Areas of expertise & Fields of activity:
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Economic and Social:
Human Rights
Humanitarian Affairs
International Law
Safety
Volunteerism
Youth
Gender Issues and Advancement of Women:
Advocacy and outreach
Capacity building
Human rights of women
Men and boys
Population:
International migration
Public Administration:
Ethics, Transparency and Accountability
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| Geographic scope: |
International
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| Country of activity: |
United States of America
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| Millennium Development Goals: |
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Develop global partnership for development
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| Mission statement: |
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| Year established: |
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| Year of registration: |
1900 |
| Organizational structure: |
The relationship between the American Red Cross and the federal government is unique. We are an independent entity that is organized and exists as a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable institution pursuant to a charter granted to us by the United States Congress. Unlike other congressionally chartered organizations, the Red Cross maintains a special relationship with the federal government. We have the legal status of “a federal instrumentality,” due to our charter requirements to carry out responsibilities delegated to us by the federal government. Among these responsibilities are: to fulfill the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, to which the United States is a signatory, assigned to national societies for the protection of victims of conflict, to provide family communications and other forms of support to the U.S. military, and to maintain a system of domestic and international disaster relief, including mandated responsibilities under the National Response Framework coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Despite this close relationship with the federal government, the American Red Cross is not a federal agency, nor do we receive federal funding on a regular basis to carry out our services and programs. We receive our financial support from voluntary public contributions and from cost-recovery charges for some of our services, such as the provision of blood and blood products and health and safety training courses. Under limited circumstances, however, it sometimes becomes necessary for us to seek appropriations for certain programs when the funding requirements are beyond that supported by the charitable public. At times, federal and state government agencies also contract with the Red Cross and provide material aid and assistance to support the Red Cross in fulfillment of specific instances of our charter obligations. |
| Number and type of members: |
Worldwide: • More than 97 million Red Cross or Red Crescent volunteers. • 186 Red Cross or Red Crescent national societies. Learn the value in lending a helping hand. Be a Red Crosser and do more. Change a life. United States: • There are more than 600 locally supported American Red Cross chapters. • More than 500,000 volunteers and approximately 35,000 employees provide assistance to the victims of more than 60,000 disasters. • More than 9.5 million people are trained in lifesaving skills through a Red Cross class |
| Funding structure: |
Funds from other Non-Governmental Organizations
Fundraising campaigns
Fees for education and training services
Product sales and business services
Donations and grants from domestic sources
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