Annual Report 2011 - World Vision Institut

Annual Report 2011 

1

Content 

About World Vision Deutschland 

Programme Work 

Financial Operations 

Our Vision 3 

Report of the Supervisory Board 4 

Report of the Executive Board 5 

World Vision – a Presentation 6 

The Organisation 8 

Information 

for sponsors and donors 10 

Our Core Values 11 

World Vision Foundation 12 

Memberships 13 

Overview of sponsored 

Programmes 14 

Global Challenges 16 

Development Cooperation 18 

Humanitarian Aid 20 

Policy and Advocacy 22 

Research and Innovation 23 

Examples from our 

Programme Work 24 

Quality standards, Codices and 

Corporate Commitments 29 

Programme Management 30 

Setbacks and Crises in 

Programme Work 32 

Countering Risks Effectively 33 

Programme Controlling 34 

Monitoring Mechanisms 35 

Impact Monitoring – 

Measuring Programme Success 36 

Financial Review 2011 40 

Balance Sheet 

as of September 30, 2011 42 

Revenues in the 

Financial Year 2011 44 

Disbursements in the 

Financial Year 2011 46 

Auditor‘s Report 

for the Financial Year 2011 49 

Strategy and Outlook for 

the Financial Year 2012 50 

Imprint 

Publisher: World Vision Deutschland e.V. 

Responsibility: Christoph Waffenschmidt, Christoph Hilligen 

Editors: Kurt Bangert, Sabine Ehler, Thomas Giebel, Christoph Hilligen, Dirk Jacobs, Martin 

van de Locht, Susanne Rentschler, Artur Siemens, Manfred Zwikla 

Layout: Maria Beissel, Susanne Rentschler 

2

About World Vision 



Our Vision 

We have a vision of a world in which all 

human beings enjoy a life of justice, dignity 

and meaning and can fulfil their Godgiven 

potential. 

A world that does not tolerate poverty 

and is driven by the will to reconciliation. 

A world where people live in wholesome 

harmony – with themselves, with 

each other, with God and His creation. 

A world in which all nations are committed 

to peace and understanding. 

As Christians of many different church 

affiliations we wish to alleviate physical, 

mental and spiritual suffering through active 

deeds of love and compassion. 

We are one in our hope for a better 

future and in our responsibility for the 

well-being of all mankind. 

In all this we pay special attention to the 

children of our world. 

3




Report of the 

Supervisory 

Board 

Wilfried Bohlen 

Hertha-Maria Haselmann 

Dear readers, 

the Annual Report we are presenting 

here is once again intended to make the 

work of World Vision as transparent 

as possible for you. The overarching 

goal that guides all of our operations 

is our endeavour to promote the 

well-being and healthy development 

of children. It is our hope that this report 

will also manage to convey some 

of the passion that drives the people 

working for World Vision in their 

worldwide efforts to achieve this goal. 

Impact monitoring and continuous 

development of our programmes 

The special approach applied by World 

Vision in our programme work has 

been developed over a period of 60 

years. Together with our partners in 

the local communities, we aim to improve 

children‘s environment so as to 

make sure that they can have a healthy 

development. In doing so, we need 

to constantly review and evaluate the 

impact of our work and adjust our 

operations where necessary. The methods 

we use to measure the impact 

of our efforts will be presented to you 

in great detail from page 36 onwards. 

Sustainable help 

The idea of sustainability implies that the 

help provided by World Vision will no 

longer be needed after many years of 

partnership and that the locals will then 

continue to develop their villages and 

communities independently. In fact, the 

completion of a programme is actually 

a “programme handover” – and a reason 

for us to celebrate. In the financial 

year 2011, World Vision Germany was 

able to successfully conclude four programmes 

in Mali, Malawi, Ghana and 

Tanzania. This frees up resources which 

will allow us to launch new development 

programmes in other locations in 

cooperation with local communities. 

World Vision Foundation 

We are very grateful for the healthy 

economic development that World 

Vision Germany enjoyed during the financial 

year 2011. In order to help even 

more people in need, we can now also 

draw on the annual return on capital 

yielded by the World Vision Foundation. 

This regular income enables World 

Vision to plan and finance additional 

important projects and innovations 

in the fields of research, programme 

work and political advocacy. In this 

context, we were particularly pleased 

at the funding granted by the German 

100 

100,0 

90 

90,0 

80 

80,0 

70 

70,0 

60 

60,0 

50 

40 

50,0 

40,0 

30 

30,0 

20 

10 

20,0 

10,0 

0,0 

Revenues during the 

financial years 2007 to 2011 

in millions of euros 

18.4 

11.5 

61.6 

1.4 

12.5 

63.1 

1.2 

12.4 

62.4 

1.9 

14.4 

68.6 

10.0 

10.8 

69.5 

FJ07 FJ08 FJ09 FJ10 FJ11 

FY 07 FY 08 FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 

Ministry of Education and Research for 

our two-year fundamental research 

study “Social innovation in Germany”. 

Thank you! 

We would very much like to thank all 

our sponsors and private, corporate 

and public donors for putting their trust 

in our work. Let us continue to work 

together in 2012 to make our vision of a 

better future for children become reality! 

Wilfried Bohlen, 

Chairman of the Supervisory Board 

Hertha-Maria Haselmann, 

Vice-Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board 

Einnahmen von 

Donations 

Kooperationspartnern 

Öffentliche Zuschüsse 

Spenden 

Revenues from cooperating 

partners 

Public grants 

4

Report of 

the Executive 

Board 

Christoph Waffenschmidt 

Christoph Hilligen 

Dear readers, 

just like 2010, 2011 was yet another year 

heavily marked by natural disasters. The 

devastating earthquake in Japan was 

quickly followed by a disastrous famine 

that struck the Horn of Africa in the 

summer. This crisis had not been overcome 

when yet another dramatic food 

shortage began to develop in the West of 

Africa. At times, some 25 million people 

were threatened by starvation. World 

Vision provides extensive humanitarian 

aid in both East and West Africa. In addition, 

we carry on our continuous local 

development work that aims to create 

a better basis for tackling the increasingly 

frequent droughts and crop failures. 

Notwithstanding the success achieved 

with our development programmes, we 

are left with the bitter realisation that 

the crisis in East Africa at least could probably 

have been avoided (see page 32). 

Financial situation 

The increase in donations resulting from 

natural disasters is also reflected in our 

profit and loss statement for the financial 

year 2011. At 91.6 million EUR, our 

revenues were 6.5% higher than in the 

previous year. 69.5 million EUR of our total 

revenue was accounted for by private 

contributions (75.9%). We are particularly 

pleased that the financial year 2011 

was concluded with the highest number 

of sponsors ever recorded at the end of 

a financial year (see chart). Moreover, 

the financial year 2011 also saw the 

highest amount of funds transferred to 

programme operations in the history 

of World Vision Germany. We wish to 

thank all sponsors, private, corporate 

and public donors, without whom all this 

work would not have been possible! 

“Lichterkinder” 2011 

One of the key successes of 2011 was 

most certainly our lantern walk campaign 

“Lichterkinder”. Around the traditional 

feast of Saint Martin, World Vision 

Germany calls upon all kindergartens, 

nursery-school teachers, parents, primary 

schools, clubs and associations, 

and, last but not least, the children of 

Germany to lend their support to children 

in poor countries by being creative. 

In 2011, almost 1,000 groups encompassing 

more than 50,000 children signed 

up to participate in the campaign. 

The revenue raised by the campaign 

will be used to support the “Start 

Helper” programme Melghat in India. 

Child Health Now 

In the age of globalisation we can no longer 

consider the problems affecting different 

countries in isolation. Decisions taken by 

politicians and industry in Germany can 

have a significant impact on the lives of 

children in developing countries Therefore, 

World Vision Germany continued to 

pursue its international Child Health Now 

campaign in 2011 to draw public attention 

to the issue of global child mortality. The 

campaign aims to get politicians in industrialised 

nations to live up to the promises 

given at several G8 Summits and fulfil the 

commitments arising from the United 

Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. 

In addition, they are intended to encourage 

national governments in developing 

countries to give better protection to 

children, mothers and families and to invest 

more funds in efficient health systems. 

Tsd. 

155,000 

150,000 150.000 

145,000 

145.000 

Outlook and strategy 

From page 50 onwards we would like 

140.000 

140,000 

to offer you an insight into our stra- FY 07 

tegic planning operations. In view of 

the crises prevailing in East and West 

Africa, we will most definitely increase 

our involvement in these regions over 

the next few years. There is also a 

need to expand operations in the field 

of crisis prevention in order to ensure 

that people are better prepared for the 

growing number of natural disasters. 

However, for the vulnerability of entire 

regions to be significantly reduced, joint 

efforts by governments, universities, 

companies and humanitarian organisations 

will be indispensable. Here, 

World Vision is willing and ready to 

make an even greater contribution. 

Christoph Waffenschmidt 

Chief Executive Officer 

Christoph Hilligen 

Deputy Chief Executive Officer 

Number of sponsored children 

at the end of each financial year 

(FY) 2007 to 2011 

160.000 

155.000 

156,783 156,960 

155,304 

157,099 157,229 

FY 08 FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 

FJ07 FJ08 FJ09 FJ10 FJ 11 

5




World Vision – a Presentation 

6 

Our Goals 

World Vision Germany was founded in 

1979 as a registered association, World 

Vision Deutschland e.V. Together with 

our partners in developing countries, 

we strive in the long term to overcome 

poverty, hunger and injustice in 

a sustainable way (see also the extract 

from our articles of association 

on page 7). In addition, World Vision 

also carries out operations to relieve 

and prevent suffering in crisis areas. 

To achieve these goals, World Vision 

works in three areas: sustainable development 

cooperation, humanitarian 

aid and development policy advocacy. 

In all our areas of operation, we place 

a special focus on the well-being and 

healthy development of children. 

Development cooperation 

Our development cooperation programmes 

are designed to provide 

comprehensive and sustained assistance 

aiming to help communities to help 

themselves. These programmes are 

funded chiefly through child sponsorship 

– a form of assistance which also 

makes an important contribution to 

international understanding by creating 

contacts between people in Germany 

and people in developing countries (see 

the full article starting on page 18). 

Humanitarian aid programmes 

nd e. V. ist durch Bescheid des Finanzamtes Bad Homburg als ausschließlich und unmittelbar steuerbegünstigten Another focus mildtätigen of World Vision’s Zwecken work dienend anerk 

ch §§ 52ff. der Abgabenordnung stammt vom 4. Januar 2012 (Steuer-Nummer 00325099188). is the provision of relief measures for 

disaster victims and for war and famine 

refugees. mildtätigen These programmes Zwecken dienend anerk 

nd e. V. ist durch Bescheid des Finanzamtes Bad Homburg als ausschließlich und unmittelbar steuerbegünstigten 

ch §§ 52ff. der Abgabenordnung stammt vom 4. Januar 2012 (Steuer-Nummer 00325099188). are financed partly by private donations, 

but above all through our 

Development 

cooperation with the German relief 

cooperation 

coalition “Aktion Deutschland Hilft”, 

the German Federal Foreign Office, 

the European Union, and the United 

Nations’ World Food Programme (see 

the full article starting on page 20). 

Humanitarian 

aid 

Association 

Development 

policy 

advocacy 

As stated in the official notice issued 

by the Bad Homburg tax office, World 

Vision Deutschland e. V. (registered office: 

Friedrichsdorf) has been recognised as serving 

exclusively and directly tax-privileged 

charitable purposes. The recent official notice 

of exemption in accordance with Articles 

52 ff. of the German Fiscal Code, was issued 

on Januar 4th 2012 (tax identification no. 

00325099188). The Association is registered 

in the register of associations at the local 

court in Bad Homburg. 

Development policy advocacy 

The third field of World Vision 

Germany’s operations is that of advocacy 

for development policy issues. In 

this area, we aim to enlighten people 

in Germany on the causes of hunger, 

poverty and disadvantage in the developing 

countries and to motivate 

them to take responsible action (see 

full article starting on page 22). 

Our Christian motivation 

As Christians of various church affiliations, 

World Vision staff help people in 

need all over the world, irrespective of 

their ethnic origin, religion or nationality.

§ 2 Purposes of the Association 

2.1 The Association shall exclusively and directly 

pursue non-profit-making and charity interests 

according to the passage “tax-privileged 

purposes“ of the German Fiscal Code. 

The purposes of the Association shall be to 

promote child and youth welfare, education 

and upbringing as well as an international understanding, 

tolerance and Christian charity in 

all aspects with regard to culture and understanding 

among nations. 

2.2 It is in this context that the Association shall 

help people in the poverty stricken areas of 

the world. This is done, in particular, by way 

of child focused programs in the areas of development 

cooperation, humanitarian relief, 

advocacy, technical and spiritual support and 

the promotion of Christian values. 

2.3 To realize the purposes of the Association 

pursuant paragraph 1 the Association may 

also, within the scope of § 58 items 2 to 4 

of the German Fiscal Code, assign a part of 

its financial and non-monetary resources, 

including its entire assets, to another taxprivileged 

corporation or public-law corporation 

in order to promote child and youth 

welfare, education and upbringing as well as 

an international understanding, tolerance and 

Christian charity in all aspects with regard 

to culture and understanding among nations 

or, within the scope of § 58 item 1 of the 

German Fiscal Code, procure financial and 

non-monetary resources through another 

tax-privileged national corporation, public-law 

corporation or foreign corporation in order 

to promote the purposes of the Association 

subject to tax relief. Furthermore, the 

Association’s purpose shall be realized by way 

of personnel deployment in accordance with 

§ 58, no. 3 of the German Fiscal Code. 

2.4 The Association shall act selflessly: it does 

not give priority to the viability of its own 

transactions. 

World Vision is rooted in Christian faith, 

and our work is based upon Christian 

values and principles. World Vision’s 

work follows the social welfare mission 

of the Bible, which calls upon us to lend 

our aid, in an act of Christian charity and 

compassion, to the disadvantaged, the 

suffering and all those who have been 

deprived of their rights in this world. 

Working relationships 

World Vision International maintains 

official working relationships with the 

World Health Organisation (WHO) 

as well as with UNICEF and has consultative 

status with the Office of the 

United Nations High Commissioner for 

Refugees (UNHCR) and with the United 

Nations Economic and Social Council 

(ECOSOC). The World Council of 

Churches has recognised World Vision 

as an ecumenical organisation. For more 

information about our memberships, 

quality standards and corporate commitments, 

please see pages 13 and 29. 

World Vision’s international 

structure 

Most national World Vision offices, 

including World Vision Germany, 

operate independently, are led by 

national Executive Boards and are 

organised according to national association 

and foundation law. Together, 

they form the international World 

Vision Partnership, which is currently 

active in 97 countries (cf. wvi.org). 

The members of this partnership are 

linked by common goals and values and a 

partnership agreement which stipulates 

their obligations and rights. This includes 

each national office undergoing regular 

peer reviews by other national offices. 

The highest body of World Vision 

International is the “Council”, an international 

general assembly in which all 

national offices are represented and 

endowed with equal voting rights. 

The highest supervisory body is the 

“World Vision Board”, made up of 24 

voluntary representatives from national 

offices, who convene twice a year to 

adopt basic strategic decisions affecting 

the World Vision Partnership as 

a whole. In the year under review, the 

Board was chaired by Brazilian representative 

Roberto Costa de Oliveira. 

Responsibility for World Vision’s international 

coordination tasks rests with 

its London-based “Executive Office” 

in collaboration with four other international 

offices (based in Brussels, 

Geneva, New York and Los Angeles). 

Since 2009, the London Executive 

Office has been headed by Canadian 

Kevin Jenkins as President of the international 

World Vision Partnership. 

The tasks of this Executive Office 

include external representation, developing 

international quality standards 

for our programme work, overseeing 

internal audits of the national offices 

and coordinating relief efforts in the 

event of humanitarian disasters. 

International World Vision Council 

International World Vision Board 

International Executive Office 

International President 

Organs of the World Vision partnership 

7




The Organisation 

World Vision Deutschland e.V. is a legally, organisationally and financially independent 

registered association. It was composed of 19 members in the financial year 

2011 (as at 30 Sept. 2011), as compared to 18 in 2010. Its head office is located at 

Friedrichsdorf. The association’s responsible body in accordance with Section 32 ff. of 

the German Civil Code (BGB) is its General Assembly, whose tasks include, in particular, 

the appointment of the Supervisory Board, the adoption of the Annual Report 

and the discharge of the Supervisory Board and of the Executive Board. Members 

are not remunerated for their voluntary work, but documented expenses incurred by 

them are reimbursed by the association. 

Like in the previous year, the Supervisory Board of World Vision Germany was 

composed of seven members during the financial year 2011. Its responsibilities include 

defining the strategic orientation of the association, approving its annual budget 

and monitoring the management of the organisation by the Executive Board. The 

members of the Supervisory Board – a minimum of seven and a maximum of eleven 

– are elected by the General Assembly for a period of three years. The mandate of 

each Supervisory Board member may be renewed for a maximum of two periods. 

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board has received a flat-rate remuneration for his 

services under the regulations of Section 3 no. 26a of the German Income Tax Act 

(so-called flat-rate payment for voluntary services) amounting to 500 EUR. No other 

members of the Supervisory Board are remunerated for their voluntary work. Only 

documented expenses incurred by members are reimbursed by the association. In 

the year under review, members of the association and members of the Supervisory 

Board were reimbursed for travel expenses amounting to some 12 kEUR (including 

travel expenses incurred in connection with their work on the committees). 

Just as in the previous year, the Executive Board comprised two members in the 

financial year 2011: Chief Executive Officer Christoph Waffenschmidt and Deputy 

Chief Executive Officer Christoph Hilligen. The Executive Board is appointed by the 

Organisational chart of World Vision Deutschland e. V. – 

Statuary bodies and operational units 

General assembly 

Staff committee 

Supervisory Board 

Finance committee 

Press & media 

chair of executive 

Board & ceo 

Vice chair of 

executive Board 

controlling 

advocacy 

World Vision 

institute 

marketing 

international 

Programmes 

People & culture 

information 

technology & 

Systems 

Finance & 

administration 

Sponsor and 

Donor relations 

Fundraising 

advertising and 

Publications 

technical 

advisory Group 

transformational 

Development 

africa/Latin 

america 

Humanitarian 

emergency affairs 

transformational 

Development asia/ 

middle east + 

eastern europe 

Project Finance 

8

Supervisory Board and is responsible for the operative management of the association. 

The members of the Executive Board – a minimum of two executive officers as stipulated 

by the articles of association – work on a full-time basis. The voluntary members of the 

Finance Committee are appointed by the Supervisory Board and advise the latter chiefly 

on financial matters and on the early risk detection system. As in the previous financial 

year, the Finance Committee was composed of three members in 2011: Harald Dürr 

(Chair), Wilfried Bohlen and Günter Otterbach. The Staff Committee is a sub-committee 

of the Supervisory Board, which consisted of two members in 2011 (Hertha-Maria 

Haselmann, Wilfried Bohlen), as had been the case in the previous year. It deals with staff 

matters relating to the Executive Board. Details on the various bodies of World Vision 

Deutschland e.V. have been laid down in our articles of association, which are available on 

the Internet (in German): worldvision.de/satzung. 

The members of the Board of Trustees are appointed by the Supervisory Board. They 

engage in voluntary advocacy work to promote World Vision’s issues and act as advisers 

to the Supervisory Board. As in the year before, the Board of Trustees was composed of 

eight members at the end of the financial year 2011. 

Supervisory Board 

Wilfried Bohlen 

Chairman 

Retired Pastor, Leichlingen 

Theologian, qualified wholesale 

and export trader 

Hertha-Maria Haselmann 

Vice-Chairwoman 

Head of a drug addiction rehabilitation 

centre, Frankfurt, 

graduate in business administration 

Harald Dürr 

Director, Deutsche Bank 

Frankfurt am Main 

Graduate in business administration 

Dr. Thomas Kreuzer 

Geschäftsführer Dt. Fundraising 

Akademie, Frankfurt am Main 

Theologe und Kommunikationswissenschaftler 

Günter Otterbach 

Retired Banking Professional, 

Usingen 

Board of Trustees 

Judith Adlhoch 

TV Presenter 

Jana Frädrich 

Children’s 

Ombudswoman 

of the City of Munich 

Otto Fricke 

Lawyer and 

Member of the German 

Bundestag 

Anja Kohl 

TV Editor and Presenter 

Günter Nooke 

G8 Personal Representative 

of the German Chancellor for 

Africa 

Elke Werner 

Author and expert consultant 

Marburg 

Teacher in arts and religious 

education 

Bärbel Wilde 

Retired pastor, Lüdenscheid 

Theologian 

Volker Schlöndorff 

Film Director, Scriptwriter 

and Film Producer 

Martin Wilde 

Managing Director 

of the German Association 

of Catholic Entrepreneurs 

9

BERICHTSZEITRAUM April 2008 bis September 2010 

BEWOHNER IM etwa 117.000 

PROJEKTGEBIET 

SPRACHE Cebuano 

ERWERBS- Landwirtschaft, 

GRUNDLAGE Fischerei 

hierherkam, hatten viele Kinder zu wenig zu essen und 

wurden häufig krank. Einige mussten arbeiten und konnten 

nicht zur Schule gehen. Doch alle zusammen arbeiten 

wir daran, dass es uns besser geht. Das können wir aber 

nur, weil Du und viele andere Paten uns unterstützen. 

Dafür ganz herzlichen Dank! Und jetzt: Umblättern und 

den spannenden Bericht lesen! 




Magazin für Förderer von 

World Vision Deutschland e.V. 

Zukunft für Kinder ! 

Hilfe Direkt 

PROJEKTINFORMATION 

PROJEKTNAME 

NORDWEST LEYTE 

PROJEKTLAND 

PHILIPPINEN 

PROJEKTNUMMER PHL-171739 

PROJEKTLAUFZEIT 1999 bis voraussichtlich 2015 

Zukunft für Kinder ! 

ACHTUNG: Nach dem Kopieren und Platzieren sollte ggf. die Gruppierung wieder augehoben 

werden (sondern Pantone-Problem!) 

Liebe Patin, lieber Pate, 

heute erfährst Du, was bei uns in den letzten beiden 

Jahren so alles passiert ist. Wie Du vielleicht weißt, lebe 

ich in einem kleinen Dorf an der Westküste der Halbinsel 

Leyte. Die meisten Familien leben hier in Holzhütten 

ohne Wasseranschluss und Müllabfuhr. Als World Vision 

Jahresbericht 2011 

Hier lebt Ihr Patenkind mit seiner Familie 

Mit Neuigkeiten zum 

AUSGABE APRIL 2012 

Hunger in Afrika 

Verlagerung von Ost nach West (S. 4) 

Paten unterwegs ... 

. in Sri Lanka (S. 12) 

Geboren um zu sterben? 

Fokus Kindersterblichkeit, Teil 2 (S. 8) 

Zwei Jahre nach dem Beben 

Interview zur Lage in Haiti (S. 26) 

120210_hd112_final.indd 1 26.04.2012 13:08:01 

Information 

for sponsors and donors 

Transparency through information 

(from left to right): Sponsors 

receive an annual report from the 

programme area focusing on their 

sponsored child. Our sponsors‘ 

magazine „Hilfe direkt“ is published 

twice a year informing our sponsors 

and donors about our work. We 

issue programme and country information 

designed to keep our sponsors 

updated on our programme 

activities. Our Annual Report offers 

a transparent overview of all important 

facts and figures regading 

World Vision Germany. In addition, 

information on the work carried 

out by World Vision is also available 

on our monthly newsletter, and 

on Facebook, Xing and Youtube. 

In order to be able to raise the funds 

needed to finance our development 

cooperation programmes, advertising 

and public relations activities are absolutely 

indispensable. The same goes for 

helping victims of natural disasters – we 

will only be able to provide emergency 

relief, if we can solicit sufficient donations 

through fundraising campaigns. In conducting 

these campaigns, we do not wish 

to “bulldoze” our donors emotionally, 

but rather convince them that the work 

carried out by World Vision is meaningful 

in the long term. Therefore, we take 

great pains to not offend the dignity of 

people in need in our advertising, for 

instance by refraining from using pictures 

that show individuals in degrading situations. 

Transparency through 

information 

We strive to provide our sponsors and 

donors with comprehensive information 

in order to guarantee a maximum level 

of transparency. One example of this 

is the regular information given to our 

child sponsors about the community in 

which their sponsored child lives. This 

progress report keeps the readers updated 

about the measures carried out 

in various sectors, for instance in the 

fields of health care, business development 

or education. Twice every year, we 

distribute the magazine “Hilfe Direkt” 

among our sponsors, which also keeps 

them informed of current developments 

in our programme work. In addition, all 

sponsors receive so-called “development 

reports” on their sponsored children 

directly from the programme countries, 

describing the children’s development 

at school and their health development, 

for instance. Of course, sponsors may 

also contact their sponsored child directly 

by sending them letters to gain a 

better impression of the impact of our 

programme work. Paying visits to their 

sponsored child is another good way for 

sponsors to get to know and understand 

the child and its country and to see for 

themselves how donated funds are put 

to meaningful use. 

10

Our core values 

World Vision is an international partnership 

guided by Christian values and 

composed of a large number of independent 

national organisations. For its global 

operations, the partnership has agreed 

on the following core values, which are 

to form the basis of actions by all staff 

around the world:* 

We are a Christian community of 

servants 

As Christians we profess our belief in 

God, who has called upon us to serve 

our neighbours – we do so in our dedication 

to the poor and to those deprived 

of their rights, in our concern for neglected 

children, in our respect for human 

dignity and human rights, in our claim for 

justice, in our unconditional faith. 

We are committed to the poor 

We are devoted to serving the neediest 

people of the earth, to relieve their suffering 

and to promote the improvement 

of their conditions of life. We stand in 

solidarity in a common desire for equity 

and justice. We seek to build a bridge 

between the affluent and the needy that 

opens both sides to transformation. For 

the need for renewal and transformation 

is common to all. 

We value people 

We give priority to people before money, 

structure, systems and institutions. 

We act in ways that respect the dignity, 

uniqueness and intrinsic worth of every 

person. We celebrate the richness of 

diversity in human personality, culture 

and contribution to our global effort. We 

practise a participative, open, honest and 

enabling style in working relationships 

to promote the individual as well as the 

community. 

We are stewards 

We regard the resources that have been 

placed at our disposal as a sacred trust 

from God on behalf of the needy. We 

are faithful to the purpose for which those 

resources are given and manage them 

in a manner that brings maximum benefit 

to the poor. We are guided by the highest 

standards of professional competence 

and are willing to account for our work 

according to objective criteria. 

We are partners 

We are independent national associations 

within an international partnership 

that transcends political and cultural 

boundaries. Also, we see ourselves as 

partners with the needy and the affluent 

in shared ministry. As a cross-denominational 

organisation, we engage in a dialogue 

with all churches and are committed 

to contributing to their holistic social 

welfare mission to humankind. We seek 

cooperation with other humanitarian relief 

organisations. 

We are responsive to challenges 

We are responsive to the life-threatening 

emergencies where our involvement is 

needed and are willing to act quickly. 

Where need is due to deep-seated and 

often complex economic and social deprivation, 

we respond by implementing 

long-term measures which effectively 

enable communities to help themselves 

and bring about sustained and fundamental 

change. 

We recognise that core values cannot be 

legislated; they must be lived. Therefore, 

we covenant with each other to uphold 

these core values, to honour them in our 

decisions, to express them in our relationships 

and to act consistently with them 

wherever we are at work. 

11




World Vision Stiftung 

Stiftung 

World Vision Foundation 

Equipped with basic assets amounting 

to 100,000 EUR, the World 

Vision Foundation was set up on 30 

December 2009 by its founding body 

World Vision Germany e.V. as a foundation 

with legal capacity based in 

Friedrichsdorf. It pursues exclusively 

and directly non-profit-making and 

charitable purposes. The purpose of 

the Foundation is to promote the operations 

of World Vision Germany e.V. 

The statutory bodies of the foundation 

are its Executive Board and its Board of 

Trustees. The Executive Board manages 

the Foundation’s affairs and is identical 

to the Executive Board of the founding 

body World Vision Germany e.V. The 

Board of Trustees is appointed by the 

Supervisory Board of the founding body, 

World Vision Germany e.V., and monitors 

the work of the Executive Board. 

Objectives of the Foundation 

The proceeds arising from the endowment 

of the World Vision Foundation 

are intended to ensure reliable and 

sustained help for children affected by 

poverty and their families. Therefore, 

the Foundation specifically supports the 

areas of programme work, education 

and advocacy, as well as research and 

innovation. More information on the 

World Vision Foundation is available online. 

Please see: worldvision-stiftung.de 

Supporting the Foundation 

The World Vision Foundation can be 

supported by private individuals or 

companies. Forms of support include 

trust foundations or supplementary 

endowments, endowment funds, temporary 

foundations, principal-depleting 

foundations as well as donations. 

The research project “Social innovation 

in Germany” is financed by the World 

Vision Foundation 

In August 2011, the World Vision 

Foundation was granted funding by 

the German Ministry of Education and 

Research for its two-year fundamental 

research study “Social innovation in 

Germany”. This study is carried out by 

the World Vision Institute for Research 

and Innovation together with its partner 

EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und 

Recht in the jointly run “Centre for Social 

Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship”. 

12

Memberships 

World Vision Germany is actively involved in the following alliances and networks: 

Germany’s Relief Coalition – Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH) 

This is a coalition of NGOs co-operating to provide quick and efficient disaster relief. Its patron 

is the former German President Richard von Weizsäcker. 

Action against AIDS Germany – Aktionsbündnis gegen AIDS 

This coalition represents more than 100 NGOs combating HIV and AIDS worldwide and 

some 280 community action groups in Germany. 

German Council of Fundraising Organisations – Deutscher Spendenrat 

This is a umbrella organization of private and church-affiliated non-profit fundraising NGOs 

which, by way of a voluntary declaration, are committed to transparency and good nonprofit 

governance. 

German Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers – Deutsches Bündnis Kindersoldaten 

This is an NGO coalition providing information on child soldiers, organizing public campaigns 

and lobbying against children being abused as soldiers. It is a branch of the international 

“Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers”. 

United for Africa – Gemeinsam für Afrika 

This is a coalition of over 20 German NGOs campaigning to improve living conditions in Africa 

and drawing attention to Africa’s opportunities and potential. 

Integra 

This is a German network of 24 NGOs committed to overcome the practice of Female 

Genital Mutilation (FGM) worldwide. 

“Your Voice against Poverty” (Deine Stimme gegen Armut) 

This is the German platform of the “Global Call to Action Against Poverty” (GCAP), an international 

campaign of many organizations and individuals in over 100 countries committed to 

end poverty. 

Micha Initiative 

This German branch of a worldwide campaign is committed to help achieve the UN 

Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and is calling for Christian engagement against extreme 

poverty and global injustice. 

German Platform for Peaceful Conflict Management – Plattform Zivile Konfliktbearbeitung 

This is an open network of NGOs and expert individuals making a collective contribution to a 

more peaceful world. It is part of an international community of civil society actors. 

Voluntary Organisations in Cooperation in Emergencies (VOICE) 

This is a network of 86 European relief NGOs and an important contact point for the European 

Union regarding emergency relief, post-disaster reconstruction and disaster prevention. 

Association of German Development NGOs (VENRO) 

This is an alliance of some 120 development, relief and global learning NGOs committed to 

fighting poverty, advocating human rights, and calling for the conservation of natural resources. 

WASH-Netzwerk 

This is a German network founded in 2011 (by, among others, World Vision) advocating for 

people everywhere to have easy and sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services 

(WASH). 

13




Overview of Sponsored Programmes 

In the financial year 2011, more than 

150,000 sponsors and donors made 

financial contributions that enabled us 

to carry out our work for the benefit of 

people in need. We were thus able to 

implement a total of 289 programmes in 

51 countries. 

We distinguish between four different 

types of programmes: Area development 

programmes are funded through 

child sponsorship. Starthelfer programmes 

specifically support children 

under the age of five and (expectant) 

mothers. Special focus programmes 

address specific goals in the development 

countries such as combating Aids 

or fostering economic development. 

Humanitarian Aid Programmes support 

people who are victims of or are 

affected by natural disasters or armed 

conflicts. These programmes are financed 

largely through government 

grants, but draw on World Vision‘s own 

resources, as well. 

Latin america 

Area 

Development 

Programmes 

„Starthelfer“ 

programmes 

Special Focus 

Programmes 

Humanitarian 

Aid 

Programmes 

Sponsored 

Children 

Number of 

Beneficiaries 

Transfers 

in Euro 

Bolivia 6 0 5 1 11,741 109,180 3,029,010 € 

Chile 0 0 0 1 0 25 39,599 € 

Colombia 0 0 0 1 0 1,000 96,430 € 

Dominican Republic 1 0 1 0 0 3,000 113,234 € 

El Salvador 0 0 0 1 0 10,000 132,154 € 

Guatemala 5 0 1 0 7,527 76,645 2,345,583 € 

Haiti 0 0 0 17 0 1,985,924 5,468,741 € 

Honduras 3 0 1 0 2,843 46,198 826,353 € 

Nicaragua 4 1 4 1 5,818 66,889 1,749,372 € 

Peru 4 1 2 0 4,897 54,900 1,471,125 € 

Latin America total 23 2 14 22 32,826 2,353,761 15,271,602 € 

14

AsiA 

Area 

Development 

Programmes 

„Starthelfer“ 

programmes 

Special Focus 

Programmes 

Humanitarian 

Aid 

Programmes 

Sponsored 

Children 

Number of 

Beneficiaries 

Transfers 

in Euro 

Bangladesh 4 0 4 0 8,316 479,806 2,114,761 € 

Cambodia 3 0 2 0 3,305 58,100 868,174 € 

East Timor 0 0 0 1 0 63,000 311,000 € 

India 4 1 2 0 3,558 137,594 1,303,212 € 

Indonesia 3 0 2 3 2,127 130,088 1,570,718 € 

Japan 0 0 0 1 0 307,000 1,882,413 € 

Mongolia 4 1 5 1 6,119 203,292 1,885,627 € 

Myanmar 1 1 3 1 802 54,500 637,410 € 

Papua New Guinea 0 0 0 2 0 53,500 751,472 € 

Philippines 4 0 0 0 6,390 60,000 1,199,798 € 

Sri Lanka 1 0 2 1 1,327 12,620 590,186 € 

Thailand 0 0 1 0 0 90 38,339 € 

Vietnam 5 0 2 0 8,323 161,412 1,914,288 € 

Regional 0 0 1 0 0 3,000 38,049 € 

Asia total 29 3 24 10 40,267 1,724,002 15,105,446 € 

Middle east 

and eastern europe 

Afghanistan 0 0 0 1 0 46,800 39,751 € 

Armenia 1 0 2 0 302 815,500 280,619 € 

Georgia 0 1 2 1 0 47,247 398,122 € 

Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza 0 0 0 1 0 2,196 217,205 € 

Lebanon and Syria 0 0 0 2 0 2,400 58,543 € 

Pakistan 0 0 0 8 0 564,178 5,706,503 € 

Romania 0 0 0 1 0 87 47,910 € 

Middle East 

and Eastern Europe total 

1 1 4 14 302 1,478,408 6,748,655 € 

Africa 

Burundi 2 0 4 0 1,735 104,900 638,331 € 

Chad 3 0 1 0 3,616 78,800 1,111,999 € 

DR Congo 0 0 0 6 0 783,376 468,295 € 

Ethiopia 4 0 0 0 10,601 313,000 1,817,112 € 

Ghana 4 0 2 0 3,577 282,985 1,225,660 € 

Kenya 5 0 3 3 9,602 744,500 2,659,407 € 

Malawi 5 0 1 0 8,726 158,960 1,757,945 € 

Mali 4 1 0 0 6,340 243,567 1,417,382 € 

Mauritania 4 0 2 0 5,519 176,000 1,566,988 € 

Mozambique 1 0 0 0 2,482 26,000 421,987 € 

Niger 0 0 0 3 0 130,248 223,943 € 

Senegal 3 0 5 1 5,522 364,850 2,427,092 € 

Sierra Leone 2 1 4 0 2,414 33,000 1,127,727 € 

Somalia 0 0 0 12 0 520,646 580,175 € 

South Sudan 0 0 0 10 0 1,273,259 1,437,406 € 

Sudan 0 0 0 7 0 3,352,473 1,168,424 € 

Swaziland 2 0 1 1 3,370 58,700 923,047 € 

Tanzania 8 0 2 0 13,292 401,300 2,844,102 € 

Uganda 0 0 0 8 0 251,013 980,569 € 

Zambia 0 0 0 1 0 24,000 51,974 € 

Zimbabwe 3 0 1 6 7,038 379,798 2,428,326 € 

Africa, regional 0 0 4 2 0 0 1,175,290 € 

Africa total 50 2 30 60 83,834 9,701,375 28,453,178 € 

Countries total 103 8 72 106 157,229 15,257,546 65,578,881 € 

Global transfers 4,940,611 € 

Liabilities on earmarked funds (see page 43, “B. Commitments arising ...”) 546,702 € 

Advocacy project in Europe (funded by the EU) 112,614 € 

total 71,178,808 € 

15




Global Challenges 

World Vision places 

special emphasis on 

supporting young children, 

pregnant women and new 

mothers. 

Child mortality: 

Help from the outset 

The first few years of a child’s life set 

the course for his or her future wellbeing. 

Malnutrition, for example, can 

lead to reduced growth and increased 

susceptibility to chronic diseases which 

will severely affect the entire life of a 

child. For infants and young children, 

poverty combined with diseases such as 

diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria can 

also quickly turn into a matter of survival. 

Indeed, some 8.8 million children die 

each year before reaching the age of five. 

And yet, 6 million of these children could 

be spared this terrible fate if they were 

treated with simple means. Hygiene and 

sanitary measures like regular handwashing, 

exclusive breastfeeding and 

early diagnosis of diseases can all be of 

crucial importance for the survival and 

healthy development of young children. 

This is why World Vision places special 

emphasis on supporting infants and 

young children, pregnant women and 

new mothers. In crisis zones like the 

Horn of Africa, we feed up severely 

malnourished children with readyto-use 

therapeutic foods and vitamin 

supplements. In more stable countries 

such as Peru, for instance, we support 

parents in fostering their children in a 

holistic way. This includes giving children 

regular medical examinations, vaccinations 

and hygiene education, growing 

vegetables for a healthy diet, but also 

ensuring early childhood education. For 

the fact is that children who have never 

done any drawing or painting early 

on will have difficulties in school when 

it comes to learning to write. World 

Vision supports kindergartens and preschools 

and informs the population 

on the importance of giving children a 

good education from the very outset. 

Climate change: Educating and 

protecting the people 

With the international community not 

having managed to agree on a binding 

approach to tackle it, climate change 

continues to progress inexorably. In 

its Area Development Programmes, 

World Vision Germany educates the 

local population about effects of climate 

change that are already making themselves 

felt, and in some countries, we 

have meanwhile begun to supply farmers 

with adapted seeds. Furthermore, we 

encourage the use of ovens that consume 

less firewood, which, in addition 

to promoting climate protection by 

producing less emissions, also help to 

achieve health objectives and reduce the 

16

workload for women and girls. These 

support measures will be expanded, and 

we are also planning to promote solar 

energy as a fuel substitute for charging 

batteries and lighting. To spread the 

use of solar energy in rural areas, we 

have applied for financial support from 

the “International Climate Initiative” 

fund provided by the German Federal 

Ministry for the Environment. In the field 

of humanitarian aid, we have increased 

the number of disaster risk reduction 

programmes, a development that will 

be further pursued in the coming year. 

Countering the growth of poverty: 

Micro-loans for successful selfemployment 

Micro-loans have proved to be an efficient 

means of reducing poverty. The 

aim of this instrument is to offer start-up 

capital to poor families with good ideas 

and entrepreneurial talent, who would 

not normally be able to obtain loans 

from regular banks. These families can 

use the loans to start businesses and 

expand them. World Vision’s experience 

has shown that earning one’s own income 

through a small company is the 

most effective and, at the same time, the 

most cost-efficient approach to poverty 

reduction, as it can often help entire 

families to improve their standard of 

living, education and health. The worldwide 

World Vision Partnership’s global 

micro-loan portfolio currently amounts 

to 341 million US dollars. There are 

currently 40 micro-financing institutions 

operating around the world on behalf of 

World Vision. The 638,000 micro-loans 

granted each year have helped to create 

or secure more than 1.37 million jobs. 

Around 2.66 million children are better 

nourished and can go to school longer 

as a result of the increase in their family’s 

income. All micro-financing institutions 

are grouped together under World 

Vision’s London-based global umbrella 

organisation, Vision Fund International, 

and are assisted and monitored professionally 

by the staff of the latter. 

Micro-loans have proved to be 

an efficient means of reducing 

poverty. 

17




Development Cooperation 

In the financial year 2011, we implemented 

a total of 103 Area Development 

Programmes (ADPs) in 30 countries. 

7 ADPs were in the start-up phase, 

including one in the Dominican 

Republic, where, for a brief period, 

no ADP was sponsored by us in 2011. 

Area Development Programmes, funded 

chiefly through child sponsorship, 

provide comprehensive and sustained 

assistance aiming to help communities 

to help themselves in areas such as drinking 

water supply, nutrition, health and 

education. In addition, we carried out 

72 Special Focus Programmes, which 

are usually incorporated into our Area 

Development Programmes and focus on 

a specific area of concern, such as HIV 

and AIDS awareness or children’s rights. 

In addition to private donations, Special 

Focus Programmes also frequently receive 

financing from corporate partners 

and public donors. We keep our sponsors 

and donors updated with regular 

progress reports (see page 10). Money 

invested in this form of development 

cooperation benefits not only individual 

children, even though they remain the 

main focus of our work, but also their 

families, their local environment and 

entire communities. All our work is based 

on a philosophy and methodology 

18 

drawing on more than 60 years of experience 

in development cooperation. 

We are partners 

A core element of our work is the principle 

of partnership. People living in a 

programme area are closely involved in 

the development and implementation 

of our programme activities, and they 

also invest their own financial resources 

within the bounds of their means. This 

ensures that only activities that are deemed 

essential are actually carried out. In 

addition, it also strengthen poor people’s 

sense of responsibility and ownership. 

Self-help groups and programme committees 

enable them to learn how to 

open up new development opportunities 

and look after their own interests. 

We strengthen these groups and structures 

and help them to take over more 

and more responsibility during the life 

of a programme in order to ensure that 

the positive development will be carried 

on once we have withdrawn. By helping 

communities to help themselves we 

can thus achieve a lasting impact and 

contribute to building an active civil society 

based on democratic principles. 

We also cooperate with local authorities 

and other non-governmental organisations 

on a partnership basis. More information 

on our programme management 

activities can be found on page 30. 

Our partnership with German donors 

and sponsors obliges us to present 

insights into our work and provide 

regular information on activities, but 

also on any problems that may arise. 

In doing so, we can be accountable to 

the public and try to enlist widespread 

understanding for the special challenges 

faced in development cooperation. 

Also, our dialogue with our sponsors 

and donors helps us to constantly 

adjust and improve our work. 

Comprehensive assistance and 

focus on young children 

Poverty can have many causes. Our 

programme activities are designed to 

take into account the complexity of 

conditions prevailing in the developing 

countries. The most significant benchmark 

for the success of our programme 

work is the well-being of children, which 

we monitor, measure and evaluate by 

means of specific Transformational 

Development Indicators (TDI) (see page 

36). Given the crucial importance of the 

early years in a child’s development, we 

place special emphasis on promoting 

the well-being of mothers during preg-

Sustainability: economically viable, socially and environmentally acceptable 

nancy and of young children up to the 

age of 59 months. The aim is to protect 

them from preventable diseases and 

to improve their nutritional situation. 

Development cooperation with a 

lasting impact 

We make it clear to the people in our 

programme areas from the outset that 

the advice and financial resources provided 

by us will contribute to the development 

of their region for a limited period 

of time only. Our support is intended 

to empower people to overcome 

shortages and obstacles and develop 

their own initiative. After some fifteen 

years, World Vision withdraws from 

the programme area and development 

activities are then carried on by the local 

community. In 2011, we were able to 

hand over four of our ADPs (in Ghana, 

Malawi, Mali and Tanzania) successfully 

to local communities, civil society players 

and governmental institutions. 

Sustainability and environmental 

responsibility in times of climate 

change 

Our economic support measures aim 

to ensure long-term income security for 

the poorest population. However, the 

growth of prosperity must never be at 

the expense of future generations’ possibilities 

for development. This means that 

sustainability must be achieved not only 

in economic terms; rather, it also needs 

to be socially and environmentally acceptable. 

Therefore, we seek to find paths 

to development that will spare natural 

Income generating 

measures 6.2 % 

Other 7.6 % 

Water and 

sanitation 10.5 % 

Agricultural development 

and food 

security 15.4 % 

resources. Afforestation, promoting the 

use of energy-efficient ovens and smallscale 

farming based on environmental 

principles, for instance, can contribute 

to combating the consequences of 

climate change or adapting to them. 

Programme support by sectors 2011 

Capacity building/ 

development of civil 

societies 5.5 % 

Special advancement 

of children 3.4 % 

Education 18.7 % 

Humanitarian 

aid and civil 

protection 

17.3 % 

Health and measures 

against HIV 15.4 % 

19




Humanitarian Help 

As an international 

humanitarian relief agency 

that operates offices and 

local structures in almost one 

hundred countries, World 

Vision is able to react to crises 

and disasters instantaneously in 

a vast majority of cases. 

20 

In the financial year 2011, World 

Vision Germany implemented 106 

programmes of humanitarian aid in 

30 countries. These programmes 

were mainly financed with public 

funds provided by the German federal 

government and the European 

Union and through the German relief 

coalition “Aktion Deutschland Hilft”, 

but also through funds donated by 

corporate and individual donors. 

Rapid relief worldwide 

As an international humanitarian relief 

agency that operates offices and local 

structures in almost one hundred 

countries, World Vision is able to 

react to crises and disasters instantaneously 

in a vast majority of cases. 

In these cases, local staff make sure 

that assistance is provided according 

to existing needs and adapted to local 

social and cultural conditions. In 

situations requiring immediate action, 

World Vision activates an international 

network of emergency relief 

experts capable of organising relief 

measures in a disaster area within 24 

to 72 hours. World Vision has built 

up a global network of warehouses 

which keep a stock of the most important 

relief goods. World Vision 

Germany’s warehouse at Frankfurt/ 

Main forms part of this network. 

Drought in the Horn of Africa 

The humanitarian situation in the Horn 

of Africa was very much the focus of our 

attention in 2011, and it remains a great 

challenge for us as a relief organisation 

to this day. Following the worst drought 

to have hit the region in 60 years, a total 

of 13 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, 

Somalia and Djibouti were threatened 

by a devastating food shortage. The 

majority of these people belong to the 

nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral 

tribes. However, the sedentary population 

in large parts of these countries 

has also been affected. World Vision has 

provided and continues to provide aid 

by distributing food and drinking water, 

providing basic health care and replacing 

lost means of production. World 

Vision runs mobile clinics specifically 

targeted at nomad families, supports 

them with food and nutritional programmes 

and trains livestock farmers 

in how to make sustainable use of pastures, 

while offering vaccinations and 

medical treatment to their animals. 

In the majority of the affected countries 

World Vision will be engaging in 

long-term aid programmes. In order

Origin of public grants in the financial year 2011 

Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau 

(KfW) 1.7 % 

Other 0.8 % 

Dutch embassy 

Belgium 4.0 % 

World Food Programme 

(WFP) 32.0 % 

United Nations 

Development Programme 

(UNDP) 4.1 % 

German Federal 

Foreign Office 9.2 % 

Europe Aid 23.8 % 

European Commission‘s 

Humanitarian Aid Office 

(ECHO) 11.6 % 

Swedish International Development 

Cooperation Agency (SIDA) 12.9 % 

to ensure better coordination and 

a long-term and sustainable impact 

of our assistance, we will be forming 

consortia with other non-governmental 

organisations and specialised 

agencies of the United Nations. 

Humanitarian aid and 

reconstruction 

Throughout the financial year 2011, 

World Vision continued its work in 

Haiti and Pakistan, two countries hit by 

major natural disasters in the past few 

years. Both countries have moved on 

from the emergency relief phase to the 

stage of rehabilitation and long-term 

reconstruction, which World Vision will 

continue to support in the coming years. 

Helping victims of chronic crises 

One of the main areas of World Vision 

Germany’s humanitarian aid is supporting 

people living in areas affected 

by “chronic” crises and conflicts. As in 

previous years, our activities in the financial 

year 2011 focused on Northern 

and Southern Sudan, Northern 

Uganda, Somalia, the eastern parts of 

the Democratic Republic of Congo, 

Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. 

The complex crises plaguing these 

countries tend to be characterised by 

long-lasting violent conflicts and are 

often exacerbated by adverse natural 

events such as droughts. In crisis areas, 

it is particularly important to take great 

care that all programmes are implemented 

in a conflict-sensitive manner. 

Therefore, we analyse very carefully who 

will benefit from the help provided and 

who might actually be harmed by it, for 

humanitarian aid can indeed under certain 

conditions have a conflict-reinforcing 

effect. We use different tools for conflict 

analysis that are geared both to the 

macro-level and to the programme level. 

Helping children in crisis areas 

In all crisis and conflict areas, World 

Vision Germany takes particular care 

to tend to the needs of children and 

infants and direct its relief efforts towards 

them. We carry out specific 

nutrition programmes for infants, for 

example, and we look after children 

in specialised childcare centres known 

as “Child Friendly Spaces”. These centres 

offer boys and girls opportunities 

to sing, play, do handicraft work and 

learn. Many of these children have been 

exposed to violence and destruction 

and are suffering from trauma. In these 

facilities, trained child-minders give 

them diversion and affection to allow 

them to come to terms with their traumatic 

experiences as far as possible. 

World Vision Germany has approximately 

15 Child Friendly Spaces kits. Each 

of these modules comprises toys, handicraft 

supplies, musical instruments and 

learning materials as well as two tents 

that can take in 200 children each. The 

modules are stored at our warehouse 

in Frankfurt and are put to use around 

the world whenever disasters occur. 

Disaster risk reduction 

Disaster risk reduction measures constitute 

another focal point of World 

Vision Germany’s humanitarian aid 

activities. Natural disasters are increasing 

in frequency and intensity, with 

devastating consequences for people 

living in developing countries. That is 

why reducing the risks for the most 

vulnerable groups living in these countries 

is a top priority for us. In line with 

our plans, we significantly increased the 

number of disaster risk reduction programmes 

compared to previous years 

to a total of 14 programmes in 2011. 

21




Protest event in Berlin: For pregnant women in developing countries, the road to safe childbirth is comparable to a hurdle race. 

Policy & Advocacy 

For five years now, World Vision 

Germany’s Berlin office has been engaging 

in advocacy work to promote 

the needs of children living in developing 

countries. Our Berlin team 

maintains an ongoing dialogue with 

politicians, keeps them informed, and 

approaches them with demands. In discussions 

with members of the German 

Bundestag and officials in charge at the 

German Federal Ministry for Economic 

Cooperation and Development (BMZ), 

the German Federal Foreign Office 

and the Office of the German Federal 

President, we do our utmost to promote 

the health of young children and 

their mothers as well as to ensure the 

protection of children in conflict zones. 

The Child Health Now campaign 

With its international Child Health Now 

campaign ( gesundekinderweltweit. 

de), World Vision aims to reduce the 

number of preventable deaths in mothers 

and in children under the age of 

five. In this context, we held several 

talks in the financial year 2011 to remind 

German politicians of their commitment 

made in view of the UN Millennium 

Development Goals to reduce global 

maternal mortality by three quarters 

by the year 2015. Together with other 

22 

development organisations, World 

Vision Germany organised a protest 

event at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. 

The event featured a race between 

pregnant women wearing the national 

team jerseys of poor countries such as 

Chad, Sierra Leone and Haiti, who had 

to try and clear symbolic “hurdles to 

safe childbirth in poor countries”. World 

Vision Germany also staged a street 

event in Paris together with its French 

sister organisation “Vision du Monde” 

calling on citizens to get involved in the 

campaign to promote the health of 

young children and their mothers in the 

run-up to the G8 Summit of the world’s 

leading economies. A World Vision 

delegation was received at the Élysée 

Palace, where we were able to submit 

our demands to the French President. 

An exhibition on children in 

conflict zones 

In April, World Vision’s exhibition “Ich 

krieg dich – children affected by war” 

moved on to Brussels where it was 

shown at the European Parliament. 

The images and texts displayed try 

to draw the visitors’ attention to the 

highly precarious situation of children 

in conflict zones. They aim to create 

greater awareness of the plight of children 

in war zones and to call on political 

decision-makers to give special protection 

to these children. In the summer, 

the exhibition travelled to Frankfurt’s 

historic Saint Paul’s Church, where it 

was seen by over two thousand people. 

Talks with political 

decision-makers 

Our talks with political decision-makers 

in 2011 focused on Afghanistan, Sudan 

and Congo. Teaming up with other 

development organisations, World 

Vision organised a Parliamentary 

Evening on the situation in Sudan. 

Furthermore, we also managed to arrange 

a background discussion with 

media representatives for two delegations 

from Sudan and South Sudan. 

World Vision’s exhibition “Ich krieg dich 

– children affected by war” addresses 

the situation of children living in conflict 

zones.

World Vision Institute: 

new Publications 

Books: 

• Melanie Feuerbach: Alternative Übergangsrituale. 

Untersuchung zu Praktiken der weiblichen Gen i- 

talverstümmelung im subsaharischen Afrika und 

deren Transformationen im Entwicklungsprozess, 

Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften: Wiesbaden 2011; 

erschienen in der Reihe „Armut und Entwicklung“, 

ed. by Kurt Bangert u. Hartmut Kopf. 

• Kurt Bangert (ed.): Handbuch Spendenwesen. 

Bessere Organisation, Transparenz, Kon trolle, 

Wirt schaft lichkeit und Wirksamkeit von 

Spenden werken, Verlag f. Sozialwissenschaften, 

Wiesbaden 2011. 

Online-Publications 

(download: worldvision-institut.de) 

• Justine Hildebrandt: Social Business – Entwicklungs 

zusammenarbeit in einer neuen Dimension. 

Darstellung von Chancen und Grenzen für 

Nonprofit-Organisationen, in der Reihe 

„Soziale Innovationen“, ed. by WV Institute 

• Martina Döcker: Overcoming Female Genital 

Cutting. An Examination of Approaches to 

Overcome the Harmful Traditional Practice: 

A Children’s Rights Perspective, in series 

„Theory & Practice”, ed. by WVInstitut 

• Lena Siegel: Operations Research. 

Definition, Purpose and Applicability 

• Kurt Bangert: Research for Development 

World Vision Institute: 

Scientific Council 

• Dr Sabine Andresen, professor of general 

education studies at the Department 

of Education of Bielefeld University 

• Dr Dennis Dijkzeul, professor in the management 

of humanitarian crises at the Institute for International 

Law of Peace and Armed Conflict of the 

Ruhr-Universität Bochum 

• Dr Ronald Gleich, professor of industrial management, 

innovation management and entrepreneurship 

at the European Business School in Oestrich- 

Winkel 

• Dr Klaus Hurrelmann, professor of public health 

and education at the Hertie School of Governance 

in Berlin 

• Dr Peter Russo, professor of industrial management, 

innovation management and entrepreneurship 

at the European Business School in 

Wiesbaden 

• Dr Augustin Süßmair, professor of business leadership, 

strategy and organisation at the Leuphana 

University in Lüneburg 

Current Cooperations agreements 

with universities 

• Goethe-Universität Frankfurt a. M.: 

Fachbereich Erziehungswissenschaften 

• Freie Universität Berlin: Studiengang 

European Master in Childhood 

Studies and Children´s Rights 

• Hertie School of Governance, Berlin 

• EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht 

Wiesbaden, European Business School 

• Universität Heidelberg: 

Diakonie wissen schaftliches Institut 

• Universität Mannheim: Fachbereich Betriebswirtschaftslehre 

und Nonprofit-Management 

Main research focus in 2011: early childhood development in the context of 

poverty reduction measures aiming for future viability and sustainability. 

Research & Innovation 

Founded in 2009, the World Vision 

Institute for Research and Innovation 

– the only institution of its kind within 

the World Vision Partnership – is an 

institute affiliated with World Vision 

Germany which aims to promote research 

and innovation in the areas of 

development cooperation and humanitarian 

aid as well as development 

in management and strategic issues. 

It deals with topics such as children’s 

development and well-being, the poverty 

crisis, the food crisis, the HIV 

and Aids crisis, the financial crisis, the 

energy crisis and climate change as well 

as strategic management solutions like 

social business, social entrepreneurship 

and social innovation. In this respect, 

the institute collaborates with other 

research establishments, seeking to cooperate 

with universities in particular. 

Early childhood development 

and World Vision’s German 

children’s study 

As in previous years, the Institute focused 

its research activities in 2011 on 

expanding its knowledge base in the 

area of early childhood development 

within the context of poverty reduction 

measures aiming for future viability 

and sustainability. This is linked to the 

relatively new field of exploring the 

subjective well-being of children. This 

issue has meanwhile been examined 

in two children’s studies published 

by World Vision Germany in 2007 

and 2010, with a third World Vision 

children’s study planned for 2013 (cf. 

worldvisionkinderstudie.de). Since 

2011, a similar survey has also been 

conducted at the international level 

in collaboration with the International 

Society for Child Indicators (ISCI) and 

UNICEF (see childrensworlds.org). 

New research project on “Social 

innovation in Germany” 

In 2011, the World Vision Foundation 

was granted funding by the German 

Ministry of Education and Research for a 

two-year fundamental research project 

on “Social innovation in Germany” (see 

page 12). This study is carried out by 

the World Vision Institute and its partner 

EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und 

Recht in a jointly run “Centre for Social 

Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship” 

(cf. ebs.edu/ccsise). It explores three 

questions: 1. Which areas require social 

innovation in Germany? 2. How can new 

products and services be developed by 

social organisations? 3. How can commercial 

companies open up new opportunities 

in the social sector? For more information 

see: worldvision-institut.de 

23




Examples from our Programme Work 

Area Development Programme 

Programme 

Beneficiaries 

Programme duration 

Programme partner 

Financed by 

Funds provided in 2011 

Budget for 2012 

Arakavi in Bolivia 

approx. 9,400 individuals 

2007 to 2022 (estimated) 

World Vision Bolivia 

World Vision Deutschland 

403,762 EUR 

439,838 EUR 

Background situation 

The Arakavi ADP is located in the 

southeastern lowlands of Bolivia. In this 

area, health care provision is very limited 

owing to a lack of medicines and trained 

staff. Long dry seasons and inappropriate 

farming practices make it difficult 

for families to produce enough food to 

ensure a healthy and adequate diet. The 

programme area is characterised by a 

lack of schools and a dire shortage of 

qualified teachers. Many children are also 

needed as helpers in their homes and 

are therefore unable to attend school. 

Programme objective 

In this fledgling programme, the next 11 

years will be used to create sustainable 

improvements in the living conditions 

of children and their families. In order 

to achieve this, World Vision will make 

investments in the areas of health, 

agriculture and education. By actively 

involving the target groups in all decisions 

and processes, communities learn 

to control their own development and 

to respond to the needs of children. 

Principal measures 

carried out in 2011 

• Local health centres 

were equipped 

• 22 health volunteers underwent 

training, including 38 adolescents 

• 522 mothers and fathers 

were educated on issues such 

as healthy nutrition, hygiene 

and childhood diseases 

• Regular meals were co-financed at 

5 kindergartens and 25 schools 

• 39 children suffering from 

chronic and acute malnutrition 

received treatment 

• 30 latrines were built and a 

drinking water system was installed 

for 103 families in two 

communities, and 4 water 

committees received training 

• Families in need received support 

in financing school supplies, 

benefiting 2,700 children 

• 9 school buildings and a 

community library were 

constructed or rehabilitated 

• 194 teachers underwent training 

• 27 especially needy children 

were supported with secondary 

school scholarships 

• 8 pre-school education centres 

were built and equipped, benefiting 

almost 300 children, including 

children with disabilities 

• 65 families were trained and 

supplied with sowing seed 

enabling them to grow vegetables 

and citrus fruits 

• 26 especially needy families were 

supplied with sheep and underwent 

training in animal husbandry 

• 28 families were trained and 

equipped to enable them to engage 

in the production of honey 

Plans for 2012 

• School children will be supplied 

with learning utensils 

for the new school year 

• 110 teachers will receive training 

in innovative teaching methods for 

maths and language instruction 

• More families will be supplied 

with bees, sheep and cattle 

through the revolving funds 

• Training courses will be held 

on the issues of nutrition, hygiene 

and disease prevention 

• More families will be given access 

to drinking water and latrines 

• Inclusive pre-school education will 

be consolidated and expanded 

24

Humanitarian Aid 

Programme example Income generation, water and sanitation 

following the flood disaster in Punjab, 

Pakistan 

Beneficiaries 

9,117 households, approx. 63,819 individuals 

Programme duration 2011 to 2012 

Programme partner World Vision Pakistan 

Financed by Aktion Deutschland Hilft, 


Funds provided in 2011 406,484 EUR 

Budget for 2012 678,931 EUR 


In the summer of 2010, Pakistan was 

hit by a devastating flood of unprecedented 

proportions. Large parts of the 

country were inundated. Almost 2,000 

people lost their lives, and around 21 

million others were left homeless and 

deprived of all their belongings. The 

Pakistani Government proclaimed 

a state of emergency and asked the 

international community for help. 

While almost all inhabitants have meanwhile 

been able to leave the emergency 

camps and return to their home regions, 

the reconstruction of the country 

is far from being fully completed. 

Given the high levels of poverty especially 

in rural areas, people are still living 

in tents on the rubble of their destroyed 

homes. Together with its partners in 

the “Aktion Deutschland Hilft” alliance, 

World Vision provides support with a 

particular focus on women and children, 

the disabled and the elderly. Besides 

the reconstruction, emphasis is placed 

on risk management schemes that are 

designed to ensure that future disasters 

will not cause the same level of harm. 

Programme objective 

Funds provided by the German fundraising 

alliance Aktion Deutschland Hilft 

are used to support 9,117 households 

in Pakistan’s Punjab province. 

Considering that families in Pakistan 

include an average of seven members, 

our relief measures will benefit at least 

63,819 disaster victims. The focus is 

on providing support for people’s livelihoods 

and to bring about long-term 

improvements in the sanitary situation. 

Principal measures carried out in 

2011 

1. Access to adequate drinking water 

abstraction points and sanitary 

facilities was improved for families 

affected by the flood disaster: 

• local water committees were 

set up and underwent training 

• water analyses were carried out 

• water abstraction points 

were restored 

• water filters were distributed 

• latrines were built 

• hygiene education 

courses were held 

• hygiene kits were distributed 

to women 

• waste disposal points were set up 

2. Income opportunities were improved 

for 2,500 families: 

• Cash for Work programmes 

were implemented 

• tools for reconstruction 

work were distributed 

• financial assistance was given 

to families who were unable 

to participate in the Cash 

for Work programme for 

physical or other reasons 

• arable land was cleaned 

up and recultivated 

• training courses in poultry 

farming were organised 


• Assistance will be provided 

for the recultivation of 

reclaimed arable land 

• irrigation canals will be repaired 

• training course in plant breeding 

will be organised 

• further drinking water points 

will be rehabilitated 

• toilets will be built 

• hygiene education 

courses will be held 

• structured waste disposal 

will be implemented 

• training courses in accounting 

and the development of microenterprises 

will be carried out 

• tools will be distributed to support 

reconstruction efforts 

25





Start Helper programme 

Programme example: Healthy nutrition for infants, pregnant 

women and young mothers in India 

Beneficiaries: 

1,700 Beneficiaries 

Programme duration: 2010 to 2014 

Programme Partner: World Vision India 

Financed by: 


Funds provided in 2011: 69,156 EUR 

Budget planned for 2012: 115,385 EUR 


In India, 43% of children under the age 

of five are malnourished. The average 

mortality rate among infants (children 

up to the age of one) is 5%. However, in 

the Melghat programme area in central 

India, this mortality rate is as high as 

30%, with 55% of girls and boys here 

suffering from malnutrition. Many are 

born with a low birth weight because 

their mothers are poorly nourished too. 

Traditionally, infants are left with their 

grandparents during the day while their 

mothers go out to work in the fields. 

During these hours, the babies are not 

breastfed and are often given sugar water 

instead. There is a lack knowledge 

on healthy nutrition and infant care, as 

well as on health care and antenatal 

care. Then also harmful traditions persist, 

such as not starting to breastfeed 

babies directly after birth. Traditional 

dietary habits also mean that people do 

not make sufficient use of the nutritious 

fruits and vegetables of their region. 

Programme objectives 

The programme is designed to provide 

pregnant women and breastfeeding 

mothers with basic knowledge of the importance 

of antenatal examinations, pre- 

26 

ventive measures and proper infant care. 

They will learn how to create vegetable 

gardens and how to ensure that they 

and their children eat a well-balanced 

and nutritious diet. Moreover, staff at 

local health stations will receive training 

to allow them to provide better medical 

care to mothers and pregnant women. 



• 523 pregnant and breastfeeding 

mothers and 1,139 malnourished 

children were supplied nutritious 

food supplements; as a result, the 

weight of 355 children returned to 

normal over a period of 6 months 

and 164 babies were born with 

a weight of more than 2.5 kg 

• 1,400 Families created vegetable 

gardens and planted fruit trees 

• Regular antenatal examinations were 

organised for pregnant women 

• Regular examinations (observation 

of weight gain) of infants by local 

health workers were organised 

• 10 local health workers underwent 

training 


• Local birth attendants and health volunteers 

will receive further training 

and be supplied with professional aids 

• Seminars on pregnancy, childbirth, 

infant care and keeping a healthy 

diet with locally available food 

will be held for 1,500 mothers 

• Medical advice will be given during 

pregnancy and after childbirth (regular 

examinations, all necessary vaccinations 

in the first two years, etc.) 

• Food supplements will be provided 

for pregnant women, breastfeeding 

mothers and infants, and training 

will be given in how to prepare 

these additional meals properly 

• Vegetable seeds and seedlings will 

be handed out to 1,200 mothers

„Rebound“ 

Wolfgang Niedecken 

visits Eastern DRC 

Programme example: Technical and vocational training for 

former child soldiers and sexually abused 

girls and boys in Beni, Eastern DRC 

Beneficiaries: 

Approx. 80 boys and girls per year 

Programme duration: 2011 to 2014 

Project partner: World Vison Eastern DRC 

Financed by: 

World Vision Deutschland, Jack Wolfskin 

GmbH & Co KGaA, Wolfgang Niedecken 

Funds provided in 2011: 37,754 EUR 

Budget planned for 2012: 101,985 EUR 


To this day, the eastern part of the 

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 

has still not been pacified even though 

the civil war in the country has officially 

ended. Armed militias are fighting both 

one another and the Congolese army. 

As a result, the civilian population is 

forced to endure displacement, extreme 

poverty, human rights violations, food 

shortages and poor health care. Many 

families have been destroyed, children 

often live on the streets or resort to 

joining militia groups or brothels as a 

last refuge. The situation is particularly 

precarious in Eastern DRC, above 

all in the city of Beni. This small city 

of 100,000 inhabitants has over 300 

brothels where young girls and boys 

are prostituting themselves. More often 

than not, a single hot meal a day is 

the only remuneration the girls aged 

12 to 18 receive for this exploitation. 

Since 2004, singer Wolfgang Niedecken 

of the well-known Cologne-based rock 

band “BAP” has been supporting the 

“Rebound” programme which aims 

to reintegrate former child soldiers in 

northern Uganda into society. Given 

the success of this programme, he decided 

to initiate a similar programme 

together with World Vision which 

is designed to open up new prospects 

for needy children and young 

people in Eastern DRC as well. 


The aim of the programme is to provide 

vocational training to 80 abused girls 

and boys each year and to give them 

new prospects for the future through 

professional sociopsychological care. 

Principal measures carried 

out in 2011 

• Selection of the children: In the 

first year, 30 boys and 50 girls, who 

were previously forced to work 

as child soldiers or as prostitutes, 

were enrolled in the programme. 

• Training and education provided to 

the youngsters: At the Rebound centre 

in Beni, which has been specifically 

tailored to their needs, the youngsters 

enrolled receive training in a variety 

of crafts and trades such as carpentry, 

sewing, cooking and car repair, 

while younger girls and boys are given 

the opportunity to attend school. 

• Selection of the host families: Given 

their troubled past experience, it is 

important to integrate the children 

and adolescents concerned in a new 

social environment. Children with 

family members living in Beni or its 

surroundings were placed with their 

relatives. Where this was not possible, 

host families were selected. 

• Official opening of the Rebound 

Centre by Wolfgang Niedecken 

• Trauma therapy: In collaboration 

with the School of Psychology of the 

Queen’s University Belfast, Northern 

Ireland, a new approach was developed 

and introduced in trauma therapy 

which is specifically geared to children 

traumatised by wartime experiences. 


The first year of the “Rebound” programme 

in Eastern DR Congo will be 

concluded at the end of April 2012. 

The children and adolescents enrolled 

will complete their training with 

an exam to obtain a state-approved 

diploma. In addition they will be equipped 

with the necessary materials to 

allow them to pursue their trade. The 

process of tracing the children’s families 

of origin is already under way. 

27





Community innovation centres 

Programme example Community innovation centres in Tanzania 

Beneficiaries 

33,500 adults and 28,000 children 

Programme duration 2011 to 2014 

Programme partner World Vision Tanzania, district, 

community development groups 

Finanzierung 

major donors 

Funds provided in 2011 234.565 Euro 

Budget planned for 2012 350,000 Euro 


Nearly 80% of the population in the rural 

region of Arumeru in Northern Tanzania 

live on farming and livestock breeding. 

Whatever they produce beyond their 

personal consumption needs, the farmers 

sell in the local markets. However, 

their output is not sufficient to provide 

for the constantly growing population. 

Perishable goods such as vegetables and 

fruit need to be marketed quickly, allowing 

the small number of existing traders 

to lower the prices. Traditional farming 

practices, droughts and lack of capital 

to intensify cultivation hamper further 

development. Over the past few years, 

the King’Ori ADP has helped people 

achieve important progress in a variety 

of areas (access to clean water, primary 

education, health care, etc.). Building on 

these successful results, the final phase 

of the programme will seek to surmount 

further obstacles to development. 


The final phase of the Area Development 

Programme is intended to enable small local 

farmers to store and process their products 

better and to market them more efficiently. 

So-called Community Innovation 

Centres will serve as catalysts to drive this 

process forward. In these information and 

28 

media centres, the local population will 

have direct access to innovative knowledge 

on modern cultivation techniques, improved 

seeds, gentle pest control methods, 

climate and weather data, current market 

prices in distant urban centres, financial 

support available for livestock breeding 

and much more. In addition, especially 

the younger generation will have the 

opportunity to learn new trades and skills 

and pursue a career outside agriculture. 



• An initial survey was carried out 

involving all major local players 

• Participatory programme development 

was implemented 

• Building plots were chosen 

for the construction of the 

Community Innovation Centres 

• Agreements and contracts 

were developed 

• A procurement procedure 

was launched and an architect 

firm and a construction company 

were commissioned 

• A separate computer room was 

built for training purposes 

• The first Community Innovation 

Centre was constructed (roofing 

ceremony held in September 2011) 

• A programme manager was selected 

and appointed 

• Technical equipment and IT hardware 

were planned and selected 

• Negotiations were conducted with 

partners regarding training units 


• The first Community Innovation 

Centre will be completed 

and inaugurated 

• Technical fittings will be installed at the 

Centre (water, electricity, Internet) 

• IT hardware will be installed for 

some 25 computer workstations 

(servers, networks, software) 

• The library will be equipped with 

furniture, books, systems etc. 

• Staff, including volunteers, will 

be selected, introduced and given 

management training 

• Continuous IT support, virus protection 

and protection of adolescent users 

from adult content will be ensured 

• A copy and stationery shop will 

be equipped and opened 

• Computer training courses will be developed 

and carried out for specific target 

groups (e.g. small farmers, livestock 

breeders, unemployed youngsters) 

• Another Community Innovation 

Centre will be built and equipped

More information and links regarding the 

individual initiatives can be found online at: 

worldvision.de/selbstverpflichtungen 

Quality standards, Codices and 

Corporate Commitments 

We participate in the Sphere project, 

the charter for quality standards in humanitarian 

relief operations. The Sphere 

project, which was co-developed by 

World Vision, serves to improve the assistance 

given to disaster victims as well 

as to improve accountability to sponsors, 

donors and aid recipients. 

As a member of Deutscher Spendenrat, 

the German council of fundraising organisations, 

we have incorporated the 

council’s voluntary declaration of commitment 

in order to achieve greater 

transparency and accountability. 

As a member of the Coordinating 

Committee of the German Federal 

Foreign Office, we abide by the Twelve 

Basic Rules of Humanitarian Aid 

Abroad. 

We regularly apply for, and are regularly 

granted, the quality mark for fundraising 

of the Deutsches Zentralinstitut für soziale 

Fragen (DZI, i.e. the German Central 

Institute for Social Concerns), which we 

have been awarded every year since our 

first application in 2003, most recently 

in 2010. 

We abide by the Code of Conduct of 

the International Red Cross and nongovernmental 

relief organisations for 

disaster relief. 

We have committed ourselves to comply 

with the Code of Good Practice laid 

down by People in Aid, an umbrella organisation 

with the aim of ensuring good 

personnel management by organisations 

engaging in humanitarian aid and development 

cooperation. 

We are a member of the Association of 

German Development NGOs, VENRO, 

and are committed to complying with 

the “VENRO Code of Conduct for 

Transparency, Governance and Quality 

Control”, which we have actively contributed 

to creating. We are committed 

to complying with the „VENRO Code of 

developmental public relations activities”, 

which we have actively participated 

in creating. 

We are a member of the Humanitarian 

Accountability Partnership (HAP) and 

abide by the HAP standards of accountability 

and auditing. 

We are signatories to the Initiative 

Transparente Zivilgesellschaft 

(„Transparent Civil Society“) launched 

by Transparency International. By signing 

this initiative, we committed ourselves 

to publishing the sources and utilization 

of funds. Other commitments in this 

connection can be accessed through our 

World Vision website. 

Together with other international relief 

organisations (including Action Aid, Save 

the Children, Catholic Relief Services, 

Lutheran World Federation and CARE 

International), we have joined forces 

with Transparency International to conduct 

a study on the prevention of corruption 

in the field of humanitarian aid. 

We participate each year in the competition 

for PricewaterhouseCoopers 

Transparency Award and have so far 

several times come among the top five, 

most recently ending up in second position 

(Nov. 2009). 

We are a member of the Active 

Learning Network for Accountability and 

Performance in Humanitarian Action 

(ALNAP), a network of non-governmental 

organisations for the improvement of 

humanitarian aid and accountability. 

29




Transition 

Assessment 

Design/ 

Redesign 

Reflection 

Evaluation 

Implementation 

and 

monitoring 

A LEAP Programme 

cycle constists of six 

phases, which are carried 

out in a uniform fashion 

all over the world. 

Programme Management 

Our work in the 

individual sectors needs 

to be planned, continually 

reviewed and adapted to 

changing conditions. For 

all World Vision offices 

around the globe, this 

process is based on a 

uniform framework called 

LEAP. 

World Vision’s Area Development Programmes always encompass several sectoral 

programmes, since lasting effects can only be achieved by a compound of 

measures in different areas. A renovated school can be used by students only if 

parents are able to pay for the school fees. This in turn can only succeed if there 

are measures in place to help them generate income. Work in the individual 

sectors needs to be planned, continually reviewed and adapted to changing conditions. 

For all World Vision offices across the globe, this process is based on a 

uniform framework called LEAP – Learning through Evaluation with Accountability 

and Planning. A complete LEAP cycle comprises six basic components, stretching 

from the stage of designing a programme to its completion (see the diagram). The 

programme management stages described below always refer to the respective 

sectoral programmes (such as health, agriculture, education). All ADPs essentially 

pass through the same stages, but they can start or be terminated at different 

points in time, depending on the targets set and when they are achieved. 

First component: Assessment – Collection of basic information 

The actual design of any ADP is always preceded by an analysis of local conditions. 

This stage involves the examination of the socio-economic situation and of the effects 

of poverty on the population in a given ADP area. In addition, we check whether 

any other institutions or organisations are already working on a solution to specific 

challenges. The analysis is supported by several discussions with government 

representatives and other local actors such as churches. This allows us to identify 

partners for cooperation. Working with others enables us to plan ADPs in a more 

long-term perspective and to benefit from synergy effects, but also to avoid the 

operation of parallel structures. During this stage, which tends to last between three 

30

and six months, we also take the basic 

decision as to whether or not to start 

a programme in this location at all. 

Second component: Design/redesign 

component – Visions are put 

into practice 

In a second stage, we listen first and 

foremost to what the members of 

the local community have to say. The 

statements they make on their living 

conditions are systematically recorded 

so as to enable us to assess the local 

situation in closer detail. On the basis 

of this survey, we then explore the 

underlying causes of poverty and possible 

approaches to overcome them, 

eventually leading to the development 

of concrete programme designs. Here, 

priorities need to be set and agreed on 

together, since more often than not, 

problems are assessed differently by 

different groups. All stakeholder groups, 

particularly women and children, must 

be heard individually in order to ensure 

that they can give us their specific views. 

Third component: 

Implementation and monitoring 

This is the longest phase of the programme, 

which starts upon conclusion 

of the two-year planning period. It is at 

this stage that child sponsorships are 

set up and first contacts are established 

between German sponsors and the 

children in question. Child sponsorship 

contributions are then used to finance 

comprehensive development measures 

in the programme area, benefiting not 

only the individual child and his or her 

family, but also the local community, and 

even having a positive impact on the 

surrounding region. Local World Vision 

staff visit the programmes regularly and 

record the changes achieved in progress 

reports drawn up every six months. In 

addition, they continually review the original 

objectives. This is because possible 

changes in conditions that may occur 

over time, e.g. the effects of a drought, 

need to be taken into account and programme 

activities adjusted accordingly. 

Fourth and recurrent component: 

Evaluation 

In addition to the regular monitoring 

and documentation of activities by local 

World Vision staff, all ADPs are subject 

to an evaluation, i.e. an external audit, 

every four to five years. To this end, 

World Vision has agreed common standards 

that are based on internationally 

accepted and scientifically well-founded 

approaches, allowing staff to make use 

of lessons learnt, for instance to transfer 

innovations that have proven particularly 

successful to other locations. The evaluation 

also shows which approaches were 

applied to tackle difficulties and whether 

or not these solutions were successful. 

Furthermore, it includes a cost-benefit 

analysis and examines whether the achievements 

will be sustainable in the future. 

Fifth component: Reflection 

At the end of each programme cycle, 

the results of the evaluation and any 

changes that may have occurred in the 

programme environment or new political 

factors affecting the situation are 

systematically analysed and assessed. 

Sixth component: Transition – 

Programme adaptation 

or handover 

The common knowledge gained and 

lessons learnt in the reflection phase lead 

on to the next step, involving either an 

adapted continuation of programme activities 

or a handover of the programme 

to the local community. Once the ADP 

community has shown to have achieved 

the main objectives set with World 

Vision’s help, World Vision initiates a 

process of handing over all programme 

activities to the people living in the area. 

On average, this tends to be the case after 

fifteen years. The knowledge gained in 

the reflection phase can also be used for 

new, similar programmes in neighbouring 

regions, either within the same country 

or even in neighbouring countries. 

Families and children living in the 

programme areas are closely 

involved in the development 

and implementation of all 

programme activities. 

31




Haiti: Following the outbreak of a cholera epidemic, 

World Vision established 12 treatment centres.d 21 mobile rehydration stations. 

Malnourished children in Eastern Africa. The 

disastrous situation could indeed have been avoided. 

Setbacks and Crises in Programme Work 

Unfortunately, programme activities can 

be marked not only by progress, but 

also by setbacks. Such setbacks may be 

determined by factors which can hardly 

be influenced by World Vision, such 

as natural disasters or the unforeseeable 

outbreak of an epidemic. Other 

factors, such as insufficient funding of 

programmes, can also make it impossible 

to address challenges adequately. 

Haiti: Outbreak of cholera in the 

earthquake zone 

On 12 January 2010, a devastating earthquake 

struck the capital of Haiti, Port-au- 

Prince. More than 200,000 people were 

killed and some 1.5 million left homeless. 

The disaster hit the political-administrative 

and economic centre of the country 

and set back the development of Haiti by 

years. World Vision had been working in 

Haiti ever since the 1970s, and we contributed 

to the international relief action 

following the earthquake by organising 

one of the biggest emergency relief and 

reconstruction operations to date. 

When conditions in the reception 

camps were beginning to stabilise 

and reconstruction measures already 

being planned, a cholera epidemic 

suddenly broke out in October 2010. 

32 

This epidemic hit the country completely 

unprepared, as Haiti had never 

experienced cholera throughout its 

history. Overcrowding and a lack of 

sanitation in the reception camps contributed 

to the rapid spread of the 

disease. All in all, over 500,000 people 

were infected, and some 7,000 died. 

In view of these circumstances, World 

Vision had to completely redesign its 

humanitarian aid efforts. Consequently, 

we reinforced our activities securing 

the supply of drinking water and the 

construction of sanitary facilities and 

drainage channels. In addition, treatment 

centres for cholera patients were 

set up, and people were given comprehensive 

information on the nature 

of the disease, on how it spreads, and 

on what can be done to prevent and 

treat it. However, this also meant that, 

for several months, other measures 

could be carried out only to a limited 

extent and reconstruction efforts 

were therefore significantly delayed. 

Horn of Africa: The 

avoidable famine 

The crisis in the Horn of Africa, which 

received extensive media coverage in 

the summer of 2011 for weeks, came as 

no surprise. In fact, World Vision had 

pointed to the extremely precarious 

situation in this region as early as in early 

2011. Attempts to curb the impending 

crisis by adopting the right measures in 

good time failed since almost no funds 

could be raised for East Africa at the 

time. It was not until the situation in 

the Horn of Africa began to escalate 

a few months later and the first media 

images of starving children were shown 

around the world that financing possibilities 

improved. By this time, however, 

over two million children in the region 

were already severely malnourished. 

World Vision expanded its relief 

measures in the field of food and water 

supply, set up shelters with proper sanitation 

and supplied medication, therapeutic 

food supplement and healthcare 

services for malnourished children and 

pregnant and breastfeeding women. 

Yet, this disastrous situation could have 

been avoided if only the international 

community had responded earlier to the 

clear signals sent out by humanitarian 

relief agencies operating in the region.

Countering Risks Effectively 

As a global humanitarian relief agency operating within the sensitive field of donor-financed development cooperation, World 

Vision is exposed to special risks that could have an impact on our work and may make it more difficult for us to achieve our goals. 

This is why we constantly monitor potential risks so as to be in a position to react quickly, should the need arise, and to minimise 

any negative repercussions on the success of the work we do with the poor and the needy of our world. 

Internal risk factors 

Corruption and embezzlement of 

funds by our staff 

Conflicts of interests and 

attempts to obtain personal benefits 

Management failures, accumulation of 

risks, inefficiency and ineffectiveness 

Lack of monitoring by the 

supervisory body 

Inefficiency and ineffectiveness 

of programme activities 

High administrative costs 

Budget exceeding 

Liquidity shortages 

External risk factors 

Economic and financial crises and 

ensuing declines in donations 

Deteriorating basic conditions in the 

country of operation resulting from 

war, corruption, etc. 

Currency risks and exchange 

rate fluctuations 

Changes in donor behaviour 

Preventive measures 

We apply strict financial regulations: regular financial audits are conducted by independent 

auditors (both internal and external) and audits of the quarterly financial 

reports on our programmes are carried out by our programme controllers. 

All our staff, our Executive Board and our Governing Board members are required 

to sign an annual transparency declaration disclosing potential conflicts 

of interest. Our goods sourcing guidelines also helps to prevent any possible 

attempts by individuals to obtain personal benefits. 

Our intensive personnel selection procedures ensure the appointment of competent 

staff to our executive team. In addition, our Executive Board is constantly 

monitored by the Governing Board, which acts as a supervisory body. 

The members of our Governing Board are appointed on the basis of their experience 

and competence. 

We apply indicators of achievement, measure cost-benefit effects, carry out 

constant monitoring and regularly evaluate our programme work. Our local staff 

undergo continuous training. 

We carry out detailed planning and monitoring of expenditure and undergo 

regular external audits by international World Vision auditors as well as by certified 

Public Auditors. 

We draw up monthly comparisons between set objectives and actual results, 

and all payment authorisations are subject to the “four-eyes principle”, thus requiring 

a double signature. 

We plan and monitor expenditure and money transfers in detail. Our liquidity is 

monitored continuously. 

Preventive measures 

We apply a conservative budgeting approach, draw up contingency plans and 

build reserves in order to be able to compensate for any fluctuations in revenues 

from donations. 

In our countries of operation, we participate in the building of civil society structures 

and carry out national and international lobbying activities to consolidate 

democratic structures, propagate the respect for human rights, combat corruption 

and promote good governance. 

We carry out currency hedging based on detailed transfer planning. 

We monitor incoming donations continuously and draw up cost-benefit analyses. 

We review our marketing tools, look for innovative and effective advertising 

possibilities and observe the fundraising market. 

33




Programme Controlling 

Successful programme outcomes 

and economic sustainability 

The long-term aim of any programme 

work carried out by World Vision is 

to achieve a sustained improvement 

in the living conditions of children and 

their families living in our programme 

regions. To ensure this, it is vital to assess 

the efficiency of our programme 

activities at regular intervals. One 

essential aspect of this is to examine 

whether funds have been used in a 

meaningful and appropriate way. 

Transparency and economic 

efficiency 

Are the funds donated put to efficient 

use in the developing countries, and 

are they used in accordance with the 

set programme objectives? Are budgets 

adhered to, or can any deviations 

be discerned? Is reporting informative 

and transparent? Which measures are 

necessary? These and many other financial 

questions are dealt with by World 

Vision Germany’s Programme Financing 

team operating within the International 

Programmes department. Together 

with the country programme coordinators 

in charge, this team monitors the 

transparency and economic efficiency 

of disbursements made from the donations 

entrusted to us. To this end, 

they are closely involved in all stages of 

the programme cycle (see page 30). 

Programme design 

As early as at the design stage, programme 

applications and budgets are 

examined from a financial and economic 

point of view. Multiannual planning documents 

and annual budget plans form 

the contractual basis for cooperation 

between the programme partners, e.g. 

between World Vision Ethiopia and 

World Vision Germany. This serves 

to ensure that agreed objectives and 

important quality standards are met. 

34 

Active monitoring and 

consultation 

However, programme controlling tasks 

encompass not only monitoring the 

transparency and economic efficiency 

of disbursements, but also supporting 

the programme partners in other areas 

of financial management. For instance, 

our German staff are responsible for 

ensuring safe monetary transactions 

into the programme countries and 

always request acknowledgements 

of receipt. This enables us to reduce 

risks while at the same time ensuring 

the liquidity of programmes. 

Responsibility for programme accounting 

and financial reporting mainly rests 

with local World Vision staff based in 

the programme countries, as they are 

familiar with the legal, economic and 

cultural conditions on site. Yet, in order 

to provide World Vision Germany’s staff 

with timely information and to enable us 

to provide quick assistance if need be, 

all programme partners are required 

to submit both quarterly and end-ofyear 

financial reports to World Vision 

Germany. This can present major challenges, 

in particular to those programme 

partners who are already working under 

difficult circumstances – be it on account 

of extreme climatic conditions, frequent 

power failures, or political instability 

and insecurity. Here, particular support 

needs to be provided by World Vision 

Germany’s Finance staff so that finance 

reporting requirements can be met 

and efficient economic management 

of donated funds can be ensured. 

Evaluation and reflection 

We examine all financial reports on the 

basis of agreed budgets and objectives. 

On the one hand, we scrutinise the 

overall quality of the report, including its 

completeness, its accuracy and its compliance 

with the reporting deadline. Equal 

importance is attached to content-related 

aspects: Is expenditure appropriate, 

and is it in adequate proportion to the 

progress achieved by the programme? 

Are there any deviations, and if so, what 

are they due to? Which aspects can be 

improved, and which developments must 

be taken into account in the future? We 

subject all programme reports to a detailed 

analysis with a view to unlocking 

potential for improvement and taking 

effective action. Sometimes, although, luckily 

enough, only in a few rare cases, we 

see ourselves forced to impose sanctions. 

These may range from suspending payments 

to requesting reimbursement of 

funds or even terminating a programme. 

Advantages offered by our 

international partnership 

Thanks to the international World 

Vision Partnership (see page 7), World 

Vision Germany can benefit from established 

structures in the programme 

countries. Thus, staff working at the 

various World Vision national offices 

all adhere to standardised reporting 

formats, financial guidelines and control 

mechanisms, on the basis of which 

programmes are evaluated at regular 

intervals both by internal and by external 

auditors. Collaboration with other World 

Vision national offices facilitates even 

better coordination of targeted training 

measures or of providing technical support 

for and staffing of programmes.

Monitoring Mechanisms 

The pyramid below illustrates the various 

monitoring levels operating at 

World Vision (WV). Both our programmes 

and the national offices in 

charge in the developing countries as 

well as World Vision Germany as the 

“supporting office” undergo regular thorough 

examinations in terms of factual 

content and financial operations. This 

serves to guarantee maximum effectiveness 

and economic efficiency of our 

programme work and to ensure that 

donated funds are used appropriately. 

The blue levels refer to the monitoring 

of programme work. Checks are 

first carried out by the programme 

managers and the “programme support 

team”, which is composed of 

locals living in the programme area. 

The activities of the programme management 

team and the support team 

are, in turn, monitored by the national 

World Vision office in question. To 

this end, the national offices employ 

their own specialist staff, including a 

programme auditor, and appoint an 

external evaluation team to conduct a 

participatory evaluation every four to 

five years (see page 20). In parallel, programme 

activities are monitored by the 

programme and/or country officers and 

programme controllers at WV Germany. 

The yellow levels refer to the mo- 

Programme 

Programme monitoring: 

• by the management 

• by the programme support team 

Quality monitoring: 

• by the WV national offices 

• by an external evaluation team 

nitoring of World Vision’s national 

offices. Their finances are subject to 

regular examination by World Vision 

International’s (WVI’s) own internal 

auditor. Moreover, the national offices’ 

organisation and strategic orientation are 

monitored by a WV Peer Review Team. 

The orange levels refer to the monitoring 

of World Vision Germany. Here, 

work is first checked by the operative 

level in question or by the various bodies 

and committees of the Association. 

In addition, as with World Vision’s 

national offices in the developing countries, 

finances are monitored by World 

Vision International’s internal auditor. 

World Vision Germany’s organisation 

and strategic orientation are monitored 

by the Peer Review Team. Further 

external inspections are conducted 

by our auditing company, by the tax 

authorities, as well as by the Deutsches 

Zentralinstitut für soziale Fragen (DZI). 

Quality monitoring by WV Germany: 

• content monitoring by country officers 

• financial monitoring by programme controllers 

Monitoring of WV national offices: 

• by WV International’s internal auditor 

• by WV International’s Peer Review Team 

Monitoring of WV Germany’s Programmes department 

by WV Germany’s Executive Board 

Monitoring of WV Germany’s Executive Board: 

• by WV Germany’s Supervisory Board 

• by WV Germany’s voluntary Finance Committee 

Monitoring of WV Germany’s Supervisory Board 

by the Annual General Meeting of WV Germany 

Internal Monitoring of the charitable association WV Germany: 

• by WV International’s internal auditor (public or chartered accountant) 

• by the WV Partnership’s Peer Review Team 

External Monitoring of WV Germany: 

• by an external auditing company 

• by Deutsches Zentralinstitut für soziale Fragen (DZI, German watchdog organisation) and the tax authorities 

35




Impact Monitoring – 

Measuring Programme Success 

Specific indicators allow 

us to measure the 

impact of our work 

To be able to assess programme success, it is not sufficient for us to examine only 

the short-term results and effects of programme measures. Rather, it is necessary 

to describe the desired effects, to evaluate the impact achieved and to draw the 

right conclusions for our practical work. This can include short-term or long-term, 

positive or negative, planned or unplanned, direct or indirect effects. The difference 

between the result of a programme activity and its impact can be illustrated by a 

simple example: The result of a health programme may be access to clean water in 

the form of newly drilled wells. However, this does not yet say anything about the 

actual impact of this well construction activity, which can be an improved health 

situation owing to a reduction in the incidence of diarrhoea (see the diagram). 

Input Activity Output 

Direct 

impact 

Indirect 

impact 

Materials 

Staff 

A well is built 

A well supplying 

clean drinking 

water is 

in operation 

Improved health 

situation resulting 

from a lower incidence 

of diarrhoea 

Reduced 

child mortality 

36

Child Well-Being Aspirations 

Nutrition and health Education and training Spirituality and responsibility 

Child protection and child 

participation 

Children are well nourished 

Children learn life skills (such 

as communication, dealing 

with their feelings, etc.) 

Children learn to reflect on 

themselves and their place in 

the world 

Children enjoy security and 

protection in their families, in 

their communities and when 

playing 

Children receive preventive 

health care and protection 

against childhood diseases 

Children can read, write and 

do arithmetic 

Children enjoy good relations 

with their families, friends and 

neighbours 

Children are adequately 

provided for and know their 

rights 

Children have access to health 

care and treatment 

Children/young people 

complete their schooling 

Children have hope, 

confidence and visions for 

their future 

Children are registered at 

birth and have a nationality 

Young people receive 

vocational training 

Children take responsibility 

for others and for their 

environment 

Children are involved in all 

decisions affecting them 

The power of evaluations 

In order to measure this impact, World Vision has developed a set of indicators 

that are designed to make the changes happening in the quality of life 

of children and their families visible for various areas of life. One such indicator 

can be the percentage of children under the age of five contracting diarrhoea 

over a certain period of time before the data was collected. 

If such evaluations are carried out regularly, it will be possible to establish a trend 

that will furnish information on how children’s quality of life has developed over the 

years. In the above example, for instance, it would become apparent whether infection 

rates for diarrhoea have declined, remained the same or even increased 

over the years. Surveys of control groups living outside the programme area will 

allow us to draw comparative conclusions to determine the extent to which our 

programme activities have contributed to this impact. A target-performance comparison 

will reveal whether set objectives were achieved, surpassed or missed. 

By developing so-called Child Well-Being Aspirations, World Vision has set targets 

against which impacts will have to be measured (see the table above). 

The key question is: 

Has the quality of life 

of children and families 

improved to a significant 

extent? 

Obtaining meaningful data 

Evaluations aiming to measure the impact of programme activities and to adapt future 

programme operations if necessary are typically conducted every three to 

five years. The data required for this is initially collected by means of representative 

household surveys. This quantitative method is supplemented by qualitative 

forms of data collection, which may include group discussions, for example, where 

men, women and children are heard separately. Further methods include trend 

analyses or “lifelines”, where people get to describe how their lives have changed 

in different areas in a retrospective comparison. Graphic illustrations of the 

changes also allow us get feedback from people who cannot read or write. 

An element that has proved to be particularly useful is the so-called Most Significant 

Change method, where the target group gets to identify and evaluate the most signifi- 

37




The families themselves 

get to identify and 

evaluate the most 

important positive 

changes that have 

occurred in their lives in 

recent years. 

cant positive changes that have occurred in recent years. In addition, the participants 

are asked to identify those “responsible” for the changes (who contributed? what 

was the share of each contributor?). This allows us to assess World Vision’s contribution 

and provides valuable information on which players will be able to carry 

on the development once World Vision’s active on-site involvement has ended. 

Creating a successful transition 

The results of the final evaluation form the basis for organising the transition phase, 

the aim of which is to successfully hand over the responsibility for the programme 

activities to the local community. A number of ADPs entered this final 

phase in 2011. Therefore, World Vision Germany has initiated and supported a 

special learning programme for planning the transition phase. This involved developing 

and testing tools and techniques that can help local staff to accompany 

this crucial process at the end of a programme’s life in the best way possible. 

Only the direct and active involvement of the local community will ensure a sustainable 

and successful handover of activities. Therefore, we consider and assess the results 

of the evaluation and the “most significant changes” together with the local population 

including children and young people, community representatives and the various 

local organisations. The insights and learning gained are taken into account when 

jointly planning the programme handover on site. The aim is to develop a realistic 

plan which will prepare and empower local decision-makers to carry on appropriate 

activities initiated by the programme on their own. This is to ensure that the benefits 

and achievements generated by the programme can be sustained in the long term. 

38

Example of Mphuka, Malawi 

Indicator 

Evaluation 

2007 

Target 


Evaluation 


Percentage of underweight children: 20 % 8 % 13.4 % 

Percentage of school-age children 

attending primary school 

Percentage of graduates who qualify 

for a secondary school 

60.2 % 80 % 82,1 % 

31 % 37 % 79.9 % 

Percentage of early school leavers 11 % 4 % 4.1 % 

Percentage of households with access 

to clean drinking water 

54 % 60 % 57.4 % 

Percentage of the population tested positive for HIV 21 % 20 % 10 % 

Percentage of the population suffering from malaria: 20 % – 20 % 

Percentage of children suffering from diarrhoea 18 % 11 % 5.7 % 

In Mphuka, improvements 

have been achieved in the 

areas of health and nutrition, 

school attendance and the 

quality of school education. 

While development in the 

field of drinking water supply 

lagged behind, the incidence 

of diseases associated 

with contaminated water 

was nevertheless reduced 

further. Wherever targets 

have not been reached, 

programme activities will 

need to be adjusted in the 

next phase (see page 31). 

Example of Gazipur, Bangladesh 

Indicator 

Evaluation 

2007 

Target 


Evaluation 


Percentage of infants who have received all mandatory 

vaccinations (documented by a health card) 

Percentage of mothers who know how to properly 

treat diarrhoea 

Percentage of primary school pupils who attend 

school regularly 

Percentage of pupils who have obtained the required 

minimum score in their finals 

Percentage of self-help group members who can 

read and write 

Percentage of families who can afford three full meals 

a day 12 months a year 

53 % 90 % 93 % 

88 % 95 % 91 % 

85 % – 88 % 

60 % 80 % 74 % 

40 % 90 % 93 % 

83 % 80 % 93 % 

In Gazipur, significant 

improvements have been 

achieved in the areas of 

health and education as well 

as in nutrition. Wherever 

targets have not been reached, 

programme activities 

will need to be adjusted in 

the next phase (see page 

31). 

39




Financial Review 2011 

General information 

German association legislation stipulates 

no mandatory standard accounting 

rules for associations. An association 

is obliged to keep proper accounts 

of its revenues and expenditure in order 

to furnish proof that the actual management 

of its operations is in compliance 

with the provisions laid down in 

its articles of association. World Vision 

Germany has chosen to draw up a voluntary 

balance sheet along with a profit 

and loss statement. Accounts were 

drawn up internally, as were our annual 

Financial Statement and the aggregated 

donation receipts. Our annual accounts 

have been audited in accordance with 

the provisions of Section 317 of the 

German Commercial Code (HGB) 

and the German principles of orderly 

auditing of accounts as stipulated 

by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer 

(IDW), the Institute of Public Auditors 

in Germany. The provisions of German 

legislation on non-profit organisations 

and the corresponding tax regulations 

laid down in the German Fiscal Code 

(AO), e.g. regarding the appropriate 

use of funds, the timely use of funds 

and the creation of reserves, are complied 

with. 

40 

Accounting methods 

The annual accounts of the registered 

association World Vision Deutschland 

e.V., Friedrichsdorf, as at 30 September 

2011 have been drawn up in compliance 

with the legal provisions applicable to all 

commercial traders laid down in Section 

242 ff. of the German Commercial Code 

(HGB) and supplementary provisions 

laid down in Section 264 ff of the Code 

regarding corporations insofar as these 

can be applied mutatis mutandis. The 

provisions of the German Accounting 

Law Modernisation Act (BilMoG), which 

came into force on 29 May 2009, have 

been applied. In addition, for the year 

under review, the association voluntarily 

drew up a management report for 

the very first time. The structure of 

the balance sheet and of the profit and 

loss statement largely follow that of the 

legal framework structures laid down 

in Sections 266 and 275 of the German 

Commercial Code, adapted and complemented 

in accordance with Section 265 

(5) of the German Commercial Code in 

order to take account of the peculiarities 

arising from the mission and the structure 

of the association as a fund-raising 

organisation and a humanitarian relief 

agency. The profit and loss statement 

has been structured on the basis of the 

total costing method (see Section 275 

(2) of the German Commercial Code). 

Revenues are broken down in detail on 

page 44 according to the individual categories. 

In order to ensure the clarity, expenditure 

is presented on page 46 in accordance 

with the criteria established by 

the German Central Institute for Social 

Concerns, DZI. This is complemented by 

a presentation of expenditure structured 

by areas on page 47. 

The concept applied here is in line with 

the corresponding guidelines/matrix 

issued by DZI, see: dzi.de/wp-content/ 

uploads/2011/11/DZI-Spenden-Siegel- 

Leitlinien-2011.pdf (in German). 

Accounting policy 

All accounting items are included in the 

balance sheet and valued in compliance 

with the generally accepted accounting 

principles on the basis of their acquisition 

cost following the lowest-value 

method and the principle of commercial 

prudence. Tangible fixed assets are valued 

at acquisition or production cost 

minus depreciation accumulated so far 

and continued in the financial year 2011. 

Depreciation on fixed assets is based 

on the linear depreciation method. 

Low value fixed assets are depreciated 

completely in the year of their acquisi-

tion. Securities held as fixed assets are 

shown at acquisition cost. Write-downs 

to lower prices have been carried out 

insofar as they were necessary to adjust 

to an expected permanent reduction 

in the market value of the securities. 

Inventories have been valued at acquisition 

cost following the lowest-value 

method. Receivables and other assets 

are valued at nominal value. Default risks 

are taken into account by making appropriate 

value adjustments. Receivables 

have a residual maturity of up to one 

year. Cash at bank and in hand is valued 

at nominal value. Foreign currency items 

are converted to euros during the year 

at the current rate of exchange and are 

valued on the Financial Statement date 

in compliance with the lowest-value 

principle. Donations that have not yet 

been used for their intended purpose 

by the Financial Statement date and 

similar funds are shown separately in 

the balance sheet as “Commitments 

arising from earmarked funds yet to 

be transferred”. Insofar as they are not 

earmarked for medium-term reconstruction 

programmes, these funds are regularly 

used as intended for statutory 

programme activities in the following 

financial year. Accrued liabilities are 

shown at their settlement amounts as 

determined by reasonable commercial 

assessment. Liabilities are valued at their 

repayment value. All liabilities have residual 

maturities of up to one year and 

are not secured by mortgages or similar 

securities. Receivables and liabilities and 

expenditures in a foreign currency resulting 

from transfers (all in US dollars) are 

valued at the exchange rate applicable 

on the day they were first recorded, 

since they are subsequently passed on in 

Asia 21.5 % 

Inter-regional 

support 7.7 % 

Middle East and 

Eastern Europe 9.5 % 

US dollars. Consequently, exchange rate 

losses and gains do not arise from transfers, 

but as a result of settlements with 

other World Vision offices. Donations 

received in kind are valued and recorded 

at the proven and documented fair value 

or market value of the individual items. 

All donations received during the period 

under review have been fully included in 

the revenues. 

Programme transfers by regions 2011 

(including figures with more than 1%) 

Africa 40.0 % 

Latin America 21.2 % 

41




Balance Sheet as of September 30, 2011 

Assets 30.09. 2011 30.09. 2010 

CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES 30.09. 2011 30.09. 2010 

A. Fixed Assets 

I. Intangible assets 501,488 € 865,815 € 

II. Tangible assets 209,355 € 296,763 € 

III. Investments 3,143,368 € 32,954 € 

Total Fixed Assets 3,854,211 € 1,195,532 € 

B. Current Assets 

I. Inventories 641,363 € 410,597 € 

II. Receivables and other 

assets 

9,080,753 € 3,938,803 € 

III. Temporary Expenses 0 € 21,660 € 

IV. Cash at bank 21,384,426 € 26,759,125 € 

Total Current Assets 31,106,542 € 31,130,185 € 

C. Accrued and deferred items 96,885 € 180,853 € 

A. Equity 

I. Assigned capital 1,176,997 € 1,132,401 € 

II. Reserves 14,948,379 € 15,098,950 € 

Total Equity 16,125,376 € 16,231,351 € 

B. Commitments arising from 

earmarked funds yet to be transferred 

I. Commitments from funds 

for disaster projects 

II. Commitments from funds 

for development projects 

Total Project- 

Commitments 

7,061,852 € 4,268,549 € 

2,481,365 € 4,727,966 € 

9,543,217 € 8,996,515 € 

C. Accrued liabilities 1,203,466 € 1,360,133 € 

D. Liabilities 8,185,579 € 5,918,571 € 

Total ASSETS 35,057,638 € 32,506,570 € 

Total CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES 35,057,638 € 32,506,570 € 

Explanatory notes on the balance sheet 

Total assets increased by 2.6 million EUR 

(+8%) compared to the previous year, reaching 

an amount of 35.1 million EUR. This 

rise is mainly accounted for by an increase 

of 5.5 million EUR (+130%) in receivables 

and other assets as well as an increase of 3.1 

million EUR in investments combined with 

a decrease of 5.4 million EUR (-20.1%) in 

liquid funds. The proportion of total assets 

accounted for as long-term fixed assets 

has risen from 3.7% in the financial year 

2010 to 11.0% in the financial year 2011. 

ASSETS 

A. Fixed assets 

I. Intangible assets include licences and 

computer software. With additions 

amounting to 16 kEUR (chiefly consisting 

of additional acquisition expenses 

relating to the ERP software activated 

in 2008 and by the purchase of 

licences) and amortisation amounting 

to 381 kEUR, total fixed assets decreased 

by 365 kEUR to 501 kEUR. 

II. Tangible assets include mainly office 

equipment and installations in our rented 

premises as well as vehicles and 

computer hardware. As a result of additions 

(chiefly consisting of computer 

hardware and vehicles) amounting to 

100 kEUR and depreciation amounting 

to 188 kEUR, tangible assets decreased 

by 88 kEUR to 209 kEUR. 

III. Investments include a share in a 

private real estate and financial asset 

management company bequeathed to 

us by a deceased person in 2001 and 

amounting to 7 kEUR, securities held 

as fixed assets declared for the first 

time amounting to 2,876 kEUR as well 

as other loans amounting to 260 kEUR. 

In the year under review, some of the 

liquid assets were reinvested in securities 

held as fixed assets and are handled by 

an asset management fund. This asset 

management is governed by an investment 

policy based on the premise of 

risk mitigation and a set of sustainability 

criteria for investments. The bulk of the 

funds have been invested in fixed-interest 

bonds or held as liquid funds, while only 

a small part has been invested in shares. 

Other loans include a loan granted to 

a World Vision partner organisation 

amounting to 234 kEUR at the Financial 

Statement date, as well as cooperative 

shares amounting to 26 kEUR. 

42

B. Current Assets 

I. Inventories are relief goods intended 

for rapid deployment in the event of 

disasters. Such stored goods include 

modules for our so-called Child 

Friendly Spaces (childcare centres set 

up in disaster areas), among others. 

II. Receivables and other assets amounted 

to 9,081 kEUR by the Financial Statement 

date. The increase in this item by 5,142 

kEUR compared to the previous year is 

mainly due to the increase in receivables 

from World Vision partner organisations. 

These receivables will be settled in the 

coming financial year. They concern 

short-term loans to be repaid in 2012. 

Other assets amount to 1,437 kEUR and 

have thus decreased by 59 kEUR compared 

to the previous year. The largest item 

in other assets is accounted for by receivables 

from programme pre-financing 

payments. These concern pre-financing 

for programmes funded by public donors 

and cooperating partners where the funding 

has been approved, but not yet paid. 

In particular, World Vision Germany funded 

programmes in Papua New Guinea, 

Senegal, Timor-Leste, the Democratic 

Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe 

where the approved funds were not 

paid out as quickly as the aid was required. 

By the Financial Statement date, 

pre-financing amounted to 1,130 kEUR 

in total. Moreover, other assets include 

receivables from micro-financing activities, 

deposits paid and interest accrued. 

III. A bond inherited in the previous 

year was transferred to the asset management 

fund and is therefore shown 

under securities held as fixed assets by 

the Financial Statement date 2011. 

IV. The “cash at bank” item refers 

mainly to time deposits and call money 

used to fund programme activities. 

Liquid funds are placed in low risk investments 

and are transferred to the 

programmes as planned in the budget. 

The 5,375 kEUR decline is chiefly due 

to the use of liquid funds from the previous 

year for disaster relief operations 

in Haiti and Pakistan and a transfer 

of bank deposits to financial assets. 

C. Accrued and deferred items 

The accrued and deferred items amounting 

to 97 kEUR shown in this statement 

refer to prepaid invoices which are attributable 

to the following financial year, 

e.g. advance payments for insurance 

premiums and maintenance contracts. 

CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES 

A. Equity 

I. The increase in assigned capital by 

45 kEUR in the financial year 2011 results 

from donations from bequests. 

II. In the past, the presentation of reserves 

was based on a mixture of the 

provisions of the German Commercial 

Code and the German Fiscal Code. 

However, as the concept of reserves 

differs between the two legal instruments, 

only reserves complying with the 

provisions of the German Commercial 

Code will be presented henceforth. 

Fiscal reserves according to the provisions 

laid down in the German Fiscal 

Code will be documented and presented 

in a separate auxiliary tax statement 

(use-of-funds statement) attached to the 

tax return submitted to the tax office. 

With a view to implementing its statutory 

objects, the association has 

committed itself to forming a working 

capital reserve to cover its programme 

financing commitments so as to be 

able to guarantee a reliable, continuous 

flow of funds into programmes, 

even in the event of a decline in, or 

the absence of, donations. Reserves 

amounted to 14,948 kEUR, as compared 

to 15,099 kEUR in the previous 

year. They serve as a safeguard against 

risks, i.e. to secure the maintenance of 

operations in the event of fluctuations 

in the association’s volume of incoming 

donations and of possible bottlenecks 

that may ensue in financing the operations 

of our German administrative unit 

while meeting transfer commitments. 

115 kEUR were taken from earmarked 

reserves in the year under review and 

used for reconstruction aid in Myanmar 

(damage caused by Cyclone Nargis). 

Commitments for transfers that have 

yet to be carried out are shown under 

liability item “B. Commitments arising 

from earmarked funds yet to be 

transferred” and clarified under B. 

B. Commitments arising 

from earmarked funds 

yet to be transferred 

This item arises from the fact that some 

of the donated funds are not spent in the 

year in which they were received by World 

Vision. Thus, for example, commitments for 

earmarked funds to be transferred were 

entered under this item in connection with 

the major natural disasters that occurred 

in 2011, i.e. the tsunami in Japan and the 

drought in Eastern Africa. In addition, this 

item also includes partial amounts of commitments 

for reconstruction programmes 

in Haiti and Pakistan. The remaining funds 

relate to development cooperation programmes. 

A total amount of 4,306 kEUR 

was transferred to this item in the financial 

year 2010/2011, while 3,759 EUR of the funds 

entered in the previous year were used 

appropriately for planned programmes. 

C. Accrued Liabilities 

Other reserves include commitments arising 

from leave entitlements and overtime 

compensation, costs of the audit of the 

annual accounts and consultancy fees. 

D. Liabilities 

Liabilities are mainly liabilities to World 

Vision International for programme activities 

financed and implemented jointly by several 

national branches of the World Vision 

Partnership, as well as for coordination and 

support functions. In addition, they cover 

financial contributions by public donors and 

NGO action alliances that are to be used for 

specific purposes, for which the association 

had already received funds, but not yet fully 

transferred them by the Financial Statement 

date (7.3 million EUR). In addition, by the 

Financial Statement date liabilities resulting 

from supplies of goods and services (427 

kEUR) and other liabilities exist (472 kEUR) 

which were owed to programme partners 

and tax authorities, among others. 

43




Revenues in the Financial Year 2011 

Donations and grants 30.09.2011 30.09.2010 

Sponsorship contributions 57,499,540 € 63.62 % 57,316,107 € 66.65 % 

Donations for other development 

cooperation programmes 

Donations for humanitarian emergency 

relief programmes 

2,561,082 € 2.83 % 2,253,667 € 2.62 % 

6,167,270 € 6.82 % 6,247,019 € 7.26 % 

Other donations 3,012,084 € 3.33 % 2,743,889 € 3.19 % 

Donations in kind 237,190 € 0.26 % 0 € 0.00 % 

Public grants 10,799,138 € 11.95 % 14,391,404 € 16.73 % 

Revenues from cooperating partners 10,042,693 € 11.11 % 1,899,375 € 2.21 % 

Income from bequests 44,596 € 0.05 % 133,973 € 0.16 % 

Income from fines 15,664 € 0.02 % 12,380 € 0.01 % 

Other income from statutory purposes 0 € 0.00 % 3,000 € 0.00 % 

Total 90,379,256 € 98.67 % 85,000,815 € 98.84 % 

Other revenues 

Interest and other income 1,090,883 € 1.19 % 824,354 € 0.96 % 

Income from services for other WVorganisations 

123,527 € 0.13 % 176,633 € 0.21 % 

Total revenues 91,593,666 € 100.00 % 86,001,802 € 100.00 % 

Revenues in FY 2011 by origin of funds 

(including figures with more than1%) 

Donations for other development 

cooperation programmes 2.8 % 

Interests and other revenues 1.3 % 

Other donations including bequests 

and fines 3.4 % 

Donations for humanitarian 

aid programmes 6.7 % 

Sponsorship contributions 62.8 % 

Revenues from cooperating 

partners 11.0 % 

Public grants 11.8 % 

44

Explanatory notes on the 

income statement 

Notes on comparisons with 

other organisations 

Objective comparisons between our 

figures and those published by other 

organisations are extremely difficult 

due to different structures and 

working methods. This is illustrated, 

for example, by looking at the programme 

division of an organisation: 

Does the organisation in question 

have its own programme department 

in Germany, as does World 

Vision Deutschland e.V., allowing 

programmes and the flow of funds 

to be monitored and controlled directly, 

or are funds passed on to 

centralised programme offices? 

This, of course, has an impact on the size 

and, hence, on the cost of the support 

functions required, including, for example, 

the IT and financial departments. 

Therefore, comparisons between different 

organisations can only be drawn 

with a certain degree of imprecision. 

According to the guidelines established 

by DZI, the percentages of the various 

categories of expenditure (programme 

support, programme administration etc.) 

always refer to the organisation’s total 

expenditure. Yet, in order to assess the 

economic use of advertising expenses, 

the latter should only be correlated with 

revenues received from private donors, 

as no advertising expenses are incurred 

for raising public funds. Expenditure on 

advertising accounts for 8.87% of our 

revenues received from private donors. 

Origin of our revenues 

Revenues in the financial year 2011 

amounted to a total of 91.6 million EUR, 

up 6.5% compared to the previous year 

(86.0 million EUR). 69.5 million EUR of 

our total revenue was accounted for by 

the private sector (75.9%). As a result of 

an increase in the number of child sponsors, 

sponsorship revenues rose by 183 

kEUR year on year. Private donations re- 

Presentation on categories: 

statutory objects, administration of assets and economic business operations (euro) 

statutory 

objects 

portfolio 

management 

taxable economic 

business activity 

total income 90,627,464 841,837 124,365 91,593,666 

total expenses 91,577,538 122,103 91,699,641 

result -950,074 841,837 2,262 -105,975 

ceived for humanitarian aid programmes 

amounted to 6,167 kEUR and were thus 

more or less at the same level as in the 

year before (6,247 kEUR). This includes, 

notably, the donations received due 

to the earthquake in Japan (2.2 million 

EUR), while the drought in East Africa 

brought an influx of donations amounting 

to 3.4 million EUR. These donations 

have in part already been used for the 

emergency relief effort, but will also go 

to sustained reconstruction programmes 

in the affected regions, in coordination 

with other World Vision organisations. 

The appropriate use of these donations 

is explained in more detail on page 43 

under point B (Liabilities). Donations 

for other development cooperation 

programmes rose by 13.6% compared 

to the previous year. Other donations 

amounting to 3.0 million EUR (+11.1%) 

are chiefly accounted for by the so-called 

“13th monthly contribution”, which 

sponsors can donate in addition to their 

monthly contributions, followed by revenues 

received from corporate partners. 

Other donations also include 464 kEUR 

non-earmarked donations. One company 

made a donation in kind amounting 

to 237 kEUR for disaster relief in three 

countries. Grants by public donors in the 

financial year 2011 amount to 10.8 million 

EUR (-16.7%). This can be put down 

to the Haiti disaster, for which significant 

amounts had been made available 

total 

by public donors in the previous year. 

When it comes to public donors, our 

main partners are the United Nations 

with its World Food Programme 

(WRP and UNDP, accounting for 

37%), the European Union (ECHO and 

EuropeAid, accounting for 32%), the 

German Federal Foreign Office (9%), as 

well as other institutions (22%). In the 

financial year 2011, revenues from cooperating 

partners (in particular Aktion 

Deutschland Hilft) rose considerably 

once again owing to the natural disasters 

that occurred in 2011 (+429%). This 

strong increase resulted from the fact 

that, in addition to money disbursed for 

current disasters, funds were also paid 

out for programmes in last year’s disaster 

areas (Haiti, Pakistan), which were 

used to support the reconstruction effort 

and the medium-term development. 

Other income is chiefly accounted for 

by proceeds from sponsoring agreements, 

exchange rate gains, reimbursements 

from the public employment 

office and health insurance institutions, 

etc. In order to enhance efficiency 

within the international World Vision 

Partnership, World Vision Germany 

supports smaller European partner offices 

in the areas of IT and programme 

administration. Remuneration for the 

services provided amounted to 124 

kEUR. This income falls into the category 

of commercial business operations. 

45




Disbursements in the Financial Year 2011 

1. Programme expenditure 

Amount 

Percent 

compared to 2010 

Amount 

Percent 

a) Programme transfers 70,632,107 € 77.13 % 58,651,335 € 68.43 % 

comitted obligations 1 546,702 € 0.60 % 7,196,515 € 8.4 % 

total a) 71,178,808 € 77.73 % 65,847,850 € 76.83 % 

b) Programme administration, assessment and 

other programme-related activities 

c) Statutory public awareness advocacy and public relations 

activities 

3,539,931 € 3.87 % 3,279,079 € 3.83 % 

4,015,653 € 4.38 % 4,222,083 € 4.93 % 

Subtotal 78,734,393 € 85.98 % 73,349,012 € 85.58 % 

2. Administration and management expenditure 

a) Advertising and general public relations 6,171,264 € 6.74 % 5,877,097 € 6.86 % 

b) Sponsor and donor relations 2,408,641 € 2.63 % 2,159,623 € 2.52 % 

c) Administrative expenditure 4,263,241 € 4.66 % 4,325,729 € 5.05 % 

Subtotal 12,843,146 € 14.02 % 12,362,450 € 14.42 % 

Total expenditure 91,577,538 € 100.00 % 85,711,462 € 100.00 % 

Expenditure for services which are reimbursed 

by other World Vision offices 2 

123,527 € 176,633 € 

Changes in reserves 

Decrease in reserves -150,571 € -748,335 € 

Increase in assigned capital 44,596 € 862,042 € 

Income tax refunds -1,424 € 

Total disbursements : 91,593,666 € 86,001,802 € 

Disbursements in the Financial Year 2011 

Programme expenditure 86.0 % 

1 

See „Commitments arising from 

earmarked funds yet to be transferred“, 

page 43. 

2 

World Vision Germany supports 

smaller European offices in the 

areas of IT and programme administration. 

This expediture is reimbursed 

by the office in question. 

Advertising and 

general public relations 

activities 6.7 % 

Administrative expenditure 4.7 % 

Sponsor- and Donor 

relations 2.6 % 

46

Explanatory notes on the use of funds 

Our association’s total expenditure in the 

financial year 2011 amounted to a total of 

91.6 million EUR (+6.5% year on year). 

1. Programme expenditure totalling 78.7 

million EUR (86%) breaks down as follows 

(percentages in relation to total 

expenditure): 

a)Programme support amounting to 71.2 

million EUR (77.7%), i.e. funds transferred: 

70.6 million EUR and commitments: 

0.5 million EUR. 

b)Programme administration, i.e. monitoring 

and coaching of programmes, 

and activities carried out prior to and 

following programme support: 3.5 million 

EUR (3.9%). 

c) Statutory public awareness advocacy 

and public relations activities, i.e. creating 

public attention and raising public 

awareness within the context of our 

development policy advocacy work; 

these activities must be included in the 

Articles of Association as autonomous 

objects: 4.0 million EUR (4.4%). 

2. Advertising and administration expenditure 

totalling 12.8 million EUR 

(14.0%) breaks down as follows: 

a) Advertising expenditure, i.e. expenditure 

for soliciting donations and 

expenditure for carrying out general 

public relations activities: 6.2 million 

EUR (6.7%). 

b) Expenditure on sponsor and donor 

relations 2.4 million EUR (2.6%). 

c) Administrative expenditure; this refers 

to the association as a whole and ensures 

the basic functioning of the organisation 

and the operational processes: 

4.3 million EUR (4.7%). 

The proportion of our expenditure 

spent on advertising and administration, 

amounting to 14.0%, has been found reasonable 

by DZI. 

Our direct programme support increased 

by 8.1% to 71.2 million EUR in 

line with the positive development of 

our revenues, which rose significantly 

compared to the previous year owing 

to donations for disaster relief. This 

includes 0.5 million EUR (0.6%) for 

commitments for funds to be transferred 

after the Financial Statement 

date. With this presentation as well 

as the separate item “Commitments 

arising from earmarked funds yet to be 

transferred”, World Vision Germany 

underlines that donations, even if they 

have not yet been put to use, already 

imply a commitment towards the 

donor in the year in which they were 

received ensuring that they will be used 

appropriately. Thus, for example, 4.1 

million EUR will be spent in the coming 

months and years on reconstruction 

programmes in the disaster areas of 

Japan and East Africa as well as for continued 

reconstruction efforts in Haiti 

and Pakistan. 

Detailed presentation of advertising and 

administration expenditure 

Programme administration 

Statutory public awareness 

advocacy and public 

relations activities 

Advertising and 

general public 

relations activities 

Sponsor and 

donor relations 

Administrative 

expenditure 

Staff costs 2,150,293 1,352,760 519,529 1,533,692 1,963,546 

Depreciation 61,865 81,974 23,869 121,335 311,515 

Operating expenses for advertising 

and public relations activities 

494 1,917,157 5,402,836 93,524 311,657 

Other expenses: 

• Travel expenses 213,470 73,395 33,667 8,664 61,599 

• Postage and telecommunication charges 43,824 79,363 20,884 184,804 108,142 

• Cost of hire and rent 236,397 142,155 52,969 178,932 271,178 

• Office Expenses 182,903 132,876 40,934 113,731 207,060 

• Other 650,684 1 235,974 76,574 173,959 1,028,543 2 

Total other expenses 1,327,279 663,762 225,029 660,089 1,676,523 

Total 3,539,931 4,015,653 6,171,264 2,408,641 4,263,241 

1 

) Amongst others this covers a share to programme administration from WV International (0.412 million euros). 

2 

) This covers a share of 0.605 million euros in the cost of coordinating and support tasks carried out by World Vision International, e.g. for monitoring the 

use of funds (see the monitoring pyramid on page 35) and for taking on general coordinating tasks at our 97 offices around the world. These include an 

international audit department employing 170 auditors worldwide who review our programmes regularly, or our international financial department. Among 

other things, the latter is in charge of the global planning and implementation of currency transactions, with a view to minimising risks resulting from exchange 

rate fluctuations in our programme work. In addition, its tasks also include submitting well-grounded quarterly financial reports on the programmes. 

47




Transfers into programmes are made 

according to budget plans, programme 

progression and the current situation 

prevailing in the programme country. 

Transfers are examined and approved 

each month. Moreover, transfer payments, 

which are most often carried out 

in US dollars (USD), are subject to exchange 

rate fluctuations, despite currency 

hedging transactions. Budget plans 

are drawn up in USD, and, depending 

on the development of the exchange 

rate, additional or reduced expenditure 

may therefore be required in EUR to 

make the transfer payments. When 

looking at transfers, a single financial 

year cannot be considered in isolation; 

rather, it is necessary to take into account 

the long duration of programmes, 

often running over several years, in 

particular in the field of development 

cooperation. These circumstances imply 

that some of the funds collected during 

the year under review will not be 

transferred before the following year. 

Programme support amounting to 71.2 

million EUR breaks down as follows: 

a) Transfers of public funds obtained: 

10.5 million EUR. Funds provided by 

the European Union were used in 

Senegal, Uganda and Timor-Leste, 

among other countries. The United 

Nations’ World Food Programme 

has provided us with funds mainly 

Programme transfers by regions, 

FY 2007 - 2011 

in million EUR 

70 

70.000.000 

60 

60.000.000 

50 

50.000.000 

40 

40.000.000 

30 

30.000.000 

20 

20.000.000 

10 

10.000.000 

0 

Africa 

Asia 

Latin America 

Middle East and Eastern Europe 

FY 11 

for programmes in Sudan, in Haiti, in 

Pakistan and in Somalia. Humanitarian 

aid funds provided by the German 

Federal Foreign Office are mainly 

for programmes in Somalia, 

Haiti and Papua New Guinea. 

b) Transfers of funds obtained from cooperation 

alliances: 9.0 million EUR 

c) Transfer of private donation revenues 

and commitments relating to donations 

that have yet to be transferred, 

including revenues from cooperating 

corporate donors: 51.7 million EUR. 

Here, World Vision takes into account 

documentation requirements for the 

sponsored programmes imposed by legal 

regulations applicable to non-profit organisations. 

While World Vision involves many volunteers 

in its operations in the programme 

areas, activities in Germany are almost 

exclusively carried out by staff working 

under employment contracts. The overall 

payroll expenses for staff salaries 

and social security contributions, corresponding 

to 141 full-time staff (as compared 

to 136 in the previous year, each 

full-time employee working 40 hours/ 

week) amounted to 7.5 million EUR in 

the year under review (+4.0% year on 

year). 2.2 million EUR of this amount is 

accounted for by programme administration. 

The main reason for the increase in 

staff costs is the higher number of staff 

employed during the year under review. 

In this financial year, the two full-time 

staff serving on the Executive Board 

received a gross salary amounting to 

216,008 EUR. Advertising and general 

public relations expenditure amounted 

to 6.2 million EUR (+5%). Operating 

expenses for advertising break down 

into 72% for media advertising (printed 

media, radio, television and the internet), 

9% for publications and mailings, and 

19% for other advertising expenses. The 

reason for the reduced share of media 

advertising while other advertising 

expenditure increased was a greater 

distribution of marketing expenses over 

various ways of addressing potential 

donors. Individual activities such as the 

design of advertising campaigns, translation 

services or market analyses as 

Afrika Asien Lateinamerika Osteuropa, Naher und Mittlerer Osten 

FY 07 FY 08 FY 09 FY 10 

FJ07 FJ08 FJ09 FJ10 FJ11 

75.000.000 75 

70.000.000 70 

65.000.000 65 

60.000.000 60 

55.000.000 55 

50.000.000 50 

45.000.000 45 

40.000.000 40 

35.000.000 

30.000.000 30 

25.000.000 

20.000.000 

15.000.000 

10.000.000 

5.000.0005 

0 

well as legal and tax advice were partly 

outsourced to external service providers. 

This was done whenever special 

expertise was required or when tasks 

could not be carried out by our own 

staff due to the amount of work involved 

and where recruiting additional staff 

would not have been justified. Before 

commissioning an external service provider, 

we compare several offers in order 

to ensure an optimal use of resources. 

No performance-based fees or commissions 

were paid for raising donations. 

Expenditure on statutory public awareness 

advocacy and public relations 

activities, amounted to 4.0 million EUR 

in the year under review and was thus 

lower than in the year before (-5%). 

Annual result and reserves 

The negative annual result of 106 kEUR 

in the financial year 2011 was balanced 

by a withdrawal from the reserves. 

Expenses for programme 

support, advertising and general 

public relations and administration 

in the financial Years 

(FY) 2008 - 2011 in million EUR 

FY 08 FY 09 FY 10 FY FJ 11 

Programme transfers 

Advertising and general public relations 

Administration 

Projektförder 

Werbung und 

Öffentlichkeit 

Verwaltungsa 

48

Auditor‘s Report for the financial year 2011 

The statutory audit company appointed to perform the statutory financial audit has 

issued the following opinion in relation to the complete Financial Statements, consisting 

of the balance sheet, the profit & loss statement, the notes to the Financial 

Statement and the management report. 

To the World Vision Deutschland e. V., 

Friedrichsdorf Association 

We have audited the Financial Statement 

for the financial year from 1 October, 

2010 to 30 September, 2011 - consisting of 

Balance Sheet, profit and loss Statement 

and Notes - including the accounting and 

the Management Report of the World 

Vision Deutschland e. V., Friedrichsdorf 

Association. The accounting and the preparation 

of the Financial Statement and 

Management Report in accordance with 

the voluntarily applied German commercial 

law provisions applicable to all business 

people are the responsibility of the 

legal representatives of the Association. 

lt is our task to present an assessment of 

the Financial Statement on the basis of 

the audit conducted by us, including the 

accounting and the Management Report. 

We undertook the audit of the Annual 

Financial Statement in accordance with 

§ 317 of the German Commercial Code 

(„HGB“), taking into account the German 

Institute of Public Auditors‘ 1 principles 

for the auditing of Financial Statements; 

whereby the audit is to be so planned and 

conducted that inaccuracies and abuses 

which could have a material effect on the 

presentation of the picture of the asset, financial 

and surplus situation, taking into account 

the principles of proper accounting, 

as reflected by the Financial Statement and 

the Management Report, may be recognised 

with sufficient certainty. 

ment, as well as the anticipation of possible 

errors, are taken into account. Within the 

framework of the audit, the effectiveness 

of the accounting-related internal control 

system, as well as the evidence of details 

included in the accounting, Annual 

Financial Statement and the Management 

Report, are judged mainly on the basis of 

random checks. The audit incorporates 

the assessment of the applied accounting 

principles and the material estimates by 

the legal representatives, as well as the 

evaluation of the overall presentation of 

the Annual Financial Statement and the 

Management Report. We are of the opinion 

that our audit formed an adequate 

basis for our judgment. 

Our audit did not give rise to any reservations. 

ln our opinion, based on the knowledge 

gained during our audit, the Annual 

Financial Statement complies with the 

statutory requirements and, taking the 

principles of proper accounting into 

account, gives a true picture of the 

Association‘s asset, financial and surplus 

situation. The Management Report is in 

tune with the Annual Financial Statement, 

presents an overall accurate picture of 

the Association‘s situation, and adequately 

reflects the opportunities and risks. 

Cologne, 12 January, 2012 

ln setting the audit programme, knowledge 

of the Association‘s business activities 

and commercial and legal environ- 

1 Institute of Public Auditors in Germany, 

Incorporated Association („IDW“) 

(André Tillmann) 

Auditor 

(Friedrich Dickopp) 

Auditor 

Solidaris Revisions-GmbH 

Auditors and Tax Consultants 

49




Strategy and Outlook 

for the Financial Year 2012 

With our overarching strategy, World 

Vision plans all of its operations in such 

a way as to ensure that the association‘s 

statutory goals are achieved as effectively 

and efficiently as possible. In doing 

so, we need to constantly adjust our 

plans to changing conditions. This is 

why we review and overhaul our organisational 

strategy every five years. 

While continuing to develop the content 

of our activities, our association is 

also keen to broaden the foundations 

underpinning our work. This includes 

expanding the General Assembly in 

terms of expertise and staff. Thus, new 

members will be added in the next few 

years who can contribute experience 

and professional expertise matching the 

chief areas of World Vision Germany‘s 

operations and who will be able to 

support the association accordingly. 

2012 will be the final year of our fiveyear 

strategy ending in 2012. Based 

on an evaluation initiated in 2011, our 

strategic management activities will 

be chiefly focused on the development 

of our new five-year strategy. 

Strategic goals are monitored using a 

balanced scorecard. In the light of the 

strategy and the anticipated general 

conditions for our work, the following 

outlook emerges for the coming years. 

Financial planning 

In 2011, the willingness of people in 

Germany to donate money to charity 

was comparable to 2010. A TNS- 

Infratest survey found that while less 

people made donations, those who did 

so donated higher amounts. However, 

given that these amounts are very much 

dependent on the occurrence of natural 

disasters, and considering the slight 

increase in the savings ratio of private 

households in Germany at the end of 

2011 (as recorded by Germany’s Federal 

Statistical Office), there is a possibility 

that the total volume of donations could 

decline somewhat in 2012. Therefore, 

the trend towards increasing difficulty 

in recruiting new donors is expected to 

continue. Against this background, we 

expect to receive lower total revenues 

in the financial year 2012 than in 2011. 

Sponsorship contributions will continue 

to make up the major part of our total 

revenues. This gives us relatively good 

financial planning security. As for other 

revenues from private donors, we anticipate 

a modest increase, resulting in 

part from the Start Helper programme. 

Revenues from private donors for disaster 

relief are likely to remain below 

those in 2010/2011. Grants from public 

donors and revenues from cooperating 

partners are very difficult to predict, 

as they are also highly dependent on 

the occurrence of natural disasters. 

However, we do expect a slight decline 

in contributions from cooperating partners 

in particular. Although there will 

still be an influx of funds for Pakistan, 

Japan and East Africa in the financial year 

2012, the volume will be smaller than in 

2011. Overall, we anticipate a moderate 

continued growth in the financial years 

2013 and 2014, both as regards revenues 

from private donors and regarding public 

funds. Revenues from cooperating 

partners will most probably decline once 

the funds earmarked for Pakistan, Japan 

and Eastern Africa have been used. As 

things stand today, the challenges in 

the fundraising market are expected to 

continue. Nevertheless, we hope that 

we will still manage to convince people 

of the quality and importance of our 

work by means of transparency and documented 

programme success. Another 

challenge for the financial year 2012 will 

Budget Planning for the financial years (FY) 2012 -2014 

Revenues in millions of euros FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 

Donations 65.8 67.5 69.5 

Public grants 9.0 15.0 15.0 

Revenues from cooperating partners 7.0 2.0 1.5 

Other revenues 1.2 1.3 1.4 

Total revenues 83.0 85.8 87.4 

Expenses according to DZI-criteria 

Programme support 62.4 64.6 65.8 

Programme administration 3.5 3.6 3.8 

Statutory public awareness advocacy and public relations activities 4.2 4.4 4.5 

Advertising and general public relations activities 5.9 6.1 6.1 

Sponsor and donor relations 2.4 2.4 2.5 

Administrative expenses 4.6 4.7 4.7 

Total expenditure 83.0 85.8 87.4 

50

e our move to new office premises, 

which will provide a more efficient and 

climate-friendly working environment. 

The new premises are also intended 

to ensure better communications. 

Our annual overheads for office space 

will be lower than in previous years. 

Development cooperation 

Our strategy for helping children stipulates 

that we place a special focus on 

children up to the age of five. From what 

we know today, in a majority of cases, 

the effects of malnutrition suffered in 

this early phase cannot be made up for 

later in children’s lives. Therefore, World 

Vision Germany is planning to launch 

three additional programmes focusing on 

the early educational support for young 

children in 2012, which will be equipped 

with a budget of approximately 230,000 

EUR. Programmes in Congo, Haiti and 

Nicaragua will focus primarily on preventive 

health care and nutrition. In addition, 

the launch of six new ADPs in Mali, 

India, Chad and Swaziland is planned for 

the financial year 2012 with an overall 

budget of 236,000 EUR. Moreover, we 

will also concentrate our efforts on the 

handover of seven programmes to local 

communities, as our support measures 

there will be coming to an end. In this 

regard, we will cooperate closely with 

our local partners in civil society and 

government bodies to ensure that the 

progress achieved can be sustained. 

Any programme handover is always 

preceded by years of planning and the 

specific strengthening of local structures 

by means of appropriate training. In all 

our ongoing programmes, we will continue 

to implement impact monitoring 

both in the form of regular programme 

monitoring and systematic programme 

evaluations. Also, we will continue to 

support local advocacy efforts in 2012 in 

India, Armenia, Sierra Leone and Bolivia 

with a view to changing unfair political 

and social conditions to the better. Here 

too, a particular focus will be on promoting 

the health of children and mothers. 

Humanitarian aid 

Our strategic focus on the health and 

development of children up to the age 

of five will continue to dominate the 

field of humanitarian aid as well. Thus, in 

the coming year, we intend to increase 

the deployment of our “Child Friendly 

Spaces Kits” (ready-made childcare centre 

modules) in global crisis areas. Some 

modules will also be integrated into our 

relief efforts at the Horn of Africa. In this 

area, World Vision Germany will be participating 

in humanitarian aid measures 

for several years to come by cooperating 

and setting up consortia with other organisations 

in order to find a sustainable 

way out of the crisis in the long term 

through joint efforts. Climate change and 

the increasing frequency of natural disasters 

are long-term trends and challenges 

which we need to tackle. Therefore we 

will continue to place a strategic focus on 

disaster risk reduction as well, while striving 

to further integrate climate protection 

components into our programmes. 

Advocacy 

By carrying on its Child Health Now 

campaign in 2012, World Vision 

Germany will continue to turn the spotlight 

on improving the health of children 

and mothers in developing countries. 

The aim is to convince governments 

of these countries to strengthen their 

health care systems and better protect 

their populations from diseases. At the 

same time, we call on political decisionmakers 

in Germany to keep their promises 

and invest much-needed funds 

in health programmes and multilateral 

instruments. In addition World Vision 

Germany’s travelling exhibition “Ich 

krieg dich – children affected by war” is 

designed to draw public, media and politicians’ 

attention to children in war zones 

to demand special protection for them. 

Research and innovation 

In the research field, an international 

children’s study entitled “Children’s 

Worlds” will be carried out for the 

first time in 2012 in collaboration with 

UNICEF and the International Society 

for Child Indicators (ISCI). Building on 

the experience gathered through World 

Vision’s German children’s study, the international 

children’s study will interview 

children around the world on their subjective 

well-being. Conceptual work on 

the third World Vision Children’s Study 

“Children in Germany” is also planned 

to begin in 2012. This study will be published 

in the autumn of 2013. In the 

field of innovation, the research project 

on “Social innovation in Germany” will 

be looking at areas that are in need of 

social innovations. The aim is to collect 

and evaluate best practice examples for 

these areas together with our partners. 

51

World Vision Deutschland e. V. 

Am Zollstock 2-4 

61381 Friedrichsdorf 

Fon: (06172) 763 - 0 

Fax: (06172) 763 - 270 

info@worldvision.de 

Office Berlin 

Luisenstraße 41 

10117 Berlin 

www.worldvision.de 

Bank account for donations: 

Taunus Sparkasse 

BLZ 512 500 00 

Account number 2216 

For donations from abroad please useour 

account at: 

IBAN DE88 5206 0410 0000 0088 00 

(BIC: GENODEF1EK1)

Annual Report 2011 - World Vision Institut

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