National Society Investment Alliance announces grants to 14 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies

A joint pooled fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the NSIA provides flexible, multi-year funding to support the sustainable development of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that carry out critical humanitarian work under extremely challenging environments. 

The NSIA awards grants in two key funding categories: It can allocate up to 750,000 Swiss francs of “accelerator” funding to National Societies over a maximum of five years, and it also awards “bridge grants” of up to 50,000 Swiss francs over 12 months that aim to help National Societies lay the ground for future investment from the NSIA or from other National Society Development (NSD) initiatives. 

In 2025, the NSIA Office received 32 eligible proposals, 17 for accelerator funding and 15 for bridge grants. The National Societies selected for accelerator funding in 2025 are the following:

• Colombian Red Cross Society
• Jordan National Red Crescent Society
• Pakistan Red Crescent
• Salvadorean Red Cross Society
• Somali Red Crescent Society
• South Sudan Red Cross

These National Societies will receive strategic funding to support their journey toward long-term organizational sustainability and impact. All six National Societies have previously received NSIA grants.

The Colombian Red Cross Society will strengthen institutional efficiency and humanitarian impact through a national digital management system, unifying data and governance tools to enhance transparency, coordination, accountability and donor confidence.

The Jordan National Red Crescent Society will expand its Commercial First Aid services by establishing a new training center, generating sustainable income while empowering communities, especially refugees, women, and youth, to prepare for and respond to emergencies.

The Pakistan Red Crescent Society will expand equitable access to safe blood and diagnostic services by upgrading laboratories and launching new mobile units, ultimately improving healthcare access for underserved communities.

The Salvadorean Red Cross Society will establish a new clinical laboratory and imaging center, translating prior NSIA support into a self-sustaining health service that expands access to affordable diagnostics and reinforces the Society’s financial autonomy.

The South Sudan Red Cross will drive its digital transformation by deploying new management systems, training staff and volunteers, and strengthening ICT infrastructure to enhance efficiency, accountability, and readiness in humanitarian response.

Bridge grants awarded to eight National Societies

In addition to the accelerator grants, the NSIA has awarded bridge grants to eight National Societies: Belize Red Cross Society, Bolivian Red Cross, Guatemalan Red Cross, Honduran Red Cross, Lesotho Red Cross Society, Tanzania Red Cross-National Society, Timor-Leste Red Cross Society, Venezuelan Red Cross. 

2025 bridge initiatives continue to strengthen the foundations of National Societies and setting the stage for larger investments, by improving financial sustainability, governance, and institutional systems. 

Several initiatives, such as in Venezuela, Bolivia, Lesotho and Guatemala, will focus on restoring operational capacity and developing comprehensive resource mobilization strategies to ensure long-term income generation and donor confidence. 

Others, such as Timor-Leste and Honduras, plan modernization of commercial first aid services and human resource systems, improving efficiency and transparency, as well as financial sustainability. 

The Belize Red Cross is redefining its strategic direction through a new strategy and business plan, while Tanzania Red Cross is investing in social enterprise models and education structures to enhance financial resilience and youth engagement. 

Collectively, these initiatives reinforce the institutional backbone of National Societies and prepare them for future strategic investments, enabling more sustainable, accountable, and locally led humanitarian action.

The NSIA continues to be a vital instrument for enabling National Societies to strengthen their sustainable institutions and deliver effective locally led humanitarian action, when humanitarian needs are increasing and funding dropping. 

As highlighted in the NSIA Annual Report 2024, emerging impacts show that well-targeted investments, even small ones, can generate significant returns, for example, improving governance, financial sustainability, and humanitarian service delivery across crisis and fragile and protracted contexts. Ultimately, NSIA investments offer a transformative opportunity to National Societies operating in the most complex contexts to advance their strategic priorities, strengthen institutions and eventually contributing to more resilient communities, and lasting humanitarian impact.

For more information, please click here to visit the NSIA webpage.