We’re all about creating opportunities and building relationships . . .
- for member organizations – the chance to work with other like-minded groups, to learn from one another’s strengths and share resources, to access project funding, to influence social and development policy.
- for policy makers and donors: engagement with collective advocacy actions that bring perspectives from across Europe and the countries across the globe where EU-CORD members are working; and the chance to participate in joint project actions developed through grass-roots and national consultation with partners around the world.
- for local partners and people: by working better together we have more impact to bring about transformational change.
Who we are
European Christian Organisations for Relief and Development (EU-CORD) is a network of 24 NGOs that work alongside over 1,000 implementing partners worldwide. Symbolizing the potential that comes from working together, our symbol of three overlapping free-form circles represents the coming together of member agencies.
As individual organisations (and as a network) we are an inter-denomination grouping of Christian relief and development agencies, inspired by Christian values to accomplish our work. As such, we are an independent of any political, social or religious authority.
We are a not for profit organisation, registered under Belgian law as an asbl (association sans but lucratif) and are registered in the EU Transparency Register.
History and Name
In October 1997, the first gathering of EU-CORD founders met in the immigration area of Schipol Airport. The founding agencies – Cord, Medair, SEL, Tearfund Belgium, Tear, Tearfund, Woord en Daad, and ZOA were prompted by a desire to show that Christian organisations were making a professional contribution to international humanitarian and development work – through cooperating with each other and interacting with the European Institutions in external aid policy and funding to advocate for inclusive change. EU-CORD was legally established In February 2003.