An independent member of the global humanitarian nonprofit Islamic Relief, Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) provides emergency response, food relief, and a range of other critical services to vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad. Since its inception, IRUSA has raised funds for and has supported its international partners on ground leading relief efforts following war and natural disasters in Iraq, Bosnia, Chechnya, Bangladesh, Palestine, and Sudan, among other countries. IRUSA also operates a hot meals program and provides other assistance to communities in the U.S., advocates on behalf of refugees, and campaigns against important issues such as gender-based violence and climate change.
As a nonprofit organization, IRUSA relies heavily on the generosity of its volunteers. Individual donors can select specific causes to which they want to contribute and take comfort in knowing their money will go toward improving the lives of those in need of support. It is one of the largest faith-based NGOs in the world for more than 30 years and has earned a variety of awards and accreditations from organizations worldwide.
Charity Navigator four-star ranking
Charity Navigator, one of the leading nonprofit rating agencies in the world, listed IRUSA as a four-star charity with a perfect 100 percent score for FY 2022. Charity Navigator has rated more than 225,000 charities since its inception in 2001, providing prospective donors with a snapshot of a nonprofit’s cost-effectiveness and success of their programs. It gave IRUSA perfect 100 percent scores for accountability and finance, culture and community, and leadership and adaptability.
Charity Navigator gave IRUSA perfect scores in every metric for accountability and finance, which accounts for 85 percent of a nonprofit’s overall rating. These metrics include majority independent board members, documents board meeting minutes, CEO compensation process, liabilities to assets, and program expense. For FY 2022, IRUSA directed $81.5 million to its programming, which accounted for 77.2 percent of its expenses. Only 2.2 percent of its expenses went to administrative costs.
IRUSA received its first Charity Navigator four-star rating in 2004.
Guidestar Exchange
IRUSA is also transparent in how it distributes funds from donors. The nonprofit lists many of its major expenses in the history section on its website, i.e. $5 million for famine prevention intervention in eight African nations in 2021 and $10 million toward key health and education initiatives in Afghanistan in 2022. Because of this, it received the GuideStar Gold Seal of Transparency in 2023 and is an accredited valued partner in GuideStar’s Partners in Trust program.
To earn GuideStar’s Gold Seal of Transparency, an organization must provide all relevant information, including board chair, CEO, and geographic area served, along with audited and up-to-date financial statements and a “Charting Impact” report, which details their overall impact. The GuideStar Exchange, according to GuideStar, is “the only program of its kind that encourages nonprofit transparency on a national scale and allows nonprofits to supplement the public information that is available from the IRS.”
Combined Federal Campaign charity list
The U.S. government also recognizes IRUSA as a trustworthy and transparent nonprofit, so much so that it features it on its Combined Federal Campaign charity list. This means that federal government workers can choose to donate to the organization via automatic payroll deductions.
Other accreditations
Over the years, IRUSA has also received several other awards and accreditations, including being recognized by GreatNonprofits as a top-rated nonprofit in 2022. More than 400 donors, supporters, and volunteers have shared their positive experiences with IRUSA on the GreatNonprofits website. In addition, IRUSA is publicly committed to abiding by the principles of the code of conduct for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC). It’s one of 191 member nations that compose the world’s largest humanitarian network.
Memberships and alliances
Beyond its many awards and accreditations, IRUSA is a reputable member of many organizations and associations, including the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, Alliance to End Hunger, Coalition of Human Needs, and Refugee Council USA. IRUSA also belongs to the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and InterAction, the latter of which is composed of more than 190 US-based international NGOs working to improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable populations.
In order to deliver humanitarian aid in the quickest and most effective manner, IRUSA has also worked with more than 20 domestic and international relief groups, including Catholic Charities USA, CARE International, Salvation Army, United Nations, and World Vision.