{"id":19525,"date":"2020-01-22T10:39:57","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T15:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.globalgiving.org\/learn\/?p=19525"},"modified":"2022-07-18T15:11:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T19:11:39","slug":"global-giving-australia-wildfires-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalgiving.org\/learn\/global-giving-australia-wildfires-response","title":{"rendered":"How GlobalGiving’s Australia Wildfires Response Is Different"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

I<\/big><\/strong> believe that most people are good, despite what is often emphasized by today\u2019s media. They want to help each other, especially in times of crisis. Similarly, social media is not inherently bad, as some would have you think these days. Just look at how much awareness and generosity was unleashed in response to Hurricane Katrina (nearly 15 years ago!), the devastating earthquake in Haiti (10 years ago!) and the Ice Bucket Challenge (five years ago!). In the last few weeks, we\u2019ve seen that instinct play out in response to the relentless and catastrophic wildfires in Australia. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But a recent New York Times article, \u201cDonations Are Pouring Into Australia. Now What?<\/a>\u201d reminded me of a critical point: Those of us raising funds for disaster response must commit to the highest levels of transparency and continue to educate donors about the common pitfalls of disaster philanthropy<\/a>. Millions in charitable donations have been raised in response to the Australia fires\u2014one Facebook fundraiser for a single state\u2019s fire service amassed more than 1,700 times her goal. Now, as the Times reported, she\u2014or the fire service\u2014must decide how to honor her donors’ intent and whether to distribute the funds to other organizations in need. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Meanwhile, media interest in the wildfire crisis in Australia is already waning, and donations are typically tied to coverage.<\/blockquote><\/p>

A startling 70-80%<\/a> of disaster response funding is aimed at short-term relief, and most of it is given within the first two months of a disaster. While funding dries up or stops altogether, needs persist for years following a disaster as communities strive to rebuild. As the director of GlobalGiving’s Disaster Recovery Team, I\u2019ve seen the same issues surface again and again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Addressing persistent gaps in disaster response<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To address persistent gaps in response, GlobalGiving has been working with our community of global nonprofits to respond to natural and humanitarian crises since 2004. In that time our community has mobilized for more than 400 disasters. We aspire to be the best option for individual and institutional donors who want to give to a partner they can trust to take a thoughtful and strategic approach to disbursing their money. Our team evaluates and supports vetted organizations that are best positioned to address the most critical needs during each <\/em>phase of relief and recovery. We work\u2014around the year, not just in times of crisis\u2014to broaden and deepen our already-unique network of vetted nonprofits in every corner of the globe. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Between funds raised through our own Australia Wildfires Relief Fund<\/a> and a matching grant from Facebook<\/a>, GlobalGiving now has the job of responsibly allocating nearly $3 million of donor-directed contributions.

We feel privileged to be asked to assist the people of Australia at such a challenging time, and we want to be as transparent as possible about what makes our disaster response different.<\/blockquote><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There are various contextual considerations we must take into account to best calibrate our response, cadence, and approach to fund distribution. Through years of experience, we\u2019ve identified several factors that can make this task more complex. This happens when: <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n