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See how much more the Church of Jesus Christ spent on charitable giving in 2022

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Tad Walch
·3 min read
Two missionaries serve the people of Ghana, West Africa.
Two missionaries serve the people of Ghana, West Africa. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Charitable spending by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints surpassed $1 billion for the first time last year, according to an annual report released Wednesday.

The church and its charity broadened the scope of its global humanitarian aid, according to “Caring For Those in Need: 2022 Annual Report of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Charitable expenditures exceeded $1.02 billion in 2022, the report said.

That was an increase of nearly $100 million, up from $906 million in 2021.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is eager to bless others and to help those in need,” the First Presidency said in a signed letter at the beginning of the annual report. “We are blessed to have the ability, resources and trusted global connections to carry out this sacred responsibility, which we consider a joyful privilege.”

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Latter-day Saint Charities provided humanitarian aid across 3,692 humanitarian projects in 190 countries.

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The church continues to grow the number of countries where it conducts humanitarian projects.

  • 3,909 projects in 188 countries in 2021.

  • 3,600 projects in 160 countries in 2020.

  • 3,221 projects in 142 nations in 2019.

The church participated in 483 emergency response projects and 174 refugee response projects, including aid provided to Ukrainian refugees, the report said.

Those humanitarian aid efforts included the largest one-time humanitarian donation in church history, a $32 million commitment to the World Food Programme to provide food and other critical support to 1.6 million people in nine countries — Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

WFP executive director David Beasley called it a “life-saving contribution.”

The next-largest donation in 2022 was $5 million to UNICEF’s new “No Time To Waste” global malnutrition campaign.

The First Presidency thanked church members and others who donated time, money and other resources.

“Our world is filled with challenges of conflict, hunger, disease, disaster, poverty, pandemics and gaps in basic human needs,” President Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring wrote. “Whatever may come, we have faith and confidence in the goodness of people.”

The annual report broke down the $1 billion in charitable spending into six main categories:

  • Humanitarian projects.

  • Donations to food banks and other agencies.

  • Donated clothing, either free or discounted through Deseret Industries.

  • Fast-offering assistance, which provides temporary financial aid to those in need.

  • Bishops’ orders for goods, which includes food and commodities provided free to those in need from bishops’ storehouses and Deseret Industries.

  • Church operations, which includes Family Services counseling in 90 countries and territories, employment centers, farms and food-processing facilities and Deseret Industries.

Church farms and food-production plants produced enough food to feed approximately 14.3 million people for one day, the report said. The church donated 57.3 million pounds of food in 2022.

The church also participated in:

  • 156 clean water projects.

  • 54 mobility projects.

  • 42 vision care projects.

  • 45 maternal care projects.

Church volunteers contributed more than 6.3 million hours of service, the report said. In addition, JustServe facilitated over 130,511 volunteer projects, including 16,285 new projects.

The church sponsored 14,186 self-reliance groups in 2022 with 106,261 participants in 88 countries and territories.

For the year, the church had 11,030 welfare and self-reliance missionaries.

The church also provided employment services that helped 4,127 people find job placements.

Read the full, 48-page 2022 report here.

See stories on the 2021 annual report here and the 2020 annual report here.