The American Red Cross: An Agency Profile

The American Red Cross is a non-profit humanitarian organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., that helps communities to prepare and cope with natural and man-made disasters.  Emergency services and fraud hot lines are accessible through the main telephone number at the Red Cross National Headquarters 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  Red Cross local chapters, which are located throughout the country, stand ready to provide disaster services on a 24-hour basis. 

            The American Red Cross is overseen by a Board of Governors that meets four times a year.  All Board members are volunteers, and the chairman of the Board is appointed by the President of the United States.  Currently, the Board is composed of 50 volunteers, but this number will be reduced to 20 by the year 2012 in an effort to make agency operations more efficient.  The daily administration of the organization is managed by a President or CEO who reports to the Board of Governors.

            The National Headquarters, located in Washington, D.C., is responsible for formulating standards and providing necessary resources to the local chapters of the Red Cross in order to ensure consistency and high quality standards in the delivery of services at the local level.  While the National Headquarters sets the agency’s strategic priorities, it is the task of the local chapters to carry out the goals set at the national level under the guidance of the Board of Governors and the CEO.

            The Board of Governors is divided into five committees:  the Audit and Risk Management Committee, the Compensation and Management Development Committee, the Philanthropy Committee, the Governance and Board Development Committee, and the Executive Committee.  In addition, the President of the United States appoints an advisory council of eight to ten members to advise and monitor the Board.  At least one, but no more than three, of the advisory council members are required to be members of the armed services.  The Comptroller General of the United States has the authority to monitor the involvement of the Red Cross in any federally-funded program or activity.  In 2007, an Ombudsman’s office was instituted within the American Red Cross.

            Services are delivered locally with regional coordination of resources and guidance from the National Headquarters.  Below the National Headquarters in the organizational hierarchy are 8 regional service areas with 11 biomedical services divisions.  There are 800 local chapters of the American Red Cross throughout the country.   There are also 60 Armed Forces Emergency Services Stations throughout the United States and 20 international branch offices of the Red Cross.