UNRWA FUNDRAISING STRATEGY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 001201

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR PRM/ANE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL KPAL KWBG JO UNRWA
SUBJECT: UNRWA FUNDRAISING STRATEGY

REF: A. STATE 29074

B. WARD/POLASCHIK E-MAIL OF 2/9/04 (NOTAL)


1. (SBU) Summary and comment: Refcoord met with UNRWA
External Relations Officers February 11 to review UNRWA
fundraising strategy. Noting that UNRWA expected a decreased
response to its current emergency appeal, they said UNRWA
also required increased funds for its General Fund programs.
UNRWA fundraising strategy centers on outreach to 1)
nontraditional donors such as corporations, regional
governments and newly formed national associations; 2) Arab
states and multilateral organizations; and 3) minor donors,
particularly through the special Geneva conference planned
for June 2004. Channeling large, one-time Arab contributions
to UNRWA's emergency programs into support for UNRWA's
regular programs constitutes a significant political
challenge for UNRWA. UNRWA is hopeful that several ongoing
and planned external reviews of UNRWA programs (including by
the U.S.) will reaffirm traditional donors' support for the
agency and result in increased contributions. While UNRWA's
fundraising goals are not new, External Relations Director
Whitley has made significant progress in implementing ideas
that have been around for years. Whether these ideas will
result in new funds remains to be seen. End summary and
comment.


2. (U) In response to concerns over decreasing donor support
for UNRWA's emergency programs (ref a),refcoord met with
UNRWA External Relations Officers Andrew Whitley and Emmy
Takahashi on February 11 to review the agency's fundraising
strategy. Whitley confirmed that UNRWA expected donor
response to the emergency appeal to fall below levels
received in 2003. UNRWA does not expect the U.S. and the
U.K. in 2004 to match the "extremely generous" contributions
they made to UNRWA's 2003 emergency appeals, while
traditionally strong medium-sized donors such as the
Netherlands, France and Spain are not expected to make any
contribution to the 2004 emergency appeal. Whitley
attributed the overall decrease in funds to donor fatigue and
competition for funds from Iraq reconstruction programs.
Whitley commented that UNRWA also requires a deeper donor
base for its General Fund programs in order to compensate for
years of chronic underfunding. Noting that that UNRWA
finished 2003 in a relatively strong financial position due
only to exchange rate gains from the relatively weak U.S.
dollar, Whitley said that UNRWA could not count on such gains
to last indefinitely and therefore needs to attract new
support for its General Fund.

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Outreach to Non-Traditional Donors
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3. (U) According to Whitley, UNRWA's top fundraising
priority is to expand beyond its traditional donor base of
developed countries, reaching out to corporations, regional
and municipal governments, other UN agencies and newly formed
national support associations, along the lines of "USA for
UNHCR." UNRWA is opening such associations in the U.K.,
Sweden, Spain, Japan and the United States -- with the
"Friends of UNRWA USA" association due to complete its formal
registration during the week of February 16. Whitley
acknowledged that UNRWA did not have a good track record of
corporate fundraising in the past (a phenomenon he attributed
to corporate anxieties about Palestinian politics) but said
he is working to change that record. Nestle, for example,
just donated a significant quantity of powdered milk for
distribution among UNRWA's special hardship cases. UNRWA
hopes to gain other in-kind contributions from UN agencies,
working with UNICEF on children's programs and ILO on
vocational training programs. While Whitley agreed that
increased cooperation with UN agencies would not increase
UNRWA's cash-flow, he hopes that it could open doors to other
funding resources or channels of cooperation. UNRWA has
added a new full-time international staff position to its
External Relations Department (funded by the UN's central
administrative budget) to work solely on nontraditional
donors.

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Outreach to Arab States and Multilateral Organizations
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) In recent years, UNRWA has received significant
contributions from Arab donors in response to emergency needs
in the West Bank and Gaza. The UAE Red Crescent Society's
pledge of USD 27 million to rebuild Jenin refugee camp is
among the largest of these contributions and, according to
UNRWA officials, is described by Red Crescent Officials as a
personal gift of President Sheikh Zaid. Whitley told
refcoord that the Saudi government plans to make USD 22.5
million available through the Islamic Development Bank to
rebuild 950 housing units in Rafah, a pledge made during
Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Ala'a's trip to Saudi Arabia.
Palestinian Authority sources told Whitley that the Saudis
had not yet determined which agency (UNRWA or PA) should
receive the funds; UNRWA hopes to direct the funds toward the
agency's emergency appeal.


5. (SBU) UNRWA's challenge, according to Whitley, is to
transform these one-time grants under the emergency appeal
into lasting financial relationships that can address the
agency's long-term capital needs. Arab states and regional
organizations traditionally have been reluctant to contribute
to UNRWA's General Fund programs, arguing that it is the
responsibility of western, developed countries to meet the
needs of Palestinian refugees. Whitley hopes that through
greater involvement in UNRWA's emergency programs, Arab
states, charities and multilateral organizations will realize
that improvements in Palestinian refugees' basic living
conditions do not constitute "resettlement" or otherwise
diminish their political rights under the relevant UN
resolutions. UNRWA Commissioner General Peter Hansen plans
to make a trip to the Gulf in the near future, a trip that
was initially planned for February 2004 but postponed due to
scheduling difficulties. The External Relations Department
has a new Amman-based post (funded by the Swiss Government)
that is dedicated to Arab governments and organizations.

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Outreach to Minor Donors
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5. (U) UNRWA plans also to improve relations with long-term
minor donors (those who give less than USD one million per
year),in hopes of convincing them to give more funds to the
agency. Whitley said that UNRWA's special meeting in Geneva
(planned for June 2004) is a key part of this effort, as it
will give minor donors a greater understanding both of
UNRWA's programs and its needs. UNRWA already has started
including minor donors in events in the field, such as the
launch of the current emergency appeal and a February 10 food
aid meeting.

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Confidence Building Measures for Traditional Donors?
-------------- --------------


6. (U) Whitley hopes that several external reviews of UNRWA
programs, planned for the next six months, will serve as a
"seal of approval" for the agency's operations and convince
traditional large donors to increase their already generous
contributions. ECHO plans a technical audit of UNRWA's
emergency programs from March 8-26, looking both at financial
mechanisms and the impact of UNRWA programs on beneficiaries.
The UK's DFID, with political support from the EC, Canada,
Switzerland and the U.S., plans to commission a separate
review of the agency's general fund operations that is slated
to last from April until June. Finally, South African
government auditors are conducting UN headquarters' biannual
review of UNRWA programs, due to be completed in July.
Whitley welcomed refcoord's statement that the Department
also plans a review of UNRWA's emergency programs this spring
(ref b) and suggested that the U.S. review could build on
findings made by other donors. (Comment: ECHO's planned
review seems particularly relevant to our concerns; refcoord
will contact the ECHO representative for further information.)

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Comment
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7. (SBU) While UNRWA officials have been expressing the same
fundraising goals for the last few years, Whitley has brought
a new vigor to UNRWA's efforts and actually implemented ideas
that have been under discussion for a number of years.
Whether these efforts will result in increased contributions
remains to be seen. We will continue to monitor this issue.
GNEHM