Disasters — both natural and manmade — are more frequent and deadly. More people are dying in conflict zones, climate crises are more widespread and severe, and economic crises and disease outbreaks mean the most vulnerable people are often experiencing multiple disasters at once.[1] Here is how philanthropy can help:
When disaster strikes, give cash, not goods
The early days of responding to a disaster are often chaotic. There isn’t time to sort through donations, which take up space or likely go to waste. Needs also change fast. Cash donations allow organizations responding to the disaster to shift purchases and programming as the situation evolves.
Relief organizations find that direct cash transfers can be one of the most effective ways to help survivors. Direct cash transfers can be cheaper to administer, reach more people, and allow for more flexible and responsive help. In 2023, the World Food Programme transferred $2.9 billion in cash-based transfers and commodity vouchers (which are redeemed for specific items) in 76 countries in 2023, reaching 51.6 million people.[2]
If you want to give something more tangible, consult NeedsList, which matches the specific needs of NGOs and disaster victims to donors and local suppliers of needed goods. Purchasing needed goods from local suppliers avoids shipping costs and supports the local economy, in addition to helping victims.
For immediate relief, consider both small, local nonprofits/NGOs and larger international groups
Effective disaster response requires both types of organizations, each playing a critical role. Local organizations in disaster-affected areas can often determine more quickly what their communities need most to recover. For example, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, local organizations like People in Need Ukraine and Razom for Ukraine worked to provide food, shelter, and medical assistance to vulnerable people in Ukraine and those seeking refuge across borders.
But when a disaster strikes, the sheer volume of organizations on the ground trying to help can make it very difficult to provide effective and efficient aid to those who need it most. That’s when large national and multinational organizations play a role.
For example, Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid nonprofit, coordinates with local, national, and international responders to avoid duplications of efforts, remove logistical bottlenecks, and ensure the efficient use of resources.
International Medical Corps (IMC) provides mobile medical teams and house-to-house visits and trains local community members, including health staff, social service specialists, and police officers, on topics spanning health and hygiene awareness, self-care, and positive coping strategies. IMC provided immediate medical services following the devastation of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas through mobile medical teams and house-to-house visits to ensure access to health and clean water. IMC trained more than 130 local community members, including health staff, social service specialists and police officers, on Grand Bahama.
Many large global organizations for poverty relief also respond to disasters. CARE, an international humanitarian agency, has emergency response experts in 95 countries. Save the Children, an international organization for vulnerable children, operates first-response teams in crisis zones like Gaza and Sudan. Oxfam, a global anti-poverty organization, organizes crisis response to provide affected people with clean water, food, shelter, blankets, and psychological support.
Look beyond immediate relief to recovery, rebuilding, mitigation, and prevention
Effective disaster response involves four stages of disaster relief. While donor attention is highest when a disaster first hits the headlines, the effects of a disaster can last years, if not a generation or more.
Donating to a pooled fund — which gathers donations when disaster first strikes (when attention is greatest) but disburses grants to individual nonprofits over a longer period — is one way to support recovery and rebuilding efforts. Examples include several funds run by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and Global Giving. Global Giving established its Hope in Crisis Fund to support communities whose needs have faded from the headlines or were never covered by mainstream media. Donors can also consider setting aside funds to make multi-year gifts to organizations that are engaged in longer-term recovery efforts.
Networks of organizations that communicate and coordinate before disaster hits can help mitigate a disaster’s harm. In the United States, the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) is an association of organizations involved in the mitigation and alleviation of disasters. NVOAD works to improve the delivery of services to disaster-affected communities by providing a forum that promotes cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration. Members include the American Red Cross, Americares, Direct Relief, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity, among others.
Improve accountability
Philanthropy and nonprofits alone do not have the scale to address all the needs brought on by a disaster. Keeping track of the many organizations involved and their effectiveness is challenging, especially since the chaos of disasters can invite corruption or misuse of both donor and government funds.
Immediately following disasters, it can be difficult for those affected to directly engage with the government and other aid organizations attempting to help them. To address this problem, Accountability Lab partners with local NGOs around the world to promote greater accountability and responsiveness of government and other institutions. After the Nepal earthquake, for example, Accountability Lab partners set up citizen “help desks” to coordinate relief efforts and serve as a conduit for on-the-ground information about what was and was not working.
The Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) has various reports investigating the effectiveness of agencies operating in a range of locations, including Haiti, Nepal, and New York. DAP also offers resources such as the Disaster Policy Wiki, which has more than 1,000 post-disaster relief policy recommendations to improve management systems.
In 2017, DAP launched SmartResponse.org, a platform designed to help donors make more informed decisions about their disaster relief aid while increasing organization transparency by requiring organizations to share data to be included on the “how to help” lists SmartResponse provides donors.
Vulnerable communities are more severely and repeatedly affected
Communities with fewer resources are more vulnerable and less resilient in the face of repeated crises, and many face interlinked and overlapping disasters — a perpetual or poly-crisis. For example, in September 2023, when Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico, it caused additional damage to an already vulnerable island that was still recovering from damage caused 5 years ago by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.[4]
On average, more than three times as many people died per disaster in low-income countries (332 deaths) than in high-income nations (105 deaths).[5] Taken together, higher-income countries experienced 56% of disasters but lost 32% of lives, while lower-income countries experienced 44% of disasters but suffered 68% of deaths.[6]