NEF is an operational non-governmental organization with projects in Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, the West Bank, Senegal, Sudan, and Syria.

NEF's partners include local and international non-governmental organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, financial institutions, and government ministries.

[citation needed] The earlier organizations began in response to Ambassador Henry Morgenthau Sr.'s 1915 reports of governmental atrocities against Ottoman Armenians.

Former missionary and educator James Levi Barton and philanthropist Cleveland Hoadley Dodge led a group of prominent New Yorkers in forming the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, each with personal connections to the Near East.

The campaign combined striking imagery, passionate celebrity spokespeople, and captivating stories from the field to inspire Americans from all economic backgrounds to become citizen philanthropists.

The "Golden Rule Sunday" as it became known, encouraged people to eat something simple—namely staple menus typically served in orphanages—and offer the money they saved as a donation to the orphans of the Armenian Genocide.

President Calvin Coolidge urged the American people to express a spirit of sacrifice and generosity on December 2, 1923, as part of the larger philanthropic effort.

The relief effort that launched the organization in 1915 was the first broad national appeal of its kind to solicit funds from the American public, and it was unique in its use of media outlets and support from celebrity spokespeople and citizen volunteers alike.

At Syracuse University, NEF engages faculty and students in its international development work through strategic partnerships with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the S.I.