BLESS CANADA welcomes any contribution for any amount. There is no minimum.

Under the leadership of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, along with His Grace Bishop Youannes, the money is distributed to the needy and disadvantaged Copts.

BLESS in Egypt extensively investigates and verifies every case for aid it receives. A careful and comprehensive method is used to identify needy individuals and assess their needs.

Semi-annually BLESS in Egypt issues a comprehensive report on how the funds were used, how much was used and where it was used.

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III personally meets many of these needy people every Thursday in Cairo, and every other Saturday in Alexandria.

The money is distributed to individuals based on their need; a family of four may need less funds than a family of ten. The BLESS team in Egypt, led by H.G. Bishop Youannes, keeps a comprehensive track of those individuals who receive funds/ contributions from BLESS CANADA. There is an evaluation system that is used by BLESS to establish need and provide care:

Assessment – H.G. Bishop Youannes, along with the BLESS team, meet with individuals who will receive funds from BLESS CANADAto determine legitimacy and need.

Distribution – Funds are then distribute based on need.

Follow-up – Individuals who received funds are monitored in order to ensure that funds given are used for the purpose intended and legitimately.

Reassessment and update - His Grace Bishop Youannes and the BLESS team work diligently to ascertain whether the situations of individuals receiving money from BLESS CANADA is deteriorating or improving. Records are then updated.

Redistribution – Depending on the findings of the reassessment and update of a case, funds are then redistributed accordingly.

No. All of the money BLESS CANADA sends to Egypt is exclusively used for distribution to the needy.

We do not have a list of names, just a list of family cases. Thus we are unable to choose. The assignment of cases to contributors is random.

All of the individuals on the list are families in desperate need.

The money is wired to the BLESS account in Egypt every month. More specifically the donated money is sent whenever the need or urgency for it arises.

H.G. Bishop Youannes handles these funds.

Yes, all contributions and donations are tax-deductible.

BLESS CANADA's activities are supervised under H.H.POPE SHENOUDA III, with the help of H.G. BISHOP YOUANNES & Mr. Ikram Youssef in Toronto .

The statistics have been compiled from current sources such as the United Nations 1998 Human Development Report and World Bank 1998; these groups work to assist the needy in many countries around the world. A complete list of sources from where the statistics were derived is available upon request.

Poverty: 34% of the Egyptian population, living on less than $2/day.

Adequate sanitation: access to proper, safe, and clean excreta disposal, such as bathrooms, outhouses, or composts

Illiteracy: the ability of an adult to write, in complete sentences, a paragraph about his day, his life, his job, etc.

Occasionally BLESS CANADA will send items (other than money) to Egypt.

The items accepted must be of good quality, befitting the dignity of the needy.

Currently, BLESS CANADA does not ship directly to Egypt.

Administrative costs fluctuate between 7-10%. Thus 90-93% of funds raised by BLESS CANADA go directly to needy Copts in Egypt.

Yes, BLESS CANADA has a special fund for such situations. Some of the families who receive contributions from BLESS CANADA are victims of fanatical attacks, or terrorism. These individuals are assisted with contributions of money, clothing, economic opportunity assistance, medical assistance, educational assistance, etc.

Yes. Even if a specific family is not sponsored by a contributor, they will still receive funds from the general fund of BLESS CANADA.

BLESS CANADA is currently researching options that will enable it to solicit funds from outside sources, possibly even the U.S. Government. If you have any suggestions, please contact BLESS CANADA.

BLESS CANADA is a nonprofit charity organization established by the Coptic Orthodox Church. It serves all Copts with different needs in all areas of Egypt. It is regulated and supervised by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III and maintained by H.G. Bishop Youannes.

No. BLESS CANADA funds are extended and distributed to needy people in different parts of Egypt. For example, the dioceses of Deir-Moass, Koussia, Manfaalout, Abanoub, Abou-Teeg and Deirut.

Contributing to The Sponsor a Family project can occur one time if the contributor so wishes; however, most contributors donate monthly to it. There are also some contributors who donate semi-annually and annually. It is flexible and dependant on the contributor.

No monthly reminders are sent specifically for the Sponsor a Family program, but a monthly BLESS CANADA newsletter is sent, and one may use the enclosed business reply envelope (which does not require a stamp) with the newsletter to send a monthly contribution if one wishes.

The Matching Gift Program is one where your employer may match your contribution to BLESS CANADA, double, or even triple, it.

If you would like to make a contribution to BLESS CANADA and would like your employer to match it, please call BLESS CANADA to obtain a matching gift brochure to see if your company participates.

Through God's grace, BLESS CANADA has been functioning with the assistance of a voluntary, part-time staff. There are no paid employees or staff members of BLESS CANADA.

Yes. Please visit our How You Can Help page and click on Online Credit Card Contribution to learn about how to contribute online.

Yes. You can easily have contributions automatically deducted from your checking account, if you would like to contribute the same amount every month. You can do this by contacting BLESS CANADA.

In February following the close of a fiscal year, BLESS CANADAA sends a summary contribution statement to every contributor, according to CANADIAN INCOME TAX regulations.

This statement is used as a receipt for tax-exemption purposes.

No. BLESS CANADA is a tax-exempt organization.

All contributions are tax-deductible.

Currently, office hours are from Monday through Friday 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM EST. Messages are retrieved daily and calls are usually returned within 24 hours.