The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church (UMC), a non-profit 501(c)3 organization operated under the auspices of the General Board of Global Ministries.
Under its original name, The Methodist Committee on Overseas Relief (MCOR) was founded in 1940 by the Bishop Herbert Welch, in response to displaced and vulnerable populations in the wake of World War II. In his address at the General Conference that year, Bishop Welch stated that MCOR would serve as a “voice of conscience among Methodists to act in the relief of human suffering without distinction of race, color, or creed.” This mandate remains true to this day. The organization’s name was legally changed to The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) at the 1972 General Conference.