Feed the Hunger, formerly New Directions International

The information on this page was last updated 1/12/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]


Summary

We're a Christian ministry that knows every child wants to succeed, but many don't have the resources they need. Without proper nutrition, education, and spiritual guidance, it's easy for them to feel defeated. But we believe every child deserves to experience the love of God and the opportunity to grow and learn. So how do we make this happen? Using our reliable global partnerships, we identify vulnerable children at risk of starvation or malnutrition, provide immediate nutritional resources, and invest in their long-term success through education and spiritual growth.


Contact information

Mailing address:
Feed the Hunger, Inc.
PO Box 2347
Burlington, NC 27216-2347

Website: www.feedthehunger.org

Phone: 888-772-9634

Email: [email protected]


Organization details

EIN: 560953324

CEO/President: Joseph Williams

Chairman: Tony Holt

Board size: 13

Founder: Dr. J.L. Williams

Ruling year: 1971

Tax deductible: Yes

Fiscal year end: 12/31

Member of ECFA: Yes

Member of ECFA since: 1985


Purpose

We have a particular emphasis on connecting with Christian leaders seeking to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). Feed the Hunger equips these leaders to feed spiritual hunger with tools like Bibles, bicycles, and micro-enterprise projects. Physical hunger is met through the provision of nutritious food, clean water, and emergency aid and relief. We seek to meet these needs in three target audiences: (1) at-risk children in America and overseas, (2) those in crisis situations, such as refugees and victims of natural disasters, and (3) ethnic groups that are just beginning to be reached with the message of Jesus.


Mission statement

Feeding the spiritual and physical hunger in the poor and needy.


Statement of faith

WE BELIEVE AND AFFIRM THAT...

The Bible is the only inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God. As such, it is indispensable in teaching and preaching, and is our only trustworthy guide for living.

There is one God, eternally existent in the Persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The creation of the universe, the world and man was a direct act of God.

Christology includes: the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, His intercession for the saints, and His personal and physical return in power and great glory.

Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for the salvation of lost and sinful man. The power and gifts of the Holy Spirit are essential for effective living and faithful service.

There will be a resurrection of both the saved and the lost-the saved unto the resurrection of life, and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

The Church is the Body of Christ, consisting of everyone who has been born again of the Spirit of God, and is expressed through membership in both the universal church and the local church.

The Holy Spirit is active today in the world to convict of sin, and to manifest Jesus to hungry hearts. He is also sanctifying His church by guiding believers into all truth, and bestowing spiritual gifts upon believers for the edification of the church.

In the words of the Lausanne Covenant, we affirm that missions and evangelism are the priority of the Church. We believe that evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, Biblical Christ as Savior and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to Him personally and so be reconciled to God. In issuing the Gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship. Jesus still calls all who would follow Him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and identify themselves with His community. The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into His church and responsible service in the world.

This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of Feed the Hunger's faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Board of Directors is Feed the Hunger's final interpretive authority on the Bible's meaning and application.

Donor confidence score

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Transparency grade

A

To understand our transparency grade, click here.


Financial efficiency ratings

Sector: Foreign Missions

CategoryRatingOverall rankSector rank
Overall efficiency rating104 of 107714 of 140
Fund acquisition rating246 of 107839 of 140
Resource allocation rating254 of 107818 of 140
Asset utilization rating201 of 107734 of 140

Financial ratios

Funding ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts =
Fundraising expense /
Total contributions
5%3%6%6%6%6%
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total revenue
4%3%6%6%6%6%
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance =
Total contributions /
Total revenue
98%100%94%100%100%100%
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total expenses
5%3%6%6%7%6%
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance =
Total other revenue /
Total revenue
2%0%6%0%0%0%
 
Operating ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio =
Program services /
Total expenses
84%91%86%87%86%86%
Spending ratio Spending ratio =
Total expenses /
Total revenue
89%83%96%99%92%94%
Program output ratio Program output ratio =
Program services /
Total revenue
75%76%83%86%79%81%
Savings ratio Savings ratio =
Surplus (deficit) /
Total revenue
11%17%4%1%8%6%
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate =
Surplus (deficit) /
Net assets
15%48%17%4%35%38%
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio =
Management and general expense /
Total expenses
10%6%7%7%7%8%
 
Investing ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total assets
1.152.133.463.652.983.10
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment =
Total assets /
Total current assets
1.181.321.742.031.911.96
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total current assets
1.642.826.047.405.696.08
 
Liquidity ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Current ratio Current ratio =
Total current assets /
Total current liabilities
23.967.485.204.105.835.17
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio =
Total current liabilities /
Total current assets
0.040.130.190.240.170.19
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level =
(Total current assets -
Total current liabilities) /
(Total expenses / 12)
6.683.691.601.231.751.59
 
Solvency ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio =
Total liabilities /
Total assets
6%10%12%18%26%49%
Debt ratio Debt ratio =
Debt /
Total assets
0%0%1%6%17%39%
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio =
Net assets /
Total expenses
82%42%25%23%25%17%

Financials

Balance sheet
 
Assets20212020201920182017
Cash$674,982$285,890$216,170$254,968$220,356
Receivables, inventories, prepaids$40,059$42,126$47,321$44,982$51,289
Short-term investments$116,800$11,085$0$0$0
Other current assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total current assets$831,841$339,101$263,491$299,950$271,645
Long-term investments$0$0$0$0$0
Fixed assets$263,143$244,878$261,533$261,996$249,380
Other long-term assets$5,938$7,392$8,846$10,300$11,754
Total long-term assets$269,081$252,270$270,379$272,296$261,134
Total assets$1,100,922$591,371$533,870$572,246$532,779
 
Liabilities20212020201920182017
Payables and accrued expenses$111,141$65,261$64,301$51,438$52,557
Other current liabilities$0$0$0$0$0
Total current liabilities$111,141$65,261$64,301$51,438$52,557
Debt$0$8,306$30,689$99,954$207,015
Due to (from) affiliates$0$0$0$0$0
Other long-term liabilities$0$0$0$0$0
Total long-term liabilities$0$8,306$30,689$99,954$207,015
Total liabilities$111,141$73,567$94,990$151,392$259,572
 
Net assets20212020201920182017
Without donor restrictions$682,953$398,542$269,222$303,243$180,369
With donor restrictions$306,828$119,262$169,658$117,611$92,838
Net assets$989,781$517,804$438,880$420,854$273,207
 
Revenues and expenses
 
Revenue20212020201920182017
Total contributions$2,812,084$2,018,734$1,968,494$1,852,873$1,756,319
Program service revenue$0$0$0$0$0
Membership dues$0$0$0$0$0
Investment income$3,784$59$0$2,523($254)
Other revenue$440$117,969$0$0$0
Total other revenue$4,224$118,028$0$2,523($254)
Total revenue$2,816,308$2,136,762$1,968,494$1,855,396$1,756,065
 
Expenses20212020201920182017
Program services$2,138,248$1,768,964$1,698,770$1,468,236$1,420,242
Management and general$133,536$148,465$133,646$127,144$126,255
Fundraising$74,043$130,111$118,052$112,369$106,320
Total expenses$2,345,827$2,047,540$1,950,468$1,707,749$1,652,817
 
Change in net assets20212020201920182017
Surplus (deficit)$470,481$89,222$18,026$147,647$103,248
Other changes in net assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total change in net assets$470,481$89,222$18,026$147,647$103,248

Compensation

NameTitleCompensation
Joseph WilliamsCEO$105,961

Compensation data as of: 12/31/2020


Response from ministry

No response has been provided by this ministry.


The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 1/12/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]


History

For many years, Feed the Hunger went by the name of New Directions Ministries and New Directions International. It was founded in 1968 by Dr. J.L. Williams and his wife, Patt. During the early years, the ministry was an interracial singing group comprised of high school and college students. They were pioneers in using contemporary Christian music to share their faith in churches and anywhere they could find an audience. Traveling on weekends during the school year and throughout the vacation months, they ended each summer with a cross-cultural mission trip.

Those intense and varied experiences of discipleship, practical evangelism, and mission outreach became the training ground for many young men and women who went on to actively minister in other capacities. Over time, the focus of Feed the Hunger shifted from American teenagers and college students to Christian leaders in the Third World. Feed the Hunger equips these leaders with spiritual and physical tools to reach their own people for Christ. Most recently, Feed the Hunger has begun outreach in the U.S. to feed the spiritual and physical hunger in needy communities.

About J.L. Williams:

J.L. Williams was reared in a spiritually enriched family by his parents, Clarence and Edith Crouse Williams. It was a heritage full of faith and serving others, with a heavy emphasis on overseas missions.

He graduated pre-med from Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, and then received his Master of Divinity degree in comparative world religions from Duke Divinity School. He later earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in contemporary counter-Christian cults from Luther Rice Seminary.

Through the YMCA in Burlington, NC, J.L. and his wife, Patt, founded The New Directions singing group in August 1968. This group was interracial, contemporary, and inter-denominational, ministering throughout the US and the Caribbean from 1968 to the mid-1980s. He then transitioned to developing partnerships with indigenous leaders overseas, mainly in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

J.L.'s passion was to pour himself into those cross-cultural partnerships, equipping strategic Christian leaders with practical and spiritual tools to reach the unreached for Christ. Whether it was preaching, teaching, writing, mentoring, agricultural projects, self-support initiatives, helping orphanages, etc., he was absolutely relentless in serving Christ by serving others.

J.L. died on December 28, 2016, at Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington, NC, leaving Patt, their 4 married children, and 12 grandchildren. Patt continues his legacy by working with their son, Joseph, through Feed the Hunger, as he shares the same vision as his dad: to help meet the spiritual and physical hunger of those in greatest need, locally and globally.


Program accomplishments

Global partners: 42 in 20 countries (including the US)
Total meals packed: over 34 million and counting
Bibles distributed: 16,246 (in 2021)
Edu-Pack backpacks provided: 3,575 (in 2021)
Children in FtH programs: over 13,000


Needs

You can impact the lives of the hungry here in America and around the world by participating in food packing events called Packathons (everyone is welcome to participate!), going on a domestic or overseas mission trip, and investing resources.