International Aid Group Sharpens Its Focus to Expand Donor Support

The Catholic Medical Mission Board hopes it can tell a better story to potential donors by narrowing the scope of its relief work.

For most of the organization’s first 100 years, its workers and volunteers traversed the globe responding to natural disasters and outbreaks of disease wherever there was a need. The group lent a hand in more than 100 countries.

But as it neared its 100th anniversary in 2012, the group decided to narrow its mission so it could stand out among a crowded field of international relief agencies.

After consulting with the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and other health agencies, the group decided to concentrate its efforts on maternal and child health, and it picked five countries where it thought it could make a difference. The group plans to open 16 Children and Mothers Partnerships in Haiti, Kenya, Peru, South Sudan, and Zambia, where medical workers will distribute medical supplies, train nurses, and coordinate medical care. Starting with a base line of health indicators measured in 2012, the group will work with those nations’ health ministries and with religious relief groups to measure the impact of its work for the next 15 years.

As part of a $1-billion campaign, the charity shared a photo of “Baby Gabriel” taken in Kenya by one of its medical workers to spur donors to action. The photo showed a tiny, malnourished baby as he struggled for life during his few hours on Earth. The photo, accompanied by an emotional testimonial by the worker, told donors their support could have prevented Baby Gabriel’s death.

“That focused our donors, because they could really see the need,” says Adrian Kerrigan, the group’s senior vice president for advancement.

Not only did the organization reach its $1-billion campaign goal a year early, but it raised a record $530-million last year.

The haunting image of Baby Gabriel may have helped spur donors, Mr. Kerrigan says, but the switch from an ad hoc disaster relief agency to one that promises to show how it is making a difference also galvanized support.

“We are creating a movement, and that’s a real significant change in the way we are engaging our donors,” he says.