Some donors budget a certain amount of their giving each year for the unexpected disaster or opportunity. This is a good practice, particularly for international donors. But planned for or not, we often want to help when an emergency arises, and we hope our contribution will make a difference.
Take a deep breath
A reactive response is often not the best in a time marked by confusion and poor communications. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, it is often impossible, to make any realistic assessment of the destruction or the need. If the disaster occurs in a rural area, it may be days before relief arrives there is time to consider options. Wait until the dust settles and everyone's got a better idea of what's needed where.
Cash or Check not Cans or Clothes
Good intentions are not good enough unless accompanied by intelligent actions. During Hurricane Mitch tons of unneeded clothes and canned food hindered the aid effort. If you want to make a donation for emergency relief, send cash, check, money order or put it on your credit card. It's most efficient for the victims, fast for you and you get a tax deduction (which you don't get for old clothes).
Advocate
Depending on the specific crisis, participating in an advocacy campaign -- sending faxes, emails, letters phone calls and petitions to government officials -- may be more effective than a monetary donation. It is one way that donors, who have limited resources, can contribute long term assistance in the form of international debt relief, or increased aid from public and private sources.
Donor Beware!
Watch out for political agendas operating behind the scenes. The tragedies in Kosovo and East Timor were fraught with political positioning and posturing. Politics also played a major role in organizing the short-term relief operation in Central America, and will inevitably influence the direction of the long term relief effort. So will Big Money, which means even more politics.
A Sustainable Future
Behind every disaster, natural or otherwise, there are structural problems which exacerbate the devastation. Your donation will have a much greater impact if it supports efforts that continue beyond the first weeks of a disaster and address the underlying structures. Most big relief agencies focus their energies on dealing with the immediate problems of short-term food, shelter and disease. Then they move to the next disaster zone. Be on the lookout for projects that have both short term and long range components, projects based in affected communities. When we hear about these kinds of projects relating to a specific crisis, we highlight them on the Special Relief Projects page. Oxfam is one organization which has demonstrated the awareness and the ability to support projects that provide benefits in the long term as well as the short. Also check out some of the other links we have provided.
Other sources that should be listed or comments on the currently listed sources?