American Jewish World Service (AJWS)

Where we looked

All of the below was examined in January 2010.

• www.ajws.org
  • Haiti special report (PDF)
  • Annual report 2007 (PDF)
  • Work in Haiti.
  • On the Ground (map)
• Chronicle of Philanthropy

How much did the organization raise and how much did it spend?

Source	Organization	As of date	Amount donated	Amount Spent
Chronicle of Philanthropy1	AJWS	Feb 3, 2010	$5 million	N/A
Chronicle of Philanthropy2	AJWS	May 10, 2010	$5.7 million	N/A
Chronicle of Philanthropy3	AJWS	July 9, 2010	$6 million	$1.2 million
Chronicle of Philanthropy4	AJWS	Dec 31, 2010	$6.5 million	$1.4 million

How specific is the organization about how it spent its funds?

AJWS is a grant-making organization. It provides information on the size and purpose of grants made in response to the earthquake in Haiti.5

Non-disaster relief activities

• In its 2007 annual report (the most recent available at the time of review), AJWS lists its number of grants by country and by program, and numbers of volunteers.6 The report contained a number of examples of its grants with general descriptions. The descriptions do not include grantee expenditures, grant sizes, the role of the grants in the programs provided, or specific verifiable outputs or activities associated with the grants.7
• AJWS has an interactive map of volunteer locations.8

Sources

• Chronicle of Philanthropy. Haiti earthquake fund raising, one year later. http://philanthropy.com/article/Haiti-Earthquake-Fund-Raising/125896/ (accessed January 11, 2011). Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5vfFf8PQw.
• Chronicle of Philanthropy. $1.1-Billion Donated for Haiti Relief: Updated Tally. http://philanthropy.com/article/11-Billion-Donated-for-Haiti/65479/?sid… (accessed September 20, 2010). Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5ssx7IcOw
• Chronicle of Philanthropy. Haiti Donations Exceed $644-Million. as of February 3. http://philanthropy.com/article/Haiti-Donations-Exceed-644/63887/ (accessed October 3, 2010). Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5tD60TduA.
• Chronicle of Philanthropy. How Charities Are Helping Haiti: How Much They Raised and Spent. http://philanthropy.com/article/How-Charities-Are-Helping/66243/ (accessed December 21, 2010). Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5vC8ahpb8.
• American Jewish World Service. Annual Report (2007) (PDF).
• American Jewish World Service. Haiti Special Report (PDF)
• American Jewish World Service. Home page. http://ajws.org/ (accessed January 11, 2011). Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5vfHKgAWk.
• American Jewish World Service. On the Ground. http://ajws.org/where_we_work/on_the_ground/ (accessed January 5, 2011). Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5vWAaucht.
• American Jewish World Service. Work in Haiti. http://ajws.org/who_we_are/news/haiti_emergency.html#our_work (accessed January 5, 2011). Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5vWBB7W7V.

• 1Chronicle of Philanthropy, "Haiti Donations Exceed $644-Million, as of February 3."
• 2Chronicle of Philanthropy, "Haiti Donations Exceed $644-Million, as of February 3."
• 3Chronicle of Philanthropy, "Haiti Donations Exceed $644-Million, as of February 3."
• 4Chronicle of Philanthropy, "Haiti Earthquake Fund raising, One Year Later."
• 5

  American Jewish World Service, “Haiti Special Report,” Pgs 2-4.

• 6

  American Jewish World Service, “Annual Report (2007),” Pg 7.

• 7

  Examples of grant descriptions:

  • In Southern India: "Recovery from the 2004 tsunami remains an ongoing struggle for many in Southern India. For those considered Dalits (“Untouchables”) it is even more difficult, as government relief programs often overlook them due to their perceived low-caste status. AJWS grantee, Human Education and Action for Liberation Movement (HEAL), is one of the only organizations supporting Dalit seashell collectors, a large group that previously lacked any political representation. HEAL has helped these seashell collectors in Tamil Nadu form a federation to engage government and local leaders, respond to discrimination and rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the tsunami."
  • In Central America: "For the past three years, AJWS has supported Integrando Campesinos para la Agricultura Sostenible (Integrating Peasants for Sustainable Agriculture—or ICAS), a network of peasant leaders promoting alternative rural development in Central America. In peer-to-peer exchanges, ICAS farmers address issues of crop diversification, commercialization and political advocacy. They exchange native plants with seed banks, explore market alternatives through farmers' markets and share indigenous farming techniques.”

  American Jewish World Service, “Annual Report (2007),” Pg 23.

• 8

  American Jewish World Service, “On the Ground.”