Questions
- How are donations used?
- How can Anera ensure that donations serve their intended beneficiaries and not parties like Hamas?
- Do you have any programs in Israel?
- Do your programs serve only Palestinian refugees?
- How do you coordinate your work with other international organizations?
- Are you audited by the U.S. government?
- Can I donate physical items?
- Can I send money or assistance to an individual?
How are donations used?
Your donations to Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank), Lebanon and Jordan provide critical emergency relief, health services and long-term community development. By contributing to Anera, you fund the construction of schools and clinics, the repair of water and sanitation systems, and the creation of jobs in underserved communities. To ensure maximum efficiency and impact, Anera employs a 100% local professional staff who understand the immediate needs on the ground. We work in direct partnership with local charities and organizations, requiring community cost-sharing to ensure every project — from feeding children to improving health delivery services — is sustainable and driven by local ownership.
How can Anera ensure that donations serve their intended beneficiaries and not parties like Hamas?
Donations made directly to Anera in support of our work in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan are managed with the highest levels of transparency and legal oversight. As a credible humanitarian organization, we follow a rigorous vetting process to ensure that assistance reaches only legitimate and capable institutions.
All individuals and partner agencies are vetted through the Descartes Visual Compliance Platform, which enables automated and ongoing screening against more than 200 international sanctions lists (including the U.S. governments'), watchlists, politically exposed persons and adverse media sources. As a result, Anera does not work or coordinate with any U.S.-designated terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah. Our local experts also conduct thorough, on-the-ground assessments of every partner to ensure alignment with our standards and mission.
When a project is completed, we generate detailed financial and program evaluation reports. We use robust monitoring and evaluation systems. In this manner, Anera continually evaluates projects from a fiscal and impact standpoint.
Anera is audited annually by independent auditors and we follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which are standard financial guidelines for most non-governmental organizations. This measures many of the benefits and the success of each program. Read our accountability statement.
Do you have any programs in Israel?
In accordance with our official registration with the Israeli government in 1968, Anera’s humanitarian mandate is focused on serving the Palestinian territories. This legal framework remains in force today, guiding our commitment to providing aid where it is most critically needed. While Israel is a developed nation with a robust network of well-funded social service agencies, Anera’s mission is to support underserved communities and disadvantaged areas in the West Bank and Gaza. We prioritize aid for families where average incomes are significantly lower than the regional average and where access to basic services – such as clean water, healthcare, and education – remains a challenge.
Do your programs serve only Palestinian refugees?
Anera began as a relief organization dedicated to helping Palestinian refugees in the aftermath of the 1967 war. While our roots remain deeply planted in this history, our programs have expanded to serve the most vulnerable populations, refugees and non-refugees alike, across the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon. Today, Anera’s programs serve refugees and non-refugees alike, including Palestinians and other nationalities living in the most vulnerable circumstances in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon.
How do you coordinate your work with other international organizations?
Anera is a founding member of InterAction, a coalition of 160 international service agencies helping disadvantaged people all over the world. Our Jerusalem office is a member of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), which meets regularly to coordinate humanitarian work and share experiences. In Gaza, we also communicate with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In Lebanon, Anera works with OCHA and other UN agencies for coordination as well as the Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum and the Disaster Risk Management Unit. Anera is also a member of the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations, an alliance of non-profit and corporate organizations committed to health impact.
Are you audited by the U.S. government?
In addition to our annual independent audit, a U.S. government A-133 audit is conducted every year.
Can I donate physical items?
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept most physical, in-kind gifts like books, clothes or medicines for distribution in the Middle East. The logistics of shipping goods internationally make this approach impractical for multiple reasons:
- Volume: Anera typically sends 20- and 40-foot containers of donated medicines and relief supplies to the Middle East. This is by far the most cost-effective way to send donated goods as a container can fit an enormous volume of materials and many of our wonderful in-kind donors cover the cost of shipping.
- Storage: Some organizations and individuals have asked us if we can include supplies from them in one of the containers we are already planning to ship. Unfortunately, the answer is still no. Anera does not maintain U.S.-based warehouse space. The containers we send to the Middle East are shipped directly from the warehouses of our medical donation partners. For safety and quality control reasons, these donors will not allow Anera to add donations to their carefully inspected and professionally packed containers.
- Speed and Expense: It is a much slower process to bring goods in from abroad rather than to purchase them locally. To do so, Anera would need to get the customs export and import documentation in order; arrange for and cover the cost of shipping; get the items approved through local authorities (which takes 6 weeks at a minimum); pay for the costs of clearance, storage, demurrage, and transportation to our local warehouse; receive and inventory them in the warehouse; and then finally distribute them. All told, this can cost us upwards of $20,000. With funds in hand, staff can immediately and specifically respond to the needs on the ground as they arise. This approach has the added benefit of supporting the local economy.
Anera does accept in-kind donations from established organizations, such as Americares, Direct Relief, Lutheran World Relief, and United Methodist Committee on Relief. These are organizations whose business is to send in-kind donations – from medicines and supplies to hygiene kits and baby care items – to the communities that need them most. Having done this work for decades, they have an effective and well-tested set of processes designed to respond specifically to the needs Anera communicates to them through our on-the-ground staff. Read more about our in-kind work in Gaza.
For individual donors, there are multiple advantages of monetary donations:
- Speed of Response: Shipping goods internationally is a slow process, often requiring at least six weeks for customs and local approvals. With funds in hand, our local staff can purchase supplies immediately to meet urgent needs on the ground.
- Supporting the Local Economy: Purchasing food, medicine, and supplies locally ensures that your donation not only helps those in need but also strengthens the local businesses and markets in the communities we serve.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Processing individual shipments can cost upwards of $20,000 due to customs, storage, and transportation fees. Financial gifts eliminate these overhead costs, ensuring more of your money goes directly to aid.
Can I send money or assistance to an individual?
We are not in a position to facilitate donations of cash or other assistance to specific individuals specified by a donor.