NGO International Rescue Committee

 1) Briefly, what is the history of your NGO? 

The International Rescue Committee found their beginning in 1933, when Albert Einstein and a small group of humanitarians formed a group that would eventually evolve into the IRC that operates today. 

2) What are its primary aims? 

The IRC’s main goals are to reach out and assist underprivileged people who are in situations where they require assistance not being provided by the system around them. According to their website, they have a focus on economic wellbeing, education, and health. 

3) How does it attempt to carry out those aims? 

The IRC helps people worldwide with their economic wellbeing by ensuring that people in crisis areas have what they need to survive without needing to fall into debt or resort to desperate measures. They do this through various methods, such as providing cash assistance to specific people, if that's an appropriate solution. They also support local markets to ensure that basic necessities are available at affordable prices. In the United States, they assist immigrants during their first few years by helping them identify career paths and understand financial management. The IRC assists with education by ensuring that all people have regular access to safe and functional learning centers. They do this by creating learning spaces and formal schools and training teachers to establish safe environments. They also work to remove barriers that prevent girls from attending school. The IRC helps with people's health by ensuring that children are treated for and protected from the leading causes of death, such as malaria and malnutrition. 

4) How have they established their international presence? How do they coordinate activity across international boundaries? 

The IRC began as an extension of the international relief association, with a goal of assisting Germans who were suffering under Hitler’s oppression during WWII, and later merging with the emergency rescue committee, who had been supporting European refugees, in 1940. The newly formed IRC would then spread across Europe, supporting those being oppressed by the Soviet Union. They would then spread beyond Europe in 1954, heading to South Vietnam to aid refugees from the North. Then, they began assisting those at basically any major refugee situation possible. In 1960, they began a resettlement program for people fleeing the Castro dictatorship. In 1979, they helped thousands escape the Soviet Union and resettle. In 1988, they helped assist thousands of Afghanistan refugees returning home from Pakistan. The list goes on and on.

5) Who is their membership? Where is it located? 

The IRC has many ways to support, stretching from donations, to volunteer work, to sponsoring refugees. They have bases of operation in 40+ countries.

6) How effective have they been in meeting their aims? (you may need to search around beyond the NGO’s website for this, since they’re all going to say that they’ve been very successful). 

They seem to be very successful, being highly regarded by websites such as charity navigator. They have hit legitimate goals and shown the positive effects caused by their actions.

7) What are their sources of funding?

They get a majority of their funding through donations, ranging from small donations by individuals to major donations by organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. They also receive funding from governmental grants.