Transparency
You can see the impact of our work, get detailed information about how our resources are used and understand our governance mechanisms. We provide you with all the information here or by calling 900 100 822.
THIS IS HOW WE DISTRIBUTED OUR FUNDS IN 2019 AND HOW WE DISTRIBUTED THEM ACCORDING TO OUR KEY ACTION POINTS
Data from the 2020 Annual Report
Being transparent is not only about publishing our accounts; it is one of the principles that supports our organisation and the work we do every day.
AUDITS
In 2020, we were subject to 105 audits and requests demanded by public donors as part of the execution of our projects. These audits, carried out by companies like Ernst & Young, take place both at our headquarters and in the countries where we work. Public funding, from which 80% of our funds are derived, demands strict control and justification, not just in terms of how funds are used but also regarding how projects are executed.
On top of the audits that review our accounts, Action Against Hunger-Spain also undertakes organisational audits at HQ and project audits in the intervention countries, both through independent bodies.
Action Against Hunger is also one of the few organisations that has a permanent internal auditor who reports directly to the foundation’s Board of Trustees.
LEGAL REGULATIONS
As a Spanish foundation, Action Against Hunger-Spain must respond to its regulating body – the Foundations Commission – on an annual basis. For us, this relationship is maintained with the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Our highest governing body is the Board of Trustees, chaired by José Luis Leal, to which we are accountable for our work on an annual basis. Trustees receive no remuneration for their work, thus guaranteeing their independence.
As we have chosen the tax regime for non-profit organisations (Act 49/2002), we are also subject to direct control by the Spanish Tax Administration regarding use of funds and we present an annual report for this purpose.
PUBLICATION OF ACCOUNTS
Our duly audited annual accounts (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) are published in our annual report (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), which is sent to all members and stakeholders.
ACCOUNTING MECHANISMS
In intervention countries, the Heads of Mission do not manage funds directly; instead, this is done by another management figure, the Administrator. The Administrator cannot, however, order any kind of expenditure without the approval of the Head of Mission.
On top of our compliance with accounting regulations, we have also developed an internal Analytical Accounting system that allows us to explain at all times and on an individual basis how and for what purpose all of the funds received are spent. These accounting records are audited according to each individual project in the field and, as Action Against Hunger-Spain does not have any subsidiaries, each transaction is separately integrated into head office’s accounts, in order to audit all operations together.
INSTITUTIONS THAT ENDORSE US
AECID (Spanish International Development Agency)
In 2004, AECID carried out a thorough examination of the accounting, project management and good governance mechanisms of Spanish NGOs in order to establish humanitarian action agreements. Action Against Hunger-Spain complied with all the requisites examined.
In 2019, after successfully completing the renewal process for the accreditation of QUALIFIED NGO granted by AECID, we have been classified as "a solid, solvent entity with broad and diverse capacities ... it has a diversity of extraordinary sources of financing to International and national public level, which is added to the private contributions of individuals and companies. Action Against Hunger strives to advance in terms of the limits of knowledge in its priority areas of action and specialization ".
ECHO (Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection Department of the European Commission)
Action Against Hunger is one of the main allies of the world's largest humanitarian donor: the European Union. The International Action Against Hunger Network subjects all its field projects financed by ECHO to the exhaustive controls required by this institution regarding the use of funds and the impact of the programs. Action Against Hunger has been certified as a Partner of the European Union / EU Humanitarian Partnership 2021 (Certificate APL / 2020/0117). The evaluation carried out (January 2021) has concluded that Action Against Hunger also meets the conditions to be part of the pilot program “Programmatic Partner”. This accreditation makes us eligible to apply for humanitarian funding from the European Union in the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework.
This internationally prestigious company audits our accounts every year.
Spanish Association of Foundations
CONGDE (Spanish Development NGOs Coordinating Committee)
Action Against Hunger-Spain is an active member of the Spanish Development NGOs Coordinating Committee. Action Against Hunger-Spain subscribes to, applies and actively promotes the Code of Conduct developed by CONGDE member organisations.
As a sign of our commitment to promoting compliance and transparency work in the third sector, Action against Hunger is also an honorary member of the World Compliance Association.
Action against Hunger is certified as Great Place to Work, a distinction awarded annually to the best employers in the world to recognize people management. It thus becomes the first European humanitarian organization to obtain this qualification in Spain.
Action Against Hunger-Spain is part of the Action Against Hunger International Network (ACF-International), with offices in France, the United Kingdom, USA, Spain and Canada and presence in more than 50 countries. The Charter of Principles and the Intervention Principles are the international benchmark under which the network unites its mandate, mission and vision as well as the basic principles of all our interventions Independence, Neutrality, Non-discrimination, Free and Direct Access to Affected Populations, Professionalism and Transparency.
This is a foundation that has the aim of promoting CSR and the SGE-21 ethical management regulation. Action against Hunger Spain is a member of its Board of Directors and actively participates in its activities in favour of developing social responsibility in organisations.
CODES OF CONDUCT
Action Against Hunger has its own Code of Conduct and accepts and works within the framework of the CONGDE Code of Conduct, as well as the AEFR (Spanish Fundraising Association)’s Codes of Ethics and Best Practice and the International Red Cross Code of Conduct.
COMMITMENT WITH EQUALITY
Action Against Hunger has a commitment to equality and a vocation to contribute to effective equality between women and men. For this, we have the tools to achieve this necessary commitment:
Equality Plan with the vocation of being an effective working tool for equality between women and men.
5-year strategic plan whose objectives are to actively work for equality and diversity.
People management policies that ensure equal treatment and effective opportunities throughout the life cycle of our employees.
International gender strategy that sets the Gender Minimum Standards that is articulated through several organizations:
Gender Unit: The International Gender Unit provides technical support on gender to the international network of Action Against Hunger, both at the programmatic level and at the institutional level and is managed by Action Against Hunger Canada. The main areas of work are supporting the entire network with the implementation of the gender policy and strategy and the mitigation of gender-based violence, the implementation of the Minimum Gender Standards and the gender qualification, the coordination of the gender working group, external representation, partnership and communication.
Gender Working Groups: teams of people responsible for implementing gender action plans across the board at all levels of the organization.
DIGITAL PACT FOR THE PROTECTION OF PEOPLE
Action Against Hunger has adhered to the Digital Pact for the Protection of People, promoted by the Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD). This initiative promotes a great agreement for coexistence in the digital sphere. Its objective is both to promote the commitment to privacy in the business models of companies and organizations, making the right to data protection compatible with innovation, ethics and business competitiveness, as well as to raise awareness among citizens, and especially those minors, of the consequences of spreading sensitive content on the Internet. The AEPD makes available a Priority Channel to request the urgent elimination of sexual and violent content disseminated on the internet without the consent of the affected people (of Spanish nationality or residents in Spain) and other resources and tools of the AEPD to help raise awareness on the value of privacy and the importance of the processing of personal data. You can check here for more information.
ETHICS COMMITTEE
Action Against Hunger-Spain’s Ethics Committee is made up of professionals from both inside and outside the organisation. Its aim is to assess and guide the organisation’s workers in the practical application of our code of conduct (professional ethics); review and propose improvements to the Executive Committee; analyse the most likely risks (and their most effective solutions) and promote professional ethics in the organisations. It is a multidisciplinary committee made up of 13 members (10 internal, one trustee and two external members), with advisory and consulting functions. The committee meets at least twice a year and/or as per the request of stakeholders.
ENVIRONMENT
The climate crisis exacerbates hunger by directly affecting health, as well as social inequalities, so in Action Against Hunger we are committed to being at the forefront of the fight against hunger by moving forward and adopting an approach that respects the climate and the environment with special attention to gender inequality.
Our Environment and Climate Policy (2022-2025) describes our commitments to address the climate crisis and environmental degradation, establishing basic principles and a set of minimum standards to guide our interventions. It incorporates global and local perspectives that protect the environment and identify and mitigate environmental risks.
As part of the commitments included in our policy and in line with the fight not only against the consequences of climate change but also against the causes, we have prepared our first carbon footprint report. In this report, the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions associated with Action Against Hunger activities are accounted for and reported, identifying the main sources of emissions and the amounts of GHGs emitted.
In addition, we have adhered to the Pact for the Climate of the Spanish foundations through which we recognize the urgency of contributing decisively to face the climate crisis.
In Action Against Hunger we are taking measures with the aim of improving our environmental management. Get to know them in detail.
We want and must be promptly accountable for the trust of our 25 million beneficiaries (individuals who directly or indirectly receive the result of the services, benefits, and actions of our projects) from the international network of Action Against Hunger, of the 3 990 494 beneficiaries of Action Against Hunger Spain, of our 73 070 partners (natural or legal person that supports and integrates Acción contra el Hambre with a financial contribution, made periodically and indefinitely until the receipt of the order by the interested party to terminate their collaboration at any time), as of June 23, 2020, and 51 382 donors (natural or legal person that supports and integrates Action Against Hunger with a financial contribution, made spontaneously and punctual without any commitment regarding the continuity of the contributions), from the foundation of the organization until June 23, 2020 (see n our founding statutes).
Public donors already require rigorous control of these criteria in each of the projects they finance. But we want the citizens and companies that collaborate with us to be just as safe. Therefore, Acción contra el Hambre expresses its voluntary commitment to integrate, in its strategy and management, those social, labor, ethical and environmental aspects that exceed the requirements of the legislation, as well as the commitment to extend social commitment to all related parties. acquired. First of all, the ACF International Network has a solid framework of values and principles to which each and every one of our activities adhere. They are included, mainly, in our Charter of Principles and in our Policy Paper. Second, we have a number of transparency mechanisms in place, as described above. The main aspects of our ethical management system are included in our Ethical Management and Social Responsibility Policy. Finally, we express our commitment to comply with high quality standards in the performance of our activities.
Our daily work in the field, the research and advocacy work of our specialists and the control of our Board of Trustees and executive structure (2020) allows us to ensure, without a doubt, that hunger has a solution.
As part of our commitment to transparency and accountability, we have the seal that certifies our compliance with the Transparency and Good Governance Tool of the Spanish Coordinator of NGOs for Development (CONGDE) since the year of its implementation. You can consult details about the tool here, as well as consult our list of networks and federations (2021) and information about our people management and salary tables. You can also consult the mechanisms for dialogue with our stakeholders.
Learn about the year of constitution, motivation, founders and milestones of Action against Hunger.