HIAS INC
Welcome the stranger. Protect the refugee
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
With now nearly 84 million forcibly displaced people around the world today, we continue to face the largest forced displacement crisis on record. As the past five years have shown, the global refugee crisis shows no signs of abating as war, violence and climate change continue to force people to flee their homes. COVID-19 will continue to restrict movements across borders until the pandemic subsides and increasing politicization and hostility toward refugees and asylum seekers only exacerbate their lack of protection. Across our programs, HIAS will continue to protect the safety, health, and rights of vulnerable individuals and support their ongoing recovery through integrated programming focused on mental health support, prevention and response to GBV, economic inclusion, and legal protection.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Protecting Refugees
HIAS works in 16 countries throughout Latin America, Africa, Eurasia, and the Middle East to help refugees find safety and freedom and regain control of their lives through four signature approaches: legal aid, gender-based violence prevention and response, mental health and psychosocial assistance and economic inclusion.
Where we work
Accreditations
Charity Navigator 2015
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of refugees resettled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Asylum seekers, Cross-border families, Immigrants, Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people
Related Program
Protecting Refugees
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Total number of people reached
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Immigrants and migrants
Related Program
Protecting Refugees
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of women and girls assisted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Immigrants and migrants
Related Program
Protecting Refugees
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Drawing on our Jewish values and history, HIAS aims to provide vital services to refugees and asylum seekers around the world and advocate for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
HIAS' core values are the foundation for our work:
1. Welcome • Acogimiento • Hospitalité •הכנסת אורחים (Hachnasat Orchim)
We Welcome the Stranger
2. Justice • Justicia • Justice • צדק (Tzedek)
We Pursue Justice
3. Empathy • Empatía • Empathie •חסד (Chesed)
We Approach our Clients with Empathy
4. Partnership • Compañerismo • Coopération • חברותא (Chevruta)
We Believe in Changing the World through Partnership
5. Courage • Coraje • Courage • אומץ (Ometz)
We Act with Courage to Build a Better World
6. Resilience • Resiliencia • Résilience • רוח (Ruach)
We Adapt and Thrive, Continuously Demonstrating our Resilience
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
HIAS is a learning community, committed to diversity and inclusion. We do our work with integrity, accountability, transparency, and a commitment to the highest ethical standards.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Through innovative community-based programs focused on legal protection, mental health and psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention and response and livelihoods assistance, HIAS is currently operational in 16 countries including Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Greece, Guyana, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Ukraine and Venezuela and across 23 sites in the U.S.
HIAS used to help refugees because they were Jewish, and today we help refugees because we are Jewish. HIAS supports the most vulnerable refugees, including unaccompanied children, single-headed households, pregnant mothers, older persons and persons with disabilities. In 2021 alone, HIAS helped more than 1.2 million refugees escape persecution and rebuild their lives. HIAS programs employ a protection lens that is beneficiary-centered and evidence-based, and programs are planned, executed, and monitored in close coordination with partners to ensure coverage, non-duplication of services, and cost-efficiency.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced persons.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes, Community meetings/Town halls, Suggestion box/email,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To identify potential abuse, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our community partners,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
HIAS INC
Board of directorsas of 5/17/2022
Mr. Robert Aronson
Mr. Jeffrey Blattner
Marc Silberberg
Rene Lerer
Dianne Lob
Robert Aronson
Jeffrey Blattner
Lee Gordon
Eric Schwartz
Sandra Spinner
Yuli Wexler
Judith Friedman
Lana Alman
Gary Hirschberg
Leon Rodriguez
Ilan Rosenberg
Dorit Perry
Frank Risch
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/17/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.