2011 Annual Report: Who We Are
Who We Are
Introduction
InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), with nearly 200 members working in every developing country. Members are faith-based and secular, large and small, with a focus on the world’s most poor and vulnerable populations.
The NGO community has tens of millions of supporters, whose private donations help those in need to become self-sufficient. Americans give an estimated $14 billion a year to charities that work in the developing world. The reality is that over the past 50 years, official development assistance as a percentage of overall financial flows from the United States to the developing world has plummeted from 74.8 percent to 13 percent, while private flows of capital have risen from 25.1 percent to 87 percent.
Using our collective voice, InterAction engages in important policy decisions to advance human dignity, including foreign assistance, the environment, women, health, education and agriculture. Members are at the forefront in responding to humanitarian crises and disasters worldwide and InterAction acts as a hub in these efforts, with the belief that saving lives and reducing extreme poverty are fundamental to building a secure and sustainable future for all.
InterAction tracks where members work through interactive mapping tools, such as one used to record member responses to the Horn of Africa drought in 2011 and another that plots food security projects. Our flagship monthly publication – Monthly Developments Magazine – and other policy papers and documents showcase the work of our members and highlight trends and best practices in the sector.
Alliance members adhere to standards drawn up by InterAction, which focus on accountability and transparency in financial management, fundraising, governance and program performance.
Our vision
A peaceful, just and prosperous world of nations with inclusive and sustainable societies.
Our mission
To eliminate extreme poverty, uphold human rights, safeguard a sustainable planet and ensure human dignity for poor and vulnerable populations worldwide by elevating and advancing the goals of the U.S.-based international nonprofit community.
Our impact
With policymakers
InterAction and our growing membership educate and influence the U.S. government on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch, as well as the United Nations, the World Bank, the private sector and other institutions that shape development policy. InterAction sustains these relationships with policymakers through systematic person-to-person contact and by bringing our members’ knowledge and expertise to discussions on a range of policy issues.
As a resource
InterAction is a reliable and credible source of information about foreign assistance broadly, and we have increased our impact by advocating for foreign policy changes both at home and through global networks of NGO platforms abroad.
As a community hub for members
InterAction’s strongest asset is our membership. The unmatched size and diversity of InterAction’s network together with the field-based knowledge, household reputations and strong brands of our members enhance InterAction’s credibility and influence. Through the convening of our members, InterAction articulates policy statements, messages which have been well-vetted and that have broad member support.
As a professional body of organizations
InterAction is known for our commitment to our Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) Standards, which our members review themselves against every two years. This commitment is becoming a focus of other countries’ NGO platforms, helping them to build credibility in their own home countries.
As a go-to place for media
InterAction is increasingly a go-to place for media, with opinion- and policy makers recognizing our expertise on such core issues as U.S. foreign assistance. InterAction has more than doubled its media presence since 2009, with a concerted effort to place op-eds, blogs and hold joint news conferences with our members.
Our role as a convener of ideas and a common voice
Through our members and partners
InterAction’s nonpartisan nature and ability to convene members gives our community a strong common voice, particularly via focused advocacy messages. Though members may disagree on certain specific issues or methods, they put aside their differences in order to tackle the common goal of eliminating extreme poverty worldwide.
With international organizations, platforms and networks
InterAction supports civil society organizations worldwide as they build their capacity to participate in global processes that determine the effectiveness of aid in their own countries. InterAction also contributes to the leadership of international networks, like the International Forum of National NGO Platforms, a network of over 50 national NGO platforms from around the world.
Through our working groups
InterAction working groups allow member staff to assemble and use their technical field expertise to inform policy approaches. Working group members are motivated to engage in collective advocacy for a variety of reasons, chiefly to increase funding to the sector, to have better access to leaders, and for a stronger, safer and more efficient impact.
Between diverse networks at the annual InterAction Forum and CEO Retreat
InterAction holds two important annual events, the Forum and the CEO Retreat. Attendees at the Forum – including member staff, NGO staff outside of the InterAction membership, U.S. government officials, philanthropy professionals, students and other interested parties – network and attend workshops and large plenary sessions on a range of issues
