Funding in Humanitarianism and Its Changing Face: A Case of the Kenya Red Cross Society

There has never been enough humanitarian funding. Needs have always gone unmet, and the international community has long sought ways to fix this problem. Inadequate information, poor infrastructure and lack of sufficient human and financial resources are hampering the implementation of early warning systems in Africa(Omulo,1998).This is prompted by the sense that  inadequate resources are being over-stretched to cover a wider scope of needs, in a greater number of crises. Sustainability must now become a fundamental feature of humanitarian action. This will result in generation of adequate resources to carry out operations; ability to pay own core costs sustainably thereby making Kenya Red Cross Society a more  attractive proposition to donors; realization of growth in the society ;funding of programs that are of priority to Kenya Red Cross and additional resources for  re-investment. As indicated, sustainability and growth of Kenya Red Cross Society is dependent on its ability to finance its core costs from its own income generating initiatives. The society thus has to internalize the economic engine which involves resource mobilization, funding diversification, grant management, investing  in income generating activities thus reducing dependency on donor funding, realizing income from subsidiaries(E-plus and Red Court),lobbying for funding from the government and the general public, decentralizing the resource base and developing a resource mobilization unit The overall objective of the study is to examine the impact of humanitarian funds by the Kenya Red Cross Society on reconstruction and development programs. . This study focused on  Systemization of innovative ‘crisis modifier’ approaches, and other sustainable financing approaches, to blend and switch between humanitarian and development funding as needed in protracted settings. This study is based on resource mobilization and investment in income generating activities. There is an intense competition for scarce humanitarian funds as the Kenyan humanitarian crises industry comprises many players all competing for limited resources. Resource availability on the other hand dictates the level and intensity of disaster mitigation and coupled with donors’ preferences, KCRS as a major player has to continuously demonstrate its capabilities and intensify efforts that ensure sustainable funding