Anera

Legal name: American Near East Refugee Aid

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
520882226
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, United States
Phone
202.266.9700
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$176,317,328
Expenses
$169,989,821
Assets
$66,090,029
Liabilities
$19,769,312

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

50 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SEAN CARROLL (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SEAN CARROLL (PRESIDENT & CEO): $395,645 total reported compensation
  • DEREK MADSEN (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $255,272 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH DEMAREST (VP OF COMMUNICATIONS): $216,024 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Since 1968, Anera has helped refugees and other people affected by conflict in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan rebuild their lives with purpose, opportunity and hope—combining emergency relief with long-term development to strengthen health systems, expand access to education, and support economic opportunity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community deveopment: in palestine, anera supported 125 women with small business grants, including participants in gaza who produced meals for vulnerable populations during the war, and improved water access in the west bank through the distribution of 400 water tanks. In lebanon, anera supported 30 farmers through greenhouse rehabilitation and installation and established 92 rooftop gardens to improve food security. Anera mobilized a nationwide volunteer network of 26,634 individuals contributing over 70,000 hours, and provided integrated education, psychosocial, and protection support to 250 adolescent girls. Broader recovery efforts engaged 3,000 youth, resulting in over 200 job placements, while rehabilitating schools, community centers, and municipal infrastructure, expanding solar energy access, restoring water systems serving approximately 1,300 families, and delivering essential goods and services in partnership with local organizations. In jordan, anera established 83 rooftop gardens in marka and wehdat camps, equipped 125 young adults with vocational and life skillsleading to job placements and employment pathwaysand empowered 30 youth in zarqa to launch five green enterprises addressing local water and waste challenges.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 94% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 95.4%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $76.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Pass
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.6%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 92% of revenue deployed · 95.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 33 of 33 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $162.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $396K · 50 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $994K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.