International Committee of the Red Cross Funding

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) cares for war victims and disaster victims. The corporation provides humanitarian food, medical assistance, and evacuation of victims from danger zones. The ICRC receives financing from donors who support its mission (Lowe, 2015). Donors include governments in the Geneva conventions such as the United States, the European Commission, corporate and public sources, and states parties (Lowe, 2015). The financing organizations do, in fact, have an important role in deciding the organization's aim. In this scenario, the ICRC functions as trustee for the monies assigned to them (Bryce, 2017).The funders convene in regular meetings and international delegations in Geneva to determine the objective and mission of the organizations and hence do regular audits to ensure that it is compliant with their targets and needs (Bryce, 2017). ICRC ought to, however, ensure that their actions align with that of the donor’s goals and objective. The organization, in this case, risks losing some of the donors and hence must be careful to ensure that they engage in the agreed projects (Stoianova, 2013).

Mechanisms in place that allow the donors to assess if the ICRC actions align with the set goals

The donors always need assurance that their funds are put into proper and appropriate use (Stoianova, 2013). In this case, it becomes necessary to ensure that the organization is transparent and accountable for their actions. Accountability means that the International Committee of the Red Cross must be willing to explain how they have allocated the funds and for what purposes. In this instance, ICRC must always give the donors regular updates on their progress to ensure that their actions align with the objectives. ICRC maintains transparency by always ensuring that they publish financial reports on their website detailing how exactly they have used the funds (Borra, De Buck & Vandekerckhove, 2016). The company also goes through regular audits from independent auditors to ensure that there is no misappropriation of funds and hence release proper audited financial statements (Borra et al., 2016). The organization also has an independent board that oversees its actions and ensures that they tally with the donor’s objectives. The independent committee acts as a link between the accountants and the doors to make sure that there is no conflict of interest in between.

How funders determine whether the programs implemented by the organizations align with its overall goals

ICRC mandate is to safeguard lives and also enforce respect for people (Borra et al., 2016). In this case, the donors are also obligated to ensure that their intentions are closely aligned with that of the organizations. There should hence not be a conflict of interest, and the donors must not have particular vested interest in the company. The contributors assemble through regular meetings to discuss their purpose for donating to the finds (Cooper, Heine, Thakur & Oxford University Press). During the meetings, the officials of the ICRC and the donors compare notes and strive to ensure that their objectives are similar or at least meet the goals of the company (Borra et al., 2016). The donors also check the published reports and compare with the actual work done on the ground to determine their authenticity through proper financial management (Ratner, 2011). Key donor originations also select an official who can represent them and actively get in the activities of ICRC to enhance openness.

References

Borra, V., De Buck, E., & Vandekerckhove, P. (2016). Guidelines of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: an overview and quality appraisal using AGREE II. BMJ open, 6(9), e011744.

Bryce, H. J. (2017). Financial and strategic management for nonprofit organizations. Boston; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Inc.

Cooper, A. F., Heine, J., Thakur, R. C., & Oxford University Press. (2015). The Oxford handbook of modern diplomacy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lowe, K. A. (2015). Navigating the profits and pitfalls of governmental partnerships: the ICRC and intergovernmental relief, 1918–23. Disasters, 39(s2).

Ratner, S. R. (2011). Law Promotion Beyond Law Talk: The Red Cross, Persuasion, and the Laws of War. European journal of international law, 22(2), 459-506.

Stoianova, V. (2013). Private funding for humanitarian assistance. Producido por Global Humanitarian Assistance.