[6][7] N. Eldon Tanner initially created a task force to address philanthropic issues in the LDS Church and named Donald T. Nelson as the first director.
For instance, BYU-Idaho stated it received 6.3 million dollars in donations in 2018,[10] of which, 69% went to need-based aid for individual students, administered through a university grant.
Some funds donated through Philanthropies are used by the LDS Church and its affiliated educational entities, including: BYU, BYU-Hawaii, BYU-Idaho, BYU-Pathway Worldwide, and Ensign College.
While welfare programs within the LDS Church funded by fast offerings are generally for members, humanitarian donations are used to provide assistance in countries around the world to people without regard to religion or race.
These donations provide assistance to victims of natural disasters, including aid such as hygiene kits, food and water, and blankets.
Latter-day Saint Charities operates both independently and in cooperation with other charitable organizations and governments including American Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, Muslim Aid, Southern Philippines Medical Center, UNICEF, and the United States Agency for International Development.
In response to the ongoing COVID pandemic, in February 2021, Latter-day Saint Charities announced a pledge of $20 million to support UNICEF in delivering vaccines worldwide.
[14] The publicly-available centers supply resources for research and study of genealogy and family history, and are financed, in part, through donations to Philanthropies.