 85 million of us around the world so it makes sense for us to leverage this massive network of believers. We work through local Anglican churches in more than 40 countries, supporting them as they meet the needs of their communities through tangible acts of compassion.
Relief
Relief is the one place we work both domestically and internationally. We do this by resourcing churches that are providing relief to survivors after a disaster. If there are no Anglican churches in the region, we get referrals from Anglicans and then partner with like minded churches to get relief to the people who need it most. We prioritize working through churches because they are the ones who aren’t going anywhere after the crisis “ends” and are the ones investing in long term relationships.
Development
Community Development projects are where we invest most of our resources because sustainable projects help communities to flourish over the long term. We in North America are not the ones deciding which projects to fund. Instead, a board of global Anglican leaders from the Global South approve our largest projects. ARDF contributes by bringing a rigorous system of monitoring and evaluation by an independent researcher. This creates a level of accountability to each project which in turn leads to projects that are sustainable and have a long-term impact. We see our role not only as resourcing our projects, but also supporting churches to maintain healthy partnerships with their existing partners.
Fund
Finally, we are a Fund. ARDF is not the hero. our local leaders on the ground are! When a community sees positive change, we want them to turn to the local church. We recognize the value of the local church in transforming communities though changed lives and changed hearts. But to do this we need the financial support of those here in North America to help us support these local leaders. You can join us in this work by donating to our Relief Efforts, our Development Projects or both!
Watch this video for a beautiful presentation of our mission! Want to download it for your church? Head to our Vimeo page!
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