Orphan World Relief

Orphan World Relief began as an idea in 1998 when the organization's founder, Doug Riggle, was on a mission trip to Kiev, Ukraine. After spending time with a small group of homeless boys (photo), he found them sleeping under a bridge the next morning.

As an infant, Doug was placed for adoption by his birth mother. Later in life he adopted his own sno from the foster care system. These events profoundly impacted his desire to make a difference in the lives of orphans.

Doug submitted the paperwork to create Orphan World Relief as a legal lentity and a 501c3, nonprofit. While waiting for final IRS recognition, they began the work that they set out to do, raise financial support for orphans and continue to move forward to make a difference.
OWR's Unique Focus

There are many groups out there focused on orphans. Orphan World Relief works to differentiate itself in a number of key ways including:

* Administrative Cap - Once the administrative budget (salaries, rent, equipment, reserves...etc.) has been met for the year, 100% of the money raised is given directly to the orphanages and orphan relief efforts.
* Orphan Focus - Many good organizationa exist to assist underpriviledged children throughout the world, but orphan relief is often a local task and received little publicity. Orphan World Relief has one primary focus, the orphaned children of the world and children at-risk because of socio-economic conditions.
* Grassroots Involvement - No one is too young or too old to volunteer with Orphan World Relief. Everyone is capable of making a difference. Working through our State/Regional Directors, our volunteers make a difference by contributing in their own unique ways!
* Resource Central - Orphan World Relief is working to become a centralized resource for orphanages to use to connect with like-minded organizations. Along with providing financial support, we come along side orphanages to help them become more self-sufficient in three areas: 1) Nutritional Needs; 2) Educational Needs; and 3) Financial Needs.
* Established Relationships - How we select which orphanages and orphan relief efforts to support is a big concern of many Americans. With our network of people, we have personal contact and knowledge of the work being done. We want you to be assured that your dollars are being used as intended. Not only do we schedule periodic visits to orphanages, but we also request that orphanages and orphan relief efforts provide us with an accounting of their funds.
* Low Overhead - One question we're asked frequently is, "why don't you offer individual child sponsorships?" At Orphan World Relief we work to keep our costs down. Some organizations spend time and money to make the support of children a very personalized experience. These organizations have large staff both here in the United States and overseas to help translate letters to and from children, provide periodic updates on individual children and their families and keep databases and web sites up to date with current photos and biographies.

We would rather spend the time, effort and money directly supporting children. Orphan World Relief's low administrative overhead helps children get the support they need to do more than simply survive we want them to thrive.