The Leprosy Mission was founded in India in 1869, with the Canadian affiliate formed in Guelph, Ontario, in 1892. In 1982, the development of multi-drug therapy allowed the Leprosy Mission to expand its work from the alleviation of suffering towards a cure. In 2014, the Leprosy Mission rebranded to effect:hope. effect:hope is a Christian development charity with a mission to end suffering due to Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), including leprosy, buruli ulcers, lymphatic filariasis, hookworm, roundworm, and river blindness. effect:hope reports that NTDs affect 1 to 1.5 billion people every year. In 2018, the charity reports that 323,703 people were screened, and 4,386 new cases were found. 120,183 patients were treated directly with an additional 13,041 patients treated through outreach clinics.

A Charity Intelligence 2020 Top 10 Impact Charity

The charity carries out programs in 4 domains: strengthening health systems, research, activating and equipping communities, and advocacy. In collaboration with international partners, effect:hope works in seven countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Kenya, DR Congo, Côte D’Ivoire, and Nigeria. The charity works towards its mission by helping its partners set up hospitals, rural health centres, rehabilitation and vocational training centres, and community services.

In 2018, the charity trained 22,494 healthcare workers and performed 3,395 surgeries. effect:hope reported that it gave deworming treatment and vitamin A supplementation to 1,781,690 children as part of a government-funded project. effect:hope also trained 2,939 local leaders and community members on how to recognize and prevent NTDs, in addition to conducting awareness campaigns that reached 2.5 million people. The charity also initiated self-help groups for 5,471 people with NTDs and funded 26 research projects on NTDs.

effect:hope is a medium-sized charity, receiving $6.6m in donations in 2018. The charity also received $917k in government funding, accounting for 12% of total revenues. Administrative costs were 9% of revenues (excluding investment income), and fundraising costs were 12% of donations. For every dollar donated, 79 cents go to effect:hope’s programs, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. The charity has $3.0m in funding reserves, which can cover 7 months of annual program costs.

This charity report is an update that was sent to effect:hope for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 4, 2019 by Caroline McKenna.