Frequently Asked Questions about Fundraising

• How does the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission use the donations it receives?
• Which values is the fundraising based upon?
• Where does the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission get its funding from?
• How can I support the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission?
• Does the church support the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission financially?
• How much are the fundraising expenses?
• Is the fundraising subject to licensing?
• How are the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission’s specific missionary funds used?
• What is a Friendship Ring?
• Is it possible to sponsor a child through the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission?
• Who are the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission’s partners?
• Does the help reach its intended destination?

How does the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission use the donations it receives?

We collect funds to help people comprehensively in different parts of the world. Helping takes place in cooperation with local churches and Christian communities. All our operations are based on the material, mental and spiritual needs of both individuals and the entire community.

Most of the funds are used to improve the basic needs of people: livelihood, education and health care. Our social objective is to eliminate poverty, increase human rights and endorse a way of life that secures decent living conditions for future generations.

Some of the funds are used to support minority churches in their congregational work and efforts to spread God’s word and to provide training for employees. Most of the funds are used on three main focus areas: long-term development cooperation, emergency help and supporting ecclesiastical work.

We operate in almost 30 countries on five continents. About 240 of our employees work under the management of our partners. We have signed cooperation agreements with the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Lutheran World Federation, for example.

We are an ecclesiastical organisation, and our operations are guided by Christian faith and values which are based on neighbourly love.

Our overseas operations are divided into five programmes. The execution of the programmes is agreed with the applicable partner.

The programmes are:

1. Ministry and congregational work

We work to enhance the ministry and congregational work of churches and Christian communities. Most of our partner churches are minority churches in countries dominated by other religions and faiths.

2. Social justice and diakonia

We work towards safeguarding a decent life for all human beings. Our work strives to identify and eliminate the fundamental causes of poverty. We invest in projects in which poor and marginalised people can be involved in shaping their own future and initiating changes.

3. Sustainable governance and finances

One of the greatest challenges of missionary work is to increase the financial independence of the partner churches. It requires mutual learning from both parties in the north and in the south. We focus on improving administration and local leadership as well as strengthening sustainable organisational and financial structures.

4. Peace and reconciliation

Together with our partners we work towards preventing conflicts and promoting peace and reconciliation. We encourage dialogue between representatives of different religious communities in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The focus is on human rights.

5. HIV/AIDS

Many churches view HIV and AIDS as their greatest challenge. We strive to prevent the spreading of HIV and AIDS by identifying, preventing and eliminating the fundamental causes behind them.

For more information on the programmes and use of funds, see the Annual Report 2007 (PDF, 6 MB).

Which values is the fundraising based upon?

All our operations, including fundraising, are guided by the following values: Christian hope, neighbourly love, protection of human rights, reliability and transparency.

We help people comprehensively: All our operations are based on the material, mental and spiritual needs of people.

Where does the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission get its funding from?

We are funded by individual persons, parishes (donations and budgeted support) and communities which support our operations and by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which provides support for civic organisations doing development cooperation work.

We organise annual fundraising campaigns, including the Equal Share and Christmas campaigns. We collect emergency donations whenever humanitarian aid is needed in a country where we operate. People also make regular donations to us and sponsor children, and some have also bequeathed us anniversary accounts and legacies.

Parishes have a number of support projects. Supporting a specific missionary is the most established one of these. We are continuously increasing and diversifying our funding practises. In long-term parish support projects, the objective is to increase the level of interaction with the recipient.

Our budget for 2008 is 26.6 million Euros (25.5 in 2007). Of this, 74% is used for overseas operations, 18% for education, training, communications and fundraising in Finland and 8% for administration.

How can I support the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission?

You can give us your support in many different ways. You can make a donation directly using your online banking account or credit card, or you can donate by phone or text messages.

For a more long-term alternative, you have the option of signing a child sponsorship, Friendship Ring or Equal Share agreement. Other alternatives include establishing anniversary or memorial accounts or leaving a legacy.

You can also support us by participating in our stamp and coin auctions or jumble sales. The Carrot Fair has become a regular autumn feature.

Does the church support the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission financially?

We are a missionary organisation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. We are the oldest of the church’s seven missionary organisations and make up over half out the church’s overseas missionary work.

We are a registered organisation with operational, financial and administrative responsibilities. Our members constitute of the parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. They have the ultimate decision-making power, which they can use at the annual meeting.

Voluntary support from parishes and grants from the parish budgets make up over half of our funds. Each parish decides how much financial support they give us during their budget negotiations.

The church council determines the beneficiaries of the official collections, which are common to all parishes. Usually, four of these collections are in our support.

How much are the fundraising expenses?

Our fundraising expenses vary according to the campaign, but annually they are about 10–20%.

Is your fundraising subject to licensing?

Just like any other organisation, we are regulated by the Money Collection Act. According to the Act, fundraising requires a valid money collection permit. We have a permit for our fundraising activities.

Once the validity period of the permit expires, we submit an account of our fundraising activities to the authorities who granted us the permit (the State Provincial Office of Southern Finland and Provincial Government of Åland). These accounts are public.

How are the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission’s specific missionary funds used?

The funds parishes have collected to send specific missionaries overseas are primarily used to cover the missionary’s wages and travel and other necessary costs. The total proceeds from the missionary agreements of parish-specific missionaries are slightly less than what the missionaries actually cost us annually.

If we receive more funds from supporting parishes for a specific missionary than required, we use the surplus to support other overseas operations. This is according to the agreement.

The actual costs of missionaries vary according to the designated country and person. We collect funds based on the average costs.

What is a Friendship Ring?

We have about 240 missionaries around the world. The Friendship Ring provides the means for both individual people and groups to take part in our work. You can use the Friendship Ring to support a specific missionary, country or project.

The idea of the Friendship Ring is to offer support by prayer, but financial support is also possible. You can provide financial support once a month or once a year, for example. People in the Friendship Ring receive regular updates on how things are going on in the supported project.

Is it possible to sponsor a child through the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission?

Yes. You can sponsor a child from a developing country through us. Child sponsorship is used to support the education of poor or orphaned children. As a sponsor, you commit yourself to the child by donating a specific sum of money each month. We direct the support to the child through our child sponsorship contact person.

An individual person, family, group, parish or organisation may sponsor a child. You can sponsor one child or a group of children, such as a school or a nursery. You can give your support to the entire child sponsorship programme through the Child Sponsorship Fund (CSF). The Fund is used to help all children and their families in the child sponsorship programme and to finance education-related projects. It is also used for situations which require urgent help.

Frequently Asked Questions about Child Sponsorship

Who are the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission’s partners?

We have several partners which help us to direct the help to the applicable destination. Our biggest partner group consists of Lutheran churches. Some partner churches are multi-faith, united churches, such as the Church of Pakistan and China Christian Council. Important partners also include the Lutheran World Federation and its regional bodies, World Council of Churches and other international ecclesiastical cooperation organisations.

We are also partners with several other international organisations. These include the Summer Institute of Linguistics (international organisation for Bible translation) and Mission Aviation Fellowship (international aviation organisation for missionary work). Our latest international partners are ACT Development and Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.

We also work with various civic organisations in different countries.

Does the help reach its intended destination?

We ensure that help reaches its destination by channelling the funds through local partner churches and organisations. Our partners are experts also in the local culture and circumstances. They make sure that the help also reaches the destination quickly and efficiently. Our operations are guided by the principles of responsibility, reliability and transparency. We have been in operation since 1859, and we are here for the long term.

We also involve local people in our projects. Humanitarian aid is given regardless of the ethnic background, religion or nationality of the person in need.

Our operations follow good administration practises. We plan, execute and evaluate the project with our partners. We monitor the progress of development cooperation and also create reports on the financial and operational status of all other activities.