Anti-Terrorism & Sanctions (OFAC) Statement

As a U.S. charity that moves funds and runs programs abroad, One Light International is bound by U.S. sanctions law administered by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Executive Order 13224, and the federal prohibition on providing material support to designated terrorist organizations.

Policy statement

One Light will not provide funds, goods, services, or any other support, directly or indirectly, to any individual or entity designated as a terrorist or sanctioned party, owned or controlled by such a party, or that we know or have reason to believe supports terrorism or other unlawful activity. This applies in every country where we operate and to every donor, employee, volunteer, partner, grantee, vendor, and beneficiary relationship.

Screening

Before entering a relationship with a local partner, grantee, vendor, or significant donor, we screen against the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list, OFAC’s Consolidated Sanctions List, the U.S. State Department Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Terrorist Exclusion Lists, and the UN Security Council Sanctions List, and we re-screen at least annually. Screening records are retained for at least five years.

Grant-making controls

When we fund a local partner abroad, we require a written grant agreement restricting funds to the stated charitable purpose, conduct due diligence on the partner’s identity and leadership, disburse in tranches tied to verified progress rather than large up-front sums, and require receipts and narrative reports substantiating that funds reached their intended purpose.

Personnel commitments

Everyone who handles funds, selects or pays partners or vendors, or serves in the field signs our Anti-Terrorism, Sanctions and AML Acknowledgment and consents to being screened against the sanctions and terrorism lists we use, before and during their engagement. No One Light representative transfers funds, goods, or services to any partner, grantee, vendor, or beneficiary who has not been vetted and cleared. On encountering a possible sanctions match or a red flag — an unusual funding source, a request to route money to a named foreign party, or pressure to skip vetting — the representative stops the transaction and escalates to the Compliance Officer immediately rather than trying to resolve it alone. Accurate records are kept of all funds and transactions handled.

Sanctions determinations, blocking obligations, and OFAC reporting deadlines are technical and carry strict-liability consequences. This page reflects our Board-adopted policy, which is intended to be confirmed against counsel's guidance before final adoption, and updated as our screening sources and procedures evolve.