Mercy Corps takes over poverty mission

from Oregon Live

Relief - The Portland agency will carry on NetAid's work to recruit youths to fight poverty

RICHARD READ

Bono, Puff Daddy and David Bowie starred in high-profile 1999 concerts, appealing for volunteers to fight global poverty. Yet while the NetAid organization behind the Webcast concerts trained teens for that mission, donations fell short and money has dwindled.

On Monday, Mercy Corps managers said they would complete what the rock stars began, taking over NetAid to build a national youth movement committed to end poverty. The Portland-based relief-and-development agency inherits a small New York staff and the seeds of a growing constituency for Mercy Corps causes.

"The interest of young people in fighting global poverty has actually taken off to an extraordinary degree," said Matthew De Galan, Mercy Corps' senior vice president for resource development and communications. "This plugs us into a network."

Mercy Corps' takeover of NetAid comes as other U.S. relief organizations such as Care and Save the Children move beyond providing aid abroad to increasing support at home. The outreach programs are aimed more at advocacy than at fundraising, although donations could increase as a result.

Mercy Corps employs at least 3,000 in more than 35 countries. But last year, the nonprofit organization expanded its mission by winning a grant to build a "world hunger action center" in New York, where perhaps 100,000 visitors a year can learn about humanitarian issues. Mercy Corps will include a similar center in its new headquarters building, scheduled to open in Portland's Old Town in 2009.

Integration of NetAid, whose lower Manhattan headquarters are near the developing hunger center, will extend that work. Mercy Corps plans to expand a corps of high school-age activists trained by NetAid to mobilize fellow students.

Founders expected that NetAid would attract millions in public donations over the Internet, but only about $1 million materialized initially. Cisco Systems kicked in $10 million, and consulting firm KPMG contributed $1 million.

NetAid used the Internet to match volunteers with poverty-fighting organizations and connected donors to poverty-reduction programs. But by the end of fiscal 2005, tax filings show, working capital had sunk to $4.4 million. That year's deficit amounted to $1.9 million, down from more than $2 million during the preceding years.

Fast-growing Mercy Corps, which generated $185 million in revenues last year, materialized as a perfect fit, said consultant Alfred Wise, Community Wealth Ventures president.

At the same time, Mercy Corps field workers asked what the organization was doing to teach Americans about development issues. "What we loved about Mercy Corps was that it would link us to direct connections in the field," said Kimberly Hamilton, NetAid president.

Mercy Corps continues to expand, receiving donations of $6 million last month. That was up from $2.3 million for the same month in 2003, the last December before a string of disasters including earthquakes and the South Asian tsunami.

Richard Read: 503-294-5135; richread@aol.com