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Last update:

03/14/2010

News & Updates

Spring Yard Sale

The Spring Yard Sale will be April 10...Click here

Winter to Summer Clothing changeover

ECHO has made the changeover from winter to summer clothing. (Note: video with sound). Click here

March Rep Letter

The March Rep letter is now on this site. Click on Vol. News in the top navigation bar.

New Financial and Form 990

....Latest Financial Report and Form 990 are available. See Vertical Menu above.

About Us / Contact Us

Click on the above button to go to contact information.

Mission -
The "Ecumenical Community Helping Others" (ECHO), Incorporated, is dedicated to providing charitable assistance to those individuals and families experiencing temporary difficulties in the Burke and Springfield communities of Fairfax County, Virginia (south of Braddock Road; west of I-95/395; north of Lorton and east of Route 123).

Organization -
ECHO is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit, all-volunteer charitable organization dedicated to assisting people in need. Since its incorporation on May 2nd, 1969, ECHO's members have been religious congregations in Burke and Springfield. Currently, 26 congregations appoint members to ECHO's Board and support its work with donations and work by almost 400 volunteers (for more info on congregations, click on Congreg. Reps in the top Horizontal Navigation Bar). All aid is given regardless of the religious beliefs or practices of those assisted.

Charitable Services -
ECHO distributes donated temporary or emergency food, clothing, household items, transportation, a variety of related family counseling services, and also offers limited financial assistance in emergencies all in a store-like setting. ECHO has no paid staff.

Fundraising & Donations -
ECHO relies heavily on the generosity of its member congregations, individuals and others to support its mission. In addition to donations of goods and services, ECHO seeks financial support from individuals, businesses and non-profit associations to insure that it can provide necessary assistance to those in need.

Statistical Overview -

Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08), which ran from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, saw increases in almost every measurable category of operations at ECHO. This was the first full fiscal year since FY04 in which our operations were completely unaffected by the building expansion project, and it would appear that our clients and donors are becoming more aware of our greater capacity to serve the community.

ECHO assisted 1,160 different clients in FY08. This is a record number that is an increase of nearly 20% over FY07 and 11% over our previous high of 1,042 clients seen in FY04. These 1,160 clients represent a total of 3,883 family members; a record number of people helped. ECHO offered assistance 3,240 times in FY08 which is yet another all-time high, up 19% from FY07 and 10% above our previous high in FY05.

We continued our upward trend in food distribution with a record 167,242 pounds of food going out our doors; an increase of 9% over last year. We had 943 client visits for food in FY08, by far the most ever.

Also continuing into record-breaking territory was our financial assistance to clients. Over $151,000 was distributed; more than $3,500 above the FY07 amount. A nearly $7,000 decrease in housing assistance was more than off-set by a greater than $9,000 increase in assistance with utility bills. We had over 400 visits for financial assistance and helped 328 different households (over 1,000 total family members). Assistance averaged almost $375 per visit.

Of some concern in recent times was a rather sharp downward trend in the number of bags of clothing distributed. This trend has ended. FY08 saw a great increase over the two previous fiscal years with 3,258 bags given out, up 32% over FY07. We are still lagging about 7% below our all-time high in this category seen in FY04.

The number of volunteers at ECHO continues to rebound after taking a slight hit in FY06 due to construction. Our average of 389 volunteers for the year was an increase of 16 over FY07, and was only slightly below our largest number which was recorded in FY04. However, given that we discontinued our transportation and meals-on-wheels operations in FY08 (which accounted for 46 volunteers being removed from the ranks) the increase in the number of volunteers was actually quite remarkable.

The number of donation receipts given to donors was up for the second year in a row. The 5,551 receipts represent a 27% increase over the previous fiscal year.

In conclusion, ECHO has surpassed our level of community assistance seen before the beginning of our building expansion project in nearly every category and upward trends are now seen almost across the board.

Our administrative costs are less than 1% of our total revenue