ERDO (Emergency Relief & Development Overseas)

What ERDO (Emergency Relief & Development Overseas) does

ERDO (Emergency Relief & Development Overseas) is a registered Canadian charity (BN 87591 2701 RR0001) headquartered in Missississauga, Ontario, founded approximately in 1986 and operating for nearly 40 years. It functions as the humanitarian arm of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), a relationship that anchors its distribution network across more than 30 countries and ties board governance to PAOC's international work division (Mission Global). The organization employs 17 staff organized into five senior leadership functions (CEO, International Programs, Resource Development, Operations & Donor Care, and Finance & HR).

ERDO delivers three core programmatic pillars: ChildCARE Plus (a recurring child sponsorship program operating in 27 countries), Crisis Response (emergency food, water, shelter, and supplies during conflicts and natural disasters), and Community Development (food programs, water projects, agricultural programs, and the Wezesha microfinance program in Burundi). The organization reports no proprietary technology platform; its digital footprint consists of a website, donation portal, child sponsorship portal, and email/newsletter marketing. Programs are delivered through local church and ministry partners, with channel partners including local churches in Ukraine (Pastor Vadim, Pastor Sergey Eremin), Bangladesh, Jamaica, Cuba, Sudan, and Burundi, plus international intermediaries such as Integra Foundation (Slovakia), Hungarian Gypsy Mission International, and Christian Life Missions.

The business model is donor-funded rather than revenue-generating. Income streams comprise one-time and recurring individual donations, child sponsorship subscriptions (monthly), corporate and church gifts, and government-matched funding through a 4:1 Canadian Foodgrains Bank partnership that leverages Global Affairs Canada dollars for food security programs. ERDO does not sell products or services; donation tiers range from $25 to $1,000+, with $75 unit-priced microfinance contributions and monthly recurring sponsorships. The 2025 expenditure ratio was 83% to programs, 9% support services, and 8% resource development, and the organization has been recognized as a top Canadian charity by Maclean's, MoneySense, Financial Post, and Charity Intelligence.

Name

ERDO (Emergency Relief & Development Overseas)

Legal name

ERDO (Emergency Relief & Development Overseas)

Website

https://erdo.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ERDO is a registered Canadian non-profit affiliated with The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, delivering child sponsorship, crisis response, and community development programs across 30+ countries through local church partner networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Humanitarian Relief

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Community Food Services (624210), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD), Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Humanitarian & Disaster Assistance (Bilateral) (BPADABAB)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid
• Emergency relief
• Child sponsorship
• Community development
• Microfinance programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississauga

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and monthly donations from individual supporters for crisis response, community development, and child sponsorship programs. Donors can give through the website, set up recurring gifts, or make tribute gifts in memory or honor of loved ones.
2. Child Sponsorship: Recurring monthly sponsorship payments for children through the ChildCARE Plus program, providing education, healthcare, nutrition, and shelter for children ages 0-18 in developing countries.
3. Government Matching (Canadian Foodgrains Bank): Partnership with Canadian Foodgrains Bank provides 4:1 matching on donations for food security programs, allowing ERDO to amplify donor contributions through government-matched funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ERDO delivers humanitarian assistance programs through three core pillars: ChildCARE Plus child sponsorship (education, healthcare, nutrition, and shelter for children ages 0-18), Crisis Response (emergency food, water, shelter, and household goods during disasters and conflicts), and Community Development (food security, water access, microfinance via Wezesha, and agriculture programs). The organization operates across more than 30 countries through a network of local church partners and is affiliated with The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC).

Product overview

ERDO (Emergency Relief & Development Overseas) is a Canadian humanitarian organization operating as a unified charitable platform with three core programmatic pillars: Child Sponsorship (through ChildCARE Plus), Crisis Response, and Community Development. The organization delivers these programs through various components including food assistance, water projects, microfinance (Wezesha), and agricultural programs. ERDO does not offer traditional technology products but rather delivers humanitarian programs and services focused on child welfare, emergency relief, and sustainable community development across over 30 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wezesha: ERDO's microfinance program in Burundi, empowering women entrepreneurs through small loans and business training. In Swahili, 'wezesha' means to empower.
• ChildCARE Plus

Products and services

• ChildCARE Plus Child Sponsorship ERDO's child sponsorship program that educates children between ages 0-18, improving their nutrition, healthcare, shelter, and spiritual needs. Currently operating in 27 countries through recurring monthly sponsor contributions.
• Crisis Response Emergency relief program providing food, water, sanitation, shelter, and household goods during natural disasters and conflicts. Works to repair damages and help affected populations recover.
• Community Development Long-term development program equipping communities to break cycles of poverty through food projects, water projects, microfinance (Wezesha), and agricultural programs.
• Wezesha Microfinance Program Microfinance program in Burundi that empowers women entrepreneurs through small loans (starting at $75-100), business training, and mentorship. Women form lending groups of five to receive capital and develop sustainable businesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• 34,000+ people fed, 3,200+ sheltered, 1,700+ rescued in Ukraine since February 2022
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Canadian Foodgrains BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership provides 4:1 matching on donations for food security programs. ERDO accesses funding from Global Affairs Canada through this partnership for emergency food assistance and longer-term agriculture programming. This is a flagship partnership that significantly amplifies donor impact.
• The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAOC is the parent organization of ERDO. ERDO serves as the charity that delivers care on behalf of the PAOC. PAOC has nearly 1,200 affiliated churches, 3,700 credentialed ministers, and over 300 global workers serving in more than 50 nations.
• Local Church Partners (Ukraine)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of local churches and PAOC global workers in Ukraine providing food, medicine, shelter, and spiritual support to families on frontlines and internally displaced people. Includes pastors like Pastor Vadim in Poltava and Pastor Sergey Eremin.
• Church Partners (Jamaica & Cuba)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 60 churches and ministry partners across 63 communities in Jamaica distributed emergency food and hygiene supplies after Hurricane Melissa. Similar networks in Cuba.
• Pentecostal Assemblies of BangladeshcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide Child Safe Spaces for Rohingya refugee children in Cox's Bazar camp, Bangladesh. Project provides psychosocial support for 250 children weekly.
• Mission GlobalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAOC's international work organization. Murray Cornelius serves as Executive Director of Mission Global and Chair of ERDO's Board. Mission Global provides strategic direction for PAOC's international work.
• Integra Foundation (Slovakia)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organization in Slovakia bringing food and supplies to families living in Ukraine. Assisted with evacuations and humanitarian aid distribution.
• Hungarian Gypsy Mission InternationalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner that crossed borders to visit Ukrainian villages and bring relief packages including pasta, tea, spices, detergent, soap, hygiene items, medicine, food, candles and coffee to displaced families.
• Christian Life Missions (Burundi)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal partner in Burundi hosting Wezesha Project celebrations and providing microfinance program infrastructure for women entrepreneurs.
• Local Partner (Sudan)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEstablished partner in North Kordofan, Sudan delivering emergency food baskets to 2,250 vulnerable families in famine-like conditions.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CBM (Christian Blind Mission) Canada: Christian international development organization focused on disability-inclusive programs. Comparable faith-based donor base and sponsorship-driven recurring revenue model.
• Tearfund Canada: Canadian evangelical Christian relief and development agency delivering emergency response and community development through church networks - an almost identical operational model to ERDO at similar organizational scale.
• Save the Children Canada: Major international child-focused humanitarian organization with active Canadian fundraising operations including child sponsorship and emergency appeals. Operates at larger scale but competes for similar Canadian donor mindshare.
• World Vision Canada: Largest Canadian child-sponsorship and humanitarian NGO with a comparable three-pillar model (child sponsorship, emergency relief, community development). Direct competitor for Canadian donor dollars in faith-aligned and secular segments.
• Mennonite Central Committee Canada: Faith-based relief, development, and peace organization of Anabaptist churches in Canada delivering emergency response, food aid, and community development through local partner networks - parallel operating model to ERDO.
• Compassion Canada: Faith-based child sponsorship organization operating in developing countries with recurring monthly sponsor model closely parallel to ERDO's ChildCARE Plus. Competes for the same Canadian Christian donor base.
• ADRA Canada: Adventist Development and Relief Agency Canada, a faith-based humanitarian NGO providing emergency response and community development through church-based distribution - directly comparable to ERDO in mission and method.
• Plan International Canada: International child-rights and development NGO with Canadian sponsorship operations. Comparable in sponsorship-driven revenue model and child-focused development programming.

Others

• Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) / Mission Global: Parent denomination and strategic partner that ERDO serves as the humanitarian arm. Not a peer organization but the institutional anchor for ERDO's distribution network and donor pipeline.
• Canadian Foodgrains Bank: Coalition of Canadian churches and agencies that channels government-matched food assistance funding to member organizations including ERDO. Strategic partner and ecosystem enabler rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/erdocanada

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ERDO (Emergency Relief & Development Overseas)