Earlier this summer, Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA) had the honour of hosting two Pooled Fund governance bodies – the Start Network’s Donor Council and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) Pooled Fund Working Group (PFWG)– a multi-stakeholder forum that oversees how humanitarian pooled funds are managed and improved. It also marked a proud milestone for Jersey: the end of our co-chairship of this group, which we’ve held alongside Italy over the past year. Jersey was the first non-member state ever to lead the group – a strong signal of how smaller donors can punch above their weight in the global humanitarian space.
The PFWG is unique as it brings together representatives from across the humanitarian system – in total Jersey welcomed delegates from over 17 countries – comprised of donor representatives (including Canada, Australia and Kuwait), alongside those from UN OCHA and local and national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - including Yemen, Myanmar, Venezuela and Palestine.
As our PFWG co-chairship draws to a close, we wanted to share a few reflections on why Pooled Funds are such an effective way for Jersey – and other small or non-traditional donors – to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid.
What Are Pooled Funds?
Pooled Funds are financial tools that allow donors to combine their contributions into one flexible fund. Rather than being earmarked for a specific organisation or project, these pooled resources are allocated based on real-time needs on the ground, often in response to rapidly evolving crises.
Pooled Funds support a wide range of relief organisations – including UN agencies, international NGOs and, importantly, local and national responders. Whether responding to a conflict, a natural disaster, or the effects of climate change, these funds ensure that the right support reaches people quickly and efficiently.
As funding across the humanitarian system becomes more stretched, Pooled Funds are proving more important than ever. In fact, the United Nation’s Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has called them central to the “humanitarian reset” – a bold effort to make aid more effective, more responsive, and more locally led.
Why Are Pooled Funds a Good Fit for Jersey?
JOA needs to ensure our funding is strategic, flexible and well managed – as a small donor without a permanent presence outside St Helier, Pooled Funds tick all those boxes.
They allow us to respond rapidly to emerging needs, reduce the burden of complex grant management, and provide funding in hard-to-reach places where local organisations are already present and best placed to act. They also offer strong governance structures, with clear accountability and robust monitoring to ensure funds are used wisely. While direct funding to local and national actors (LNAs) can be challenging for a small donor like JOA – particularly due to the due diligence requirements involved – Pooled Funds remain one of the most effective ways for us to support locally led humanitarian action, while maintaining confidence that aid is reaching those who need it most through the best placed, and well governed partners.
JOA currently supports three key pooled fund mechanisms:
- OCHA’s Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs), which channel funding to locally grounded humanitarian responses in crisis-affected countries.
- The Start Network’s Start Fund, which provides rapid funding to address small and under-the-radar emergencies within 72 hours.
- The Aid Fund for Syria (AFS), which has strong localisation model and is widely seen as a best-practice example of how pooled funds can strengthen local leadership in some of the world’s most complex crises.
This year, JOA also supported the launch a new Pooled Funds Community of Practice alongside ICVA and the Start Network. This initiative brings together pooled fund actors across the humanitarian sector to share knowledge, build common approaches, and reduce duplication – enhancing coordination at a time when the global funding environment is more fragmented and strained than ever.
A Closer Look: Learning from the Central African Republic
JOA’s contribution to pooled fund mechanisms allows us to stay actively engaged in how those funds are used. Through participation in Steering Boards, Working Groups and Donor Councils – as well as by joining multi-donor monitoring visits – we’re able to maintain oversight on operations.
Last year, JOA’s Monitoring and Impact Officer joined a field visit to the Central African Republic (CAR) as part of the Pooled Fund Working Group. Over the course of a week in Bangui and Zemio JOA met with local NGOs, UN colleagues, and other donors to understand the impact of pooled funding in one of the world’s most challenging humanitarian contexts.
CAR faces multiple, overlapping challenges: years of armed conflict, food insecurity, widespread displacement, and very limited infrastructure. But here are three reasons why Pooled Funds are making a real difference:
- Supporting Local Leadership
Local and national NGOs are often the first responders in crises. In CAR, they’re essential to reaching remote or conflict-affected areas. OCHA’s CBPF helps channel funding directly to these groups – making humanitarian aid more targeted and more locally led. It also creates space for knowledge sharing, joint planning, and capacity strengthening so that local responders can grow and sustain their impact over time.
- Speeding Up the Response
In emergencies, every day counts. Pooled Funds allow money to reach the frontlines quickly – even in places like Zemio, where poor roads mean aid deliveries can take weeks or even months by land. When crisis strikes, pre-positioned funds and pre-agreed plans mean communities can be supported fast, before needs escalate.
- Demonstrating Effective Use of Resources
Pooling resources from different donors reduces duplication and lowers administrative overheads. It also means stronger coordination, clearer priorities, and better results for communities in need. For smaller donors like Jersey, this model ensures we are making the biggest possible difference with the resources we have.
Looking Ahead
Over the past year, co-chairing the Pooled Fund Working Group has given JOA a unique opportunity to shape how humanitarian pooled funding evolves. Together with Italy, we focused on two key priorities: broadening the donor base – especially among non-traditional and private sector partners – and improving knowledge sharing across pooled fund mechanisms to strengthen collaboration and avoid silos.
We’re proud of what this role has allowed us to contribute. Jersey may be small, but through pooled funds, our impact is amplified – helping us to better support communities affected by crises and champion a more locally led, more accountable humanitarian system. We will continue to play an active role in supporting humanitarian pooled funds.
Find out more about JOA’s Approach to Humanitarian Funding here.