FAQ

You can read ADRA’s privacy policy here.

If you’d like to make changes to your Gift Catalog monthly donation please contact ADRA directly at 1.800.424.2372.

The gift catalog is powerful way for you to give a gift with meaning that helps to transform a life in the developing world. ADRA’s Really Useful Gift Catalog is filled with many ideas on how your friends, family, or church can be part of ADRA’s mission together.

Browse the gift catalog to see how your donations can help families living in poverty and distress.

We rely on the support of private individuals, churches, and schools to fulfill our mission. We’re always developing new ways for supporters to represent ADRA in their communities. Learn how you can spread the word about ADRA’s work in your neighborhood.

We have a worldwide infrastructure in more than 130 countries that enables the agency to preposition 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 aid to our 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.

Children are major beneficiaries of our programs, designed to benefit entire communities rather than focus on individuals. As such, ADRA has chosen not to do child sponsorships. Learn more about our work with Children & Orphans.

Your church keeps all donations made to ADRA International confidential. We are not informed of individual donors when your church sends a lump sum offering to ADRA. Because of this, we can’t issue a receipt to you, nor is your name on our donor list. If you wish to receive an ADRA International receipt, you must make your donation directly to ADRA International

ADRA does not accept used clothing. Often, unsolicited goods like used clothes, and canned goods clog transportation routes, hindering supplies from receiving clearance at shipping ports.

ADRA’s Really Useful Gift Catalog has several ways you can support families in need worldwide.

ADRA has offices in more than 130 countries, so you may be able to donate in your local currency. Donations to ADRA International given in foreign currencies are subject to variable exchange rates and, in some cases, bank processing fees.

Find an ADRA office near you

Monetary donations are the best, as they allow ADRA to immediately buy items that survivors need. Most essential relief goods are purchased in country to help reach the disaster zone quickly and to help stimulate the local economy.

We have a close partnership with Adventist Community Services (ACS), local organizations and other trusted partners that enables us to provide assistance to those who have been affected, when a disaster strikes within our borders.

The ADRA office in each country is responsible for coordinating audits for the projects they are funding. Responsibilities of the Internal Audit Office at ADRA International include monitoring and arranging external audits for projects funded by USAID. The General Conference Auditing Service audits ADRA country and administration accounting. All audit reports are submitted to ADRA International Internal Audit Office. 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 is audited yearly by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Yes. ADRA International is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. Donations are deductible for income and estate taxes. Tax deductibility only applies to donations given by individuals and entities filing for taxes within the United States. Anyone giving a qualifying donation directly 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 us from these organizations as a lump sum and donor names are kept confidential.

Yes we do. To donate to ADRA through workplace campaigns such as the United Way, Combined Federal Campaign, designate ADRA #10654.

For every $1 given to ADRA, 90 cents goes directly to supporting our lifesaving programs around the world. Each gift you make is a contribution to the entire mission of ADRA, to be used wherever the need is greatest.

ADRA does not proselytize. God’s love in ADRA’s programs is expressed when it reaches out to those in need regardless of race, gender, and political, or religious affiliation. We work in harmony with a broad array of cultures, traditions, and people of non-Christian faith, respecting the human dignity of all. The positive impact of ADRA’s contribution globally validates our heritage and belief in benevolent giving.

Internationally, we rely on the service and skills of local volunteers to implement our programs. Volunteers are key to helping us reach communities in needs. Available positions vary between ADRA offices.

You can view current job openings on our careers page.

In 2013 ADRA’s program expenses totaled $137 million—made possible through private contributions from private individuals like you, corporations, foundations and other entities. We also obtain funding and commodities from governmental and intergovernmental organizations, such as USAID and the United Nations.

Through an international network, ADRA delivers relief and development assistance to individuals in more than 130 countries—regardless of their ethnicity, political affiliation, or religious association. By partnering with communities, organizations, and governments, ADRA is able to improve the quality of life of millions through 9 impact areas.

Learn more about Our Impact.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is the global humanitarian organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Founded in 1956 as the Seventh-day Adventist Welfare Service and renamed ADRA in 1984, the agency has a long and successful history of providing humanitarian relief and implementing development initiatives.

Learn more about Our History.