ADRA : Adventist Development & Relief Agency International

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Is ADRA International?
   The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) is the worldwide humanitarian agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Initiated for the specific purposes of individual and community development and disaster relief, ADRA International fulfills this primary directive of its charter without regard to race, gender, and political or religious affiliation.
2. Where Does ADRA Work?
   ADRA has a presence in more than 125 countries. The list of countries where we work reflects ADRA’s presence as either an implementer of development projects or an office dedicated to obtaining funding for the implementation of projects.
3. What Does ADRA Do?
   ADRA International operates in five core portfolio activities: Food Security, Economic Development, Primary Health, Emergency Management, and Basic Education.
4. From Whom Does ADRA Receive Its Funding?
   ADRA International's disaster relief and development programs are funded with resources received from individuals, governments and the United Nations [e.g., World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)]. In addition, corporations and other entities often donate material such as medicines, medical equipment and supplies and free transportation to disaster and development areas.
5. How Can I Donate To Or Help ADRA International?
   You can assist ADRA International with your time, prayers, and donations. If you'd like to prayerfully support ADRA International, call 1.800.424.2372 and ask for information about ADRA Angels. For activity ideas, call 1.800.424.2372 and ask for our "Do Something" kit. To donate call 1.800.424.2372, donate online at www.ADRA.org, or mail your donation to ADRA International, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904, USA. If you'd like your donation to be put to use in a specific country or project, be sure to specify that to the ADRA phone operator or on your check. To donate to ADRA through workplace campaigns (e.g., United Way, Combined Federal Campaign), designate ADRA #1401.
6. Are Donations To ADRA Tax-Exempt?
   Yes. ADRA International is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are deductible for income and estate taxes. Anyone giving a qualifying donation directly to ADRA by calling 1.800.424.2372, donating online at www.ADRA.org, or mailing the donation to ADRA will receive a receipt from ADRA after each donation and a year-end tax statement. If you make a donation through United Way, Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), or through your local church, you cannot receive receipts from ADRA because donations come to ADRA from these organizations as a lump sum and donor names are kept confidential by these organizations. Additionally, any specific project/country you designated for your donation is not passed along to ADRA by these organizations. If you want an ADRA receipt, want to respond to a particular appeal, or want to help a specific project/country, you must make your gift directly to ADRA International.
7. How Much Of Private Donations Is Used For Direct Humanitarian Services?
   ADRA International strives to make the best use of every cent received. More than 90 percent of private donations is used for direct humanitarian services, among the highest percentages in the humanitarian industry. ADRA takes seriously our responsibility to manage, in a wise and efficient manner, the gifts entrusted to us by our donors.
8. Why Didn’t I See ADRA International In My Newspaper's List Of Agencies Responding To A Disaster?
   In times of disaster, the list most newspapers publish is compiled and distributed by InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. ADRA International is a founding member of InterAction and is included on each press list they submit for disasters they are responding to. The list is sent to the Associated Press for distribution to newspapers and other news media. However, because newspaper space and broadcast times are limited, the list is often edited before being printed. Even though the InterAction list is in alphabetical order, editors often change the order and put the better-known agencies at the top. If ADRA is not listed and it is responding, it is because the media has edited the list.
9. Why Don’t I See And/Or Read More About ADRA In The News?
   ADRA is on TV, in newspapers, and on Web listings. For instance, during the recent tsunami, ADRA received coverage on many of the major networks, even several times. It also is listed in many newspapers, (i.e., USA Today) and on dozens of media and other Web sites. Often the news media will use the blanket terms "aid agencies" or "humanitarian agencies" to cover all the organizations responding. Some identify only those agencies with generic names that describe the work we each do. Also, in today’s fast-paced news industry, an agency may be featured for only a few seconds. You can read a sampling of ADRA’s presence in the media at "ADRA in the Media".
10. How Can I Apply To Work For ADRA?
    You can view all ADRA job postings and apply online at http://www.adra.org/.
11. What ADRA International Materials Are Available?
    ADRA has many resources available for use in schools, churches, or in your home. Click here for resources.
12. What Is The Best Way To Help ADRA's Response To A Disaster?
    Monetary donations are the best, as they allow ADRA to immediately purchase specific items that survivors need. Most essential relief goods, such as medicines, temporary shelter, tools, clothing, blankets, and latrines, can be purchased locally or in neighboring countries at a lower price. Purchasing them locally not only helps provide these items quickly but also helps stimulate the economy in the disaster area. Often, unsolicited goods (such as used clothes, canned goods, etc.) clog transportation routes, hindering needed supplies from gaining clearance at shipping ports.
13. Does ADRA Accept Clothing?
    In times of disaster and economic hardship around the world, ADRA International sometimes sends appropriate clothing to people in nee New and used clothing can be taken to a participating Adventist Community Service Center (ACS) where ADRA collects clothing on an ongoing basis. These clothes are sorted, cleaned, and baled so they are ready for shipment as neede Call 1.800.424.2372 to find the participating ACS center nearest you.
14. Why Doesn't ADRA Collect Offerings In Churches?
    ADRA International's donors have said they wish to receive mailings from ADRA that keep them informed about its ministry and updates on how donations are being used Adventist churches have an established list of monthly offerings that are collected. Once each year, on the second Sabbath (Saturday) of May, the Disaster and Famine Relief Offering (DFRO) is collected in Seventh-day Adventist churches. ADRA receives a portion of this offering.
15. I Donate To ADRA Through My Church. Why Doesn't ADRA Send Me A Receipt?
    Your church keeps confidential all the donations given to ADRA International through them. In other words, ADRA is not informed of any individual donor's name or the project you select when your church sends a lump sum offering to ADRA. Because your church does not inform us of the individual donor names, ADRA cannot issue a receipt to you, nor is your name on our donor list. If you wish to receive an ADRA International receipt or to specify a country/project for your donation, you must make your donation directly to ADRA International by calling 1.800.424.2372, donating online at www.ADRA.org, or mailing your donation to: ADRA International, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904, USA.
16. Does ADRA International Educate People On Family Planning And Birth Control?
    Absolutely. There are many components that lead to a situation in which families in poverty have many children. ADRA is addressing those components with various programs that assist in the well-being of mothers and children worldwide. ADRA's mother and child health programs provide medical aid and teach child spacing, and adult literacy classes educate mothers and fathers on the benefits of smaller families.
17. Does ADRA Accept Government Funding?
    While ADRA International partners with governments on projects, ADRA is free to determine what projects and initiatives it will undertake. That decision is based on what will best meet the needs of the people it is serving. The acceptance of funds places ADRA in a mutually beneficial partnership. ADRA designs a proposal in cooperation with a community, which is then reviewed and accepted by the government funder. The program's objectives and activities are developed by ADRA, and once the government funder has approved them, they become the results that ADRA agrees to achieve. Government-funded projects are independently audited and regular financial reports are submitted. They are also independently evaluated. This assures you that your tax dollars are being used to meet the needs of the people as intended.
18. Can I Sponsor A Child Through ADRA?
    ADRA aims to benefit whole communities rather than focus on individuals, as this builds up intra-community relationships. As such, ADRA has chosen not to do child sponsorships. Children are major beneficiaries of ADRA International programs that seek to integrate health, clean water, sanitation, food production, small businesses, and basic education-including literacy.
19. Are ADRA International Projects Audited?
    The ADRA office in each donor country (funding country office) is responsible for coordinating audits for the project(s) they are funding. Responsibilities of the Internal Audit Office at ADRA Headquarters include monitoring and arranging external audits for projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The General Conference Auditing Service audits ADRA country/administration accounting. All audit reports are submitted to ADRA Headquarters Internal Audit Office. In turn, these reports are presented to and reviewed by the ADRA Audit Review Committee, which reports directly to ADRA's International's Board of Directors. ADRA International Headquarters is audited yearly by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
20. How Does ADRA International Help In The United States?
    ADRA International primarily allocates funding to the Adventist Community Services (ACS) for domestic programs. Funds are primarily used for disaster relief projects but also for community development projects. ACS operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross, and many state emergency management agencies. It is also a founding member of the interagency compact called National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) and the affiliated state VOADs.
21. How Is ADRA International Associated With The Seventh-Day Adventist Church?
    ADRA is an independent agency established by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church's involvement in organized humanitarian assistance goes back nearly 80 years. In 1956 the church created the Seventh-day Adventist Welfare Service, Incorporated (SAWS). The name was modified in 1973 to be Seventh-day Adventist World Service, and in 1984 SAWS was reorganized under the current name, Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA).
22. What Does "Adventist" Mean?
    The "Adventist" in Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) is reflective of the fact that the Seventh-day Adventist Church established this independent, humanitarian agency. The values that shaped the agency are the traditional Christian values of the potential of each individual to reflect the compassionate image of God, the dignity that is inherent in every person, and the importance of quality in human life. ADRA International meets needs without regard to an individual's religious affiliation, helping those who need it most.
23. Why Doesn't ADRA Proselytize?
    ADRA does not proselytize. It operates and is motivated by love that has no strings attached God's love in ADRA program activities is expressed when it reaches out to those in need regardless of race, gender, and political, or religious affiliation. ADRA operates in more than 125 countries worldwide and has an established track record of working in harmony with and respecting a broad array of cultures, traditions, and people of non-Christian faith. The positive impact of ADRA's contribution in all these countries validates our heritage and belief in benevolent giving.
24. Do ADRA International Programs Benefit Adventist Church Members?
    When a disaster strikes, humanitarian agencies are often assigned specific areas to implement projects, and if Adventist members who are affected by the disaster are living in the area assigned to ADRA, they will receive aid. ADRA has hundreds of projects worldwide that benefit Adventist members who are living in the areas where it works. However, ADRA helps those who need it most, regardless of their religious affiliation.
25. Can I Give A Donation Specifically To Help Only Adventists Members?
    We don't have any projects in which we help ONLY one group or another. If we discriminated, you'd have a village where some children would get food, clothes, and clean water, and other children would be hungry, naked, and thirsty. Instead, we follow Christ's example of helping those who need it most, no matter their background. That way, we demonstrate His unconditional love. ADRA's mission is to provide assistance without regard to religious, political, or ethnic background. Because we follow this mandate faithfully, we are sometimes the only humanitarian agency able to reach people in need.
26. How Does Aid Reach ADRA’s Beneficiaries?
    ADRA has a worldwide infrastructure in 125 countries that enables the agency to pre-position and store aid, such as food, medicines, equipment, emergency supplies, etc. Depending on the type of program and needs, ADRA uses a wide variety of transportation methods to get needed aid to its beneficiaries -- a boat on the Amazon, a truck, a train, a solar-powered refrigerator in a local clinic, mobile units, and even volunteers on foot.