The DOs and DON’Ts of Disaster Donations
Posted on January 15, 2010 at 6:34 am
Do look at a variety of agencies before giving
There are hundreds of agencies that respond to a disaster, take the time to evaluate a few before giving, just because they have name recognition does not mean they’re best able to respond to the disaster. Look for organizations operating in the country before the disaster. They will be better able to respond quicker and know the local culture, politics, and needs better. Giving to local organizations is great, unfortunately they can be difficult to find and may not have a website or if they do it may not be in English. Places to find lists of agencies involved in the recovery efforts include:
InterAction for some US agencies
Reliefweb.int for agencies from many different countries
Aid worker and aid watchdog posts with links to specific organizations
Do look for organizations with prior experience and expertise
There is a great deal of money after well publicized disasters. The ease of raising money makes it tempting to respond even if the organization does not have prior experience in that area. After the tsunami many organizations with no prior experience built boats or houses. I attended one handover ceremony where the boats actually sank during the ceremony because they weren’t properly sealed. There is a steep learning curve when agencies move out of their normal work, this may lead to mistakes and wasted money. Make sure the organization has prior experience in their proposed projects.
Don’t donate to a project just because it’s “sexy”
Recovery projects that are inherently attractive to donors – such as orphanages or boats – are easier to fund but may not be what is most needed. After the tsunami orphanages were built in excess of what was really needed, I had an orphanage approach me looking for orphans to house. Because so much money was given to orphanages in Indonesia some families resorted to abandoning their children at orphanages because they could not feed and clothe them. It would have been far better for the donations to support the family so they could care for their children themselves. Boats were also heavily funded leading to far more boats built than were actually lost and a real concern for over fishing.
Don’t earmark funds
The organization is on the ground and has a far better idea of what is needed the most. Earmarking funds may force the organization to spend money where it’s not needed and keep it from spending money where it’s need the most. After the tsunami in Thailand an organization had money earmarked for two semi’s of rice, by the time they arrived in the area 4 months after the tsunami shipments of rice were no longer needed. Because the money had been earmarked the organization had to contact a number of donors to get permission to use the money in different ways. If you trust the organization allow them to make professional decisions on how to best use your donation, if you don’t trust them then find another organization to donate to.
Don’t evaluate an organization based on the amount spent on administration cost
The amount an organization spends on administration is no indication of its quality. The pressure to keep administration costs low may lead to organizations understaffing their projects so the aid workers don’t have the time they need to work closely with aid recipients and government offices, hiring unqualified staff that may not have the skills to do their job, not equipping their staff with the tools and resources to do their job well, or focusing on inherently cheaper programs even if they are not what is most needed. In addition what is recorded as project costs and administration costs are fungible. It’s better to look at last year’s financial audits and previous project evaluations.
Do ensure that the agency is legitimate before giving
After the tsunami there were several fake charities created, in Thailand someone came around to one of the permanent housing area and took photos and then posted them as their own. Donors should verify that the nonprofit is real before giving. Google the exact name – be careful that they haven’t used a name that is almost identical to a well known charity – if the organization has been in operation for a while there should be other links to conferences their staff have attended, newspaper articles written about them, etc… Donate through the organization’s website to ensure you aren’t giving money to someone sending out a sham email.
Don’t expect the funds to be spent immediately
The initial relief phase encompasses search and rescue, initial medical care, food, water and shelter. After that the much longer recovery and reconstruction phase begins. Organizations that feel pressure from donors to complete their work quickly may try to speed their work by cutting corners, leave aid recipients out of the decision making process, avoiding coordinating with other organizations, or end projects before they’re able to survive on their own. In Thailand there were numerous instances of houses being built before the land title was clear causing them to go into litigation with some families being at risk of loosing their houses a few years later. Allow the organizations adequate time to ensure they are providing help in the best way possible.
Do consider holding off some of your donations until later in the rebuilding process
Immediately after a disaster is prime fundraising time for nonprofits, appeals are issued before there’s any clear idea of what is needed or how much they can actually help. If an organization receives more money than it can use for the type of assistance it provides it has one of four options. It can divert the excess funds to other programs in other countries, it can provide assistance in excess of what is needed, it can move out of its area of expertise and do other projects it’s not as skilled it, it can subcontract other agencies to work in other areas. Rebuilding after a disaster takes years, waiting a few weeks or months before donating everything you plan to give will allow you to make additional funding decisions once the situation on the ground is clearer.
Don’t take up a collection of goods to send over
After the tsunami tons of used clothing were donated, much of it inappropriate to the climate and culture. There were winder hats, coats and gloves donated to southern Thailand and mountains of donated clothing dumped beside the road in India. Donated goods can also clog ports preventing more immediate relief items from getting through. Ports can only hold and process so many goods and often the port authorities have difficulty sorting through everything arriving to get it processed and out the doors. Please do not take up collections of medicine, clothing, baby formula, or food for shipment, or show up on your own to hand out money or goods. Although well intentioned, this can actually make the situation worse as it adds to the confusion, diverts resources, and may lead to aid dependency.
Don’t go over individually to volunteer
Many people want to be able to volunteer to help in the recovery efforts in Haiti, however unless you have a specific skill, and speak the language there is often very little the individual can contribute that local people could not do, and perhaps get paid to do. Even if you have a specialized trade such as a doctor or an architect your credentials may not be recognized in that country. In addition you will likely not find an international charity able to take you on for liability reasons and the fact that you don’t have prior disaster experience and training. Small local organizations may be willing to risk using volunteers, but their need is for website developers, grant writers, and other office jobs. Your chances of working in the villages are small unless you speak the language and understand the culture.
— Haiti specific information —
from @Kiwanja – Help is needed @ushahidi to process and log incoming SMS reports. Can be done from anywhere online. http://bit.ly/6vIACU
From Alanna Shaikh in her guest post on AidWatch – “If you are a nurse or physician, especially with experience in trauma, and you want to volunteer, email Partners in Health – volunteer@pih.org – and offer your services. Or submit your details to International Medical Corps.
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Do consider donating an equal amount of money to disaster preparedness programs.
Programs that help communities prepare for and respond to disasters save more lives and are more cost effective than large rescue operations after the disaster. This becomes even more important with the increasing rate of natural disasters. After each disaster the first people to respond are always neighbors, friends, family, and local disaster response teams. Consider donating to organizations in other countries – or even your own home town – that help communities prepare for and respond to future disasters.
Don’t support any adoptions or evacuations of orphans
After each disaster there are attempts to adopt or evacuate orphans. However many of these “orphans” have parents or other living relatives desperate to care for them. Priority should be placed on efforts to reunite children with their relatives. Evacuating the orphans from the country or putting them up for adoption may forever separate them from their family.
Don’t assume there is a body overseeing and regulating the aid
Most people assume that some entity, probably the UN, oversees international aid to ensure that it’s well done and getting where it is most needed. In reality the UN has no direct control over nonprofits, making it difficult to coordinate the relief efforts and ensure all the aid provided is appropriate an well done. Two attempts to create a regulatory body, once under the UN and once under the League of Nations that proceeded the UN, have failed. Without this it is up to the government to monitor and control the flood of assistance into their country. This can be impossible for many local governments after a disaster. The best way to stop ineffectual or bad aid is to only donate to organizations that you are certain are competent and skilled at their work.
Do take the time to make informed decisions
Take the time to understand the situation and make educated donor decisions. There are many resources here to help you do that. Your decision as to which nonprofits receive your donations has an impact on the relief, recovery, and reconstruction.
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Posts linked to in this blog:
How do you know if an organization deserves your donation
If this were your child – Haiti orphans
Does funding orphanages create orphans?
Don’t choose a charity to donate to for Haiti based on administration costs
6 questions you should ask before sending donated goods overseas
Four reasons to NOT donate baby formula overseas
Donating medicine to Haiti
Sexy projects are easier to fund
Does funding orphanages create orphans?
Guideline #2 for volunteering overseas
Guideline #4 for volunteering overseas
Well intentioned efforts to help after a disaster may make a confusing situation worse
Best practices often lose out to quick and cheap programs that please donors
Would you hire a doctor or a contractor whose work was never evaluated?
It’s time to quit telling pretty stories and start really evaluating the impact of aid
Charity ratings based on administration costs can do more harm than good
Bad donor advice perpetuates bad aid practices
The number of natural disasters is on the rise
Post linking to other resources and information on the Haiti recovery efforts:
Posts and articles written by aid workers related to Haiti recovery efforts
Lessons learned from past disasters
« Lessons learned from past disaster responses and other information useful for the Haiti earthquake • 6 questions you should ask before donating goods overseas »
Excellent tips! We’ve a link to this on our list of “Giving Smarter to Aid Victims of Disaster” on our site.
Excellent! Thank you.
Terrific post, thank you for the information that I’m passing along! Even working for a nonprofit, I still had some misconceptions on disaster giving, so this was very helpful.
Very good points. I might suggest a similar discussion from a marketing point of view at blog.grace-npc.com that has been looking at effectiveness and transparency of groups in Haiti.
For what its worth…
http://bit.ly/6dTDOV
What a great post. This is a real eye opener to me. I studied at the University of Concepcion 40 years ago(!), and my first reaction was where do I write a check. My philanthropy will wait until things settle down, and I’ll contact the University directly to see if they want some help, or when Chile informs the public where they want support to go.
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