In 2015, total Claims Conference allocations to social service organizations around the world will total $365 million, an increase of $80 million – 21 percent – over the 2014 amount, and will aid Holocaust victims in 47 countries. The money is used primarily for homecare, the top social welfare priority for these survivors, but is also used for hunger relief, medical care, winter aid, transportation and other vital needs.

The increase stems from Claims Conference negotiations with Germany, where support for homecare has been an urgent priority for more than a decade. With this substantial increase in allocations, the Claims Conference will be able to provide more help for the essential and special needs of Holocaust victims, which continue to increase as they age.

In addition to German government funding, Claims Conference allocations derive from proceeds from recovering Jewish properties in the former East Germany, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Austrian government and the Swiss Banks Settlement.

These allocations are entirely separate from the individual compensation payments also distributed by the Claims Conference to Holocaust victims.