Frequently asked questions

Over 1 billion people worldwide have a disability, and a staggering 80% live in low- or middle-income countries.

As part of the CBM Global Federation, CBM UK supports work in over 25 countries across Africa and Asia.

CBM stands for Christian Blind Mission. In 2007, we changed our name from ‘Christian Blind Mission’ to ‘CBM’ to reflect the fact that we work to change the lives of people with all kinds of disability, including deafness, clubfoot, cerebral palsy, cleft lip & palate and mental health not just blindness. Our Christian values remain at the heart of everything that we do.

No, CBM’s work is focussed on improving the quality of life of people with and at risk of disabilities across some of the world’s poorest places.

Yes, CBM was founded on Christian values and we keep Christ’s teachings at the heart of everything that we do. Valuing and accepting each person as Jesus values and accepts them, CBM seeks to change attitudes, practices and policies that lead to marginalisation, exclusion and poverty because of disability, and to strive for justice and equality for everyone.

Yes. The CBM family globally serves all people with or at risk of disabilities across some of the world’s poorest places, regardless of race, age, gender or religion.

CBM is a Christian organisation. However, our purpose is not to evangelise but to provide practical solutions to issues faced by people with disabilities in the poorest places of the world. CBM’s vision is to show Christ’s love in action – we often work in partnership with churches and other Christian organisations local to our overseas projects to achieve this.

CBM was founded in 1908 by German pastor Ernst Christoffel with the opening of a home in Turkey for children with disabilities. From these small beginnings, CBM is now one of the world’s leading Christian organisations tackling disability across some of the world’s poorest places.

While we try and reach as many people as possible through our programmes the number of people we work with will always be small compared to the number of people affected by the issues we work on. By engaging in policy and advocacy work we aim to change the way governments and other organisations work and to support them to be more inclusive of people with disabilities. This way, we can have a much bigger impact than if we only work through our local programmes.

Our credit and debit card payments are processed by Stripe or Paypal and use PCI (Payment Card Industry) security standards. Find out more in our privacy policy.

For every £1 we receive, 76p goes towards transforming the lives of people with disability, their families and communities in the poorest places of the world, with less than 1p spent on essential governance and 24p helps grow awareness and funds. You can see more detailed information on our finances here.

We employ staff with specialist skills to most effectively improve the lives of some of the most forgotten people in the world. Our Chief Executive’s salary is less than that of CEO’s salaries at other similar sized charitable organisations in the UK. Our staff receive a salary far below what they would earn in the private sector because they are committed to improving the lives of people living with disabilities across the world’s poorest places. You can see a detailed breakdown in our annual reports on our Where your money goes page.

Everyone who contributes to our work, whether through prayer, donations, volunteering, fundraising or in other ways, has a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities in some of the world’s poorest communities.

Yes, volunteering is an integral part of our life-changing work, and we especially appreciate your time and enthusiasm to help the world’s poorest people. Please contact our Supporter Relations Team, using our online form, or by telephone 01223 484700 to find out how can you get involved.

We are always happy to provide an interesting and informative talk to any group interested in CBM’s work. Please contact our Supporter Relations Team by using our online form or by telephone 01223 484700, to find out more.

Whether you would like to hold your own coffee morning or climb a mountain, CBM would love to hear from you. Visit our fundraising page to find out more.

CBM UK occasionally has internship opportunities at our Head Office in Cambridge in a variety of departments but we do not carry out internships for field assignments. Visit our Work with us page to see details of current opportunities.

We are a registered charity with The Charity Commission for England and Wales 1058162. We are a registered charity with The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator SC041101.

More information about our registration can be found at the Charities Commission and OSCR website.

We love to talk about our inspiring work! You can read our Annual Report here.

You can change your contact details either by phoning our UK-based Supporter Relations Team on 01223 484700 or by our online contact form.

You can be removed from our mailing lists either by phoning our UK-based Supporter Relations Team on 01223 484700 or by our online contact form.

You can change how we contact you either by phoning our UK-based Supporter Relations Team on 01223 484700 or by our online contact form.