[1]BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) — WMU Foundation recently gave more than half a million dollars to national Woman’s Missionary Union, a gift earmarked to help the organization carry on its missions work.
The foundation presented national WMU with grants totaling $512,354 from 14 different funds and endowments during the entity’s board meeting Jan. 13. The funds will support a wide variety of WMU ministries and projects from women’s leadership development to WMU ministries like WorldCrafts and Christian Women’s Job Corps.
WMU Foundation announced it plans to give more over the course of 2019. David George, WMU Foundation president, said gifts like those are why the foundation exists.
“Since the inception of the WMU Foundation in 1995, our objective has been to provide financial support to all of Woman’s Missionary Union and her missions effort,” he said.
Dellanna O’Brien, former national WMU executive director, started the foundation with a clear purpose, George said — to be a “significant supplement” to national WMU’s funding in addition to supporting state WMU organizations, offering scholarships for children of missionaries and giving to other missions-related causes.
James Wright, chairman of the WMU Foundation board, said they’ve made “good progress” in their goal. The foundation consistently grants more than $500,000 each year to national WMU in addition to another $1 million given collectively to other recipients. Last year, the foundation’s gifts to national WMU totaled more than $614,000.
[2]“While we are excited about what we have been able to provide over the last 25 years, we realize there is so much more that is needed, and we want to continue to increase our support,” he said. “Our ability to meet the needs of WMU is critical to the future — not the future of the organization but the mission of WMU.”
WMU is part of God’s overall mission to bring the world to Himself, Wright said. “We must do our part for WMU to be able to fulfill their mission. I hope others will join with us in this eternal effort.”
Cindy Walker, vice chairman of the board, noted, “WMU is changing lives throughout the world because of its many ministries, and the foundation works hard to increase our level of financial support each year.”
For more information on how you can support WMU Foundation, visit wmufoundation.com/waystogive [3].