The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization. We have a mandate to help and protect people affected by armed conflict and other violence or – as our mission statement puts it – “other situations of violence”. By “other violence” or “other situations of violence” we mean violence that has not reached the threshold of an armed conflict but is carried out by large groups and has consequences in humanitarian terms. This mandate was given to us by States through the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 and the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement of 1986. Our mandate and legal status sets us apart from both intergovernmental organisations (such as the specialized agencies of the United Nations) and non-governmental organisations. This status allows us to function independently of governments and to serve, with complete impartiality, the people most in need of protection and assistance.

The ICRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which also comprises 189 National Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The ICRC works closely with the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Federation to ensure a concerted, efficient and rapid response to conflict or violence. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world.

Our mission is to protect the lives and dignity of those affected by armed conflict and to provide them with assistance, such as food and clean water, health care and shelter. We also work to prevent and alleviate the suffering of those affected by other situations of violence, such as internal disturbances and tensions.

We promote humanitarian values and principles through our advocacy and awareness-raising efforts. We work to raise awareness about the impact of armed conflicts on civilians, advocate for the rights and protection of vulnerable people, and foster respect for international humanitarian law among states, armed groups and other relevant actors. We also engage in dialogue and cooperation with governments and non-state actors to promote the integration of humanitarian principles into policy and practice.

You can visit our FAQ hub, where you will find clear information about what we do, where we work, and why. It covers key topics, including our activities in specific regions and the principles that guide our humanitarian response.

The ICRC is funded by voluntary contributions.

We receive contributions from the States party to the Geneva Conventions (governments), national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, supranational organizations (such as the European Commission) and public and private sources. Governments are our main donors: on average during the past five years, they contributed about 82% of the budget. But contributions remain voluntary and there is no guarantee that such contributions will last into the long-term.

In 2024, the ICRC is appealing for 2.1 billion CHF. During the year, adjustments to this appeal are made in the form of budget extensions in response to unforeseen needs requiring increased humanitarian action.

The ICRC’s appeal for 2024 represents a 23% decrease from its initial 2023 appeal and a 13% decrease from its revised 2023 appeal.

The ICRC budget is calculated based on three factors: the humanitarian needs of the communities affected, our ability to deliver aid and protection to those communities, and a realistic assessment of what can actually be implemented.

Taken together these three factors have tended to produce highly accurate operational plans and budgets: during the last ten years, the ICRC has averaged around a 90% implementation rate of its projected budget. Our operational budget has been on the increase during the past few years. This year (2020), we have a budget that is almost 3% bigger than last year's.

The ICRC seeks to secure funding from a broad range of sources in order to have a strong financial foundation and preserve its operational independence. In addition to sustaining support from its traditional donor base, it is working to strengthen its engagement with new and emerging donor States, development actors and key areas of the private sector, in line with its resource mobilization strategy for 2020–2030.

ICRC expenditure is audited by an internationally-recognized firm employing stringent and recognized IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) accounting standards. We have set up a system of internal and external audits whereby all key financial figures and procedures are checked.

The external auditors' assessment is published every year and shared with donors. Funding and expenditure details are made public in the ICRC's Annual Report, with key indicators showing what we have achieved in the field.

Moreover, the ICRC has always been open to donors who wish to carry out their specific audits, whether in the field or at headquarters. This is part of our policy of being open with donors.

National Societies contribute to ICRC operations in several ways: for instance, by supporting health activities, providing staff or contributing to specific activities in a country. National Societies together support about 3% of the ICRC's operations.

In an emergency, timing is everything. The capacity to mobilize and deliver resources in the very early hours of a conflict can make all the difference for those in need. It is therefore vital that the ICRC have the ability to take operational – and financial – decisions during the first phase of the response. In order to do that, we must be able to pre-fund operations, by which we mean committing resources before any funding is explicitly available.

We are able to do this by using special funds that are not earmarked, which means they do not have to be used for a specific region, country or programme, thus giving us maximum flexibility in how we use them. We also use other funds that we have built up over 30 years, known in financial terms as 'reserves,' or 'equity'.

When urgent needs arise we will commit these reserves – which would cover a few months of ICRC operations - until donor funds for that emergency become available. It is this flexibility and this rapid response that enable the ICRC to make a real difference on the ground. Moreover, the reserves are important not only for pre-funding operations but also for covering deficits that we may face at the end of the year.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept donations in kind, be they medicines or any other items.

Assistance programmes are highly complex operations. All products must meet very precise quality standards and be suitable for the location and environment where they'll be used. Moreover, it would require substantial resources to sort, store and transport items received in kind.

We suggest you contact your country's National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society instead. They often have a system for collecting donated items and distributing them locally.

If you entered a valid email address, you will receive a message confirming your donation.

If you don't receive an email within about 15 minutes, please contact us to request a confirmation of your donation.

The Swiss postal service allows many non-profit organizations to distribute non-commercial post, even to mailboxes with the "No advertising" sticker. This is the case for the ICRC.

Mailings are an important way for us to raise awareness of our work. We usually receive a positive response from recipients.

But if you've made a donation to the ICRC and would prefer not to receive post from us, that is not a problem. Please contact our supporter care team and they'll take care of it.

The ICRC does not take on volunteers, but we encourage you to contact your country's National Society for opportunities to volunteer for them. You may also be interested in volunteering for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Please visit our jobs page for information about current vacancies.

The ICRC undertakes to allocate your donation in its entirety to the operation that you have chosen. The cost of the operational support provided by Geneva headquarters to the field delegations is calculated at 6.5% of the delegation's expenditure.

In other words, from a donation of 100 Swiss francs, 93.50 francs are used directly to finance our field operations to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict and other violence.

Please see the Where does your money go? and Finances and budget sections. You can also read our latest Annual Report online.

There is no agreed-upon definition of the concept of administrative costs for international organizations. The ICRC has therefore taken the US fiscal and accounting criteria applicable to international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as its yardstick.

In 2019, the ICRC's administrative costs (calculated using the method mentioned above) represented 8.6% of total operating expenses. The costs considered to be "administrative" are the cost of the headquarters units, i.e. the president's office, the directorate, human resources, fundraising, finance and administration, information systems. Note: administrative costs do not affect the way in which your donation is used – it will be allocated directly to the field operation of your choice.

A donation to our general appeal will go where the need is greatest, so it will not be tied to any particular activity or area.

The ICRC promises to use your donation for the operation you choose. You can choose any of our programmes or countries where we are conducting our principal activities.

If you specify a sphere of activity or programme which is not listed, the ICRC reserves the right to assign your donation to an operation of its own choosing.

In addition, we cannot accept donations for a specific school, village or group of individuals. Your donation will help to meet all the needs in the conflict zone specified, but your choice is restricted to a country or type of activity. Experience has shown that the more restrictive the earmarking policy (tying donations to a particular area, category of person, etc.), the more limited the ICRC's operational flexibility, to the detriment of the people we are trying to help, and additional administration is also involved.

No. The ICRC is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of the victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence around the world and to provide them with assistance.

We use the voluntary contributions of our donors to finance our activities. It is therefore not possible to use those donations for any other purposes. The ICRC can only provide resources in cash or kind for individuals or associations as part of its own projects.

Our online system only allows you to donate for one appeal at a time, as this helps to keep the administrative side simple.

If you wish to donate to several appeals, you'll have to complete the donation process for each appeal separately.

Your credit card may be invalid or expired. Please check with your card issuer or bank.

If you entered a valid email address, you will receive a message confirming your donation.

If you don't receive an email within about 15 minutes, please contact us to request confirmation of your donation.

The ICRC takes great care to protect the personal data of its donors (see our our privacy policy). Any personal details we collect will remain confidential. We will never pass anything on for commercial purposes. In fact, you won't even be added to our mailing list unless you check the box marked: "Yes, I want to get updates on the work of the ICRC."

If you wish to make an anonymous donation, just write "ANO" in the compulsory fields. But if you want to receive a confirmation of your donation, you'll need to supply a valid email address.

For online credit card donations, we only accept the currencies listed amongst which are US dollars, Euros, British pound, Swiss francs, Australian dollar and Canadian dollar. This helps us reduce our administrative costs.

However, a wider range of currencies is possible for donations via bank transfer. (More information under the question: ‘How can I make a donation by bank transfer?’)

Your ongoing support is crucial in allowing us to to rapidly swing into action in crisis situations and deliver aid where it is needed most.. It also means that we can plan more effectively for the long term and reduce our administrative costs. With your regular donation, you would be supporting our vital activities that help people rebuild their lives on a daily basis.

The easiest way to give monthly to the ICRC is to sign up on our donation page.

If you would prefer to donate regularly through your bank, you can do so by setting up a direct debit or a standing order.

If you live in Switzerland or have a Swiss bank account you can download and complete:

a direct debit form (PDF) or

a standing order form (PDF)

If you live outside Switzerland and do not have a Swiss bank account:

Download a standing order form (PDF)

Please send your completed direct debit forms to the following address:

International Committee of the Red Cross
19 avenue de la Paix
1202 Geneva
Switzerland

Your first donation will be made the day that you sign up, and then on or just after the 25th of subsequent months. Your gift will not be made more than once a month.

We take great care to keep your credit card information confidential (see our privacy policy).

We use Saferpay, an online payment system that ensures optimum security. To prevent fraud, your data are automatically encrypted before being sent to the card issuer, who then processes the payment. The padlock symbol in your web browser shows that you are in secure mode.

If you prefer, you can make a regular donation through direct debit or a standing order.

If you would like to change the amount that you donate every month, please contact us with your request.

Your regular donations will go where the need is greatest, so they will not be tied to any particular activity or area. This gives us more operation flexibility and keeps our administration to a minimum.

We cannot update the card details for your regular gift. In order to continue giving every month, we ask you to sign up to our regular giving programme with your new card details.

If you would like to take a break from giving regularly, please contact us with your request.

If your bank details have changed, please contact us with your new bank details so that you can continue donating regularly.

Only people in Switzerland can make donations by postal transfer.

To do so, please send your donation to post office account number 12-5527-6 / IBAN CH66 0900 0000 1200 5527 6, at the following address: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 19 Avenue de la Paix, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland. You can specify the country or appeal to which you wish to donate in the remarks field.

If you pay tax in Switzerland, you may be able to deduct donations to the ICRC from your taxable income. The yearly minimum and the amount deductible can vary from canton to canton.

The ICRC is an international organization based in Switzerland. If you pay tax in another country, please reach out to your country's tax authorities to know if your donation is eligible for a tax deduction.

Find out more about tax deductions here.

Use the information below to make a donation by bank transfer.

Beneficiary: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR)
Swiss clearing code: 240 (for payments from Switzerland)
Swift code (BIC): UBSWCH ZH80A (for payments from other countries)
Bank address:

UBS SA
PO Box 2600
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland

Please choose the account that matches your currency.

Account No. Currency IBAN
240-FP100883.2 CHF CH97 0024 0240 FP10 0883 2
240-C0129986.4 USD CH52 0024 0240 C012 9986 4
240-C0129986.5 EUR CH25 0024 0240 C012 9986 5
240-C0183929.1 GBP CH73 0024 0240 C018 3929 1
240-FP100362.6 CAD CH09 0024 0240 FP10 0362 6
240-FP100362.4 AUD CH63 0024 0240 FP10 0362 4
240-FP100362.5 SEK CH36 0024 0240 FP10 0362 5
240-FP100362.7 DKK CH79 0024 0240 FP10 0362 7
240-FP100362.8 JPY CH52 0024 0240 FP10 0362 8
240-FP100362.9 NOK CH25 0024 0240 FP10 0362 9

If you pay tax in Switzerland, you may be able to deduct donations to the ICRC from your taxable income. The yearly minimum and the amount deductible can vary from canton to canton.

In the United States, the ICRC is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code with EIN 98-6001029. Donations to the ICRC are tax-deductible as allowable by U.S. law.

The ICRC is an international organization based in Switzerland. If you pay tax in another country, please reach out to your country's tax authorities to know if your donation is eligible for a tax deduction.

If you pay tax in Switzerland we will automatically send you a receipt that you can submit to the authorities. This document is sent in January or February each year.

If you do not pay tax in Switzerland, we will send you a receipt for tax purposes upon request. However, there is no guarantee that your tax authorities will allow you to offset your donation against tax (see above). If you make a donation online, the tax authorities may accept the confirmation email as proof of your donation.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept donations in kind, be they medicines or any other items.

Assistance programmes are highly complex operations. All products must meet very precise quality standards and be suitable for the location and environment where they'll be used. Moreover, it would require substantial resources to sort, store and transport items received in kind.

We suggest you contact your country's National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society instead. They often have a system for collecting donated items and distributing them locally.

Many companies support their employees' commitment to humanitarian causes. This may include encouraging donations by matching them in part or in full. The ICRC welcomes such initiatives, but the administrative side of these programmes needs to be kept as simple as possible. Therefore:

Employees – Please give your employer proof of your donation. (You will automatically receive a receipt if you make a donation online.) Your company can then add its contribution. If you pay by cheque or bank transfer, you can request a letter or email as confirmation of your donation.

Employers – Please ask your employees to submit their receipts as proof of their donations. Then add your contribution, which can be sent by the usual means: online payment, bank transfer or cheque. If you would like us to keep a record of the donations, please contact us before you launch the fundraising initiative. That way we can keep track of your employees' contributions more easily.

Since the ICRC is based in Switzerland, donations are tax-deductible for individuals and businesses that pay Swiss taxes, but not usually for individuals and businesses abroad. Please click here for more information about taxes.

The ICRC's activities are financed exclusively by voluntary contributions. We are therefore grateful to any company or organization that wishes to support us.

However, we have strict ethical rules for partnerships with companies, and we ask that our partners abide by them. These partnerships with companies are negotiated on a case-by-case basis and set out in contracts that are signed by both parties.

If you would like more information about partnerships, please click here.

Yes! The ICRC's activities are financed exclusively by voluntary contributions and we are very grateful to any individual or organization that raises funds for us.

However, we have strict ethical rules, and we ask that our partners abide by them. For more information, please see our Guidelines on the use of the Red Cross emblem and the name and logo of the ICRC for fundraising purposes.

To avoid disappointment, please send us a brief description of your project in advance. If we haven't given prior permission, we reserve the right to demand that the campaign be stopped immediately.

Working in conflict areas can be dangerous and requires special training, which we provide to employees.

If you would like to apply for a job at the ICRC, either as a field delegate or at headquarters, please visit the human resources section of our website.

Use of the ICRC logo is subject to strict rules. The Red Cross emblem is first and foremost a symbol of the protection provided by the Geneva Conventions in armed conflict. It is very important that it continue to serve this purpose.

For that reason, you can only use our logo if you have previously obtained our express written permission. We kindly ask that you submit a brief description of your campaign idea before using it.

If we have not given permission, we reserve the right to demand that you immediately remove our logo from your website.

For more information, please see our Guidelines on the use of the Red Cross emblem and the name and logo of the ICRC for fundraising purposes.

Yes. But if we have not authorized the use of our logo (see above), you can only use our name for the link.

We will only link to your site if we have a formal partnership agreement with you.

These are employees whose contracts are signed with a national or regional delegation, in accordance with local legislation. The selected candidates work in a fixed location in a specific country or region, which may correspond to their country of nationality. They comprise of about 2/3 of the ICRC workforce.

Apply for a resident vacancy

These are employees whose contracts are signed with the headquarters in Geneva and can work in any country where there is an operational need other than their country of nationality. Employees on mobile contracts typically change countries with each new assignment, carrying out successive missions of approximately 12 months each.

Apply for a mobile vacancy

Employees working at our headquarters in Geneva hold swiss-based contracts. The selected candidate(s) work in specific departments at the HQ supporting the activities carried out in our various countries of operation. They comprise of about 1000 employees in more than 160 different functions.

Apply for a HQ vacancy

The ICRC offers students and young professionals opportunities within a variety of departments at our headquarters in Geneva or, in a few cases, at our

diplomatic delegations around the world. Each year, nearly 80 associates, join our teams to develop their expertise and benefit from an enriching professional experience in the world’s leading humanitarian organization.

Apply for an associate vacancy

ICRC’s process has different steps depending on the position. But normally they go as the below:

Application
Screening of Application
Language tests (if a specific language is necessary)
HR Interview
Technical Interview/Test To have detailed information on each step, for Mobile positions or HQ positions, please check Our Recruitment Process page.

Everyone who is still studying at University or who has just recently graduated.

There is no specific period to apply. You need to check our website which is regularly updated. It is possible to register on a RSS flux.

We only offer traineeship in Switzerland at our headquarter in Geneva.

Professional travels outside of Switzerland are not authorized when being on a traineeship position.

It is possible to apply on positions at headquarters or in the field directly after the traineeship. It depends on job openings and whether you fit the criteria for the position you are applying to.

No. Traineeships are usually at a fixed work percentage of 100%.

Yes, traineeships are usually remunerated. The salary is determined by a pay scale set by HR and varies according to whether trainees have completed their studies or not.

Expenses that incurred for taking up a traineeship position (travel, visa, insurance, etc.) will not be reimbursed by the ICRC.

We take great care to keep your credit card information confidential (see our website privacy policy and our fundraising data protection notice).

We use Saferpay, an online payment system that ensures optimum security. To prevent fraud, your data are automatically encrypted before being sent to the card issuer, who then processes the payment. The padlock symbol in your web browser shows that you are in secure mode.

Please note that your credit card details are never shared with any other third party.

If you prefer, you can make a donation by bank transfer or cheque.

We are committed to treating your personal data with security, respect and confidentiality.

We do not sell or trade our donors’ personal data with any other entity. We only share personal data with National Societies where it is reasonable and necessary to accomplish the purpose of your interaction with us or for the purpose of developing our relationship, and with selected third-party providers to process personal data on our behalf and solely under our instructions.

As mentioned above, we use Saferpay to process donations made by credit card, which means that your credit card details (and any other payment information) are not shared with any other entity.

For more information on how we process personal data for fundraising purposes, please see our fundraising data protection notice.