For a small donor like JOA, complex and protracted crises can be difficult environments to navigate. Pooled Funds allow JOA to provide aid in multiple sectors at the absolute frontline of a humanitarian emergency, like Syria, without the risk and cost involved in choosing individual partners. The professional, transparent and low-cost administration of the funds make this an efficient and low-risk way for JOA to provide support.
Pooled Funds can be both non-specific, thereby allocating funds when a crisis occurs, or country-based, thereby designated funding for a specific country.
What are Country-Based Pooled Funds?
Country-Based Pooled Funds are established by the UN when a new emergency occurs or when an existing humanitarian situation deteriorates. They are managed locally by the Humanitarian Coordinator and allow donors to collectively contribute to a single fund which can then be flexibly distributed to where they are needed most. This enables humanitarian organisations in crisis-affected countries to access funding in order to deliver timely and coordinated assistance.
Benefits of Pooled Funds
Pooled Funds have proven an effective means of ensuring that high-priority projects, run by the most experienced and best-placed organisations, receive the funding they require. In recent years, JOA has contributed to emergency responses around the world through providing grants to Pooled Funds.