A:<\/strong> Triggered by heavy rains associated with the monsoon season, severe flooding has inundated parts of northern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The flooding started in late July and August, and it continues to impact these regions.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> The devastation and death toll is staggering. More than 1,400 people have been killed in South Asia due to severe flooding, and more than 40 million people are struggling to rebuild their lives and save their homes, farms, and other belongings since the floods struck in Northern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Recent floods near Mumbai have also displaced thousands of people.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> All donations to this fund will support relief and recovery efforts in affected regions in South Asia. The fund will help first responders meet survivors’ immediate needs, including the provision of shelter, medical care, food, and clean water. Once initial relief work is complete, this fund will transition to support longer-term recovery efforts run by vetted, local organizations.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> GlobalGiving has longstanding relationships with many partners<\/a> who are responding to life-threatening flooding in the region. Our regional partners already have relationships and structures in place in the affected communities.<\/p>\n A: <\/strong>We will support organizations that GlobalGiving has established relationships with in the flood-affected regions. All of these nonprofit organizations have gone through GlobalGiving’s extensive vetting process<\/a>, as well as additional review of their disaster response work, and we trust selected organizations to make the best decisions on the ground. Your donation will support more than a dozen partners in South Asia flood relief; they are listed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> For donors, GlobalGiving provides a way to help quickly and effectively without having to do a lot of research. Donors can support both immediate relief and long-term recovery with donations to the South Asia Flood Relief Fund<\/a>. Every NGO that receives funds must commit to sending reports to donors at least quarterly, and we typically conduct site visits to check on the work being done. Donors can subscribe to receive updates from the NGO and from our site visits, so they can track their money and see what has been accomplished. An NGO itself, GlobalGiving also works to help companies give to the relief projects that are important to donors. Many companies use GlobalGiving to track and match employee donations to disaster relief efforts, amplifying employee impact and driving further support directly where it’s needed. If you are working on South Asia flood relief on behalf of a company or foundation, you may be interested in this summary<\/a> of our disaster response services, as well as our new research<\/a> on disaster philanthropy best practices.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> Generally, we believe local organizations are best positioned to assess and to respond to needs in the long term, so we listen carefully to what local organizations deem to be most critical. Our view is that locally run organizations can nimbly and effectively provide for immediate and ongoing community needs. Getting funds to them benefits communities directly and quickly. You can learn more about our approach in this NPR article<\/a> and this article<\/a> on our website.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> Immediately after a disaster, we submit reports every few weeks describing the efforts that are being supported through the fund, detailing which organizations are receiving funds. As time goes on, we’ll share specific stories, photos, and videos from the efforts. <\/p>\n A:<\/strong> We’ll make disbursements from the fund as soon as possible, which means your donation could be on the ground in a bank account in 7 days or less. (This is rare for most organizations that aggregate funds as we do!) As the work turns into a long-term recovery effort, we’ll disburse funds on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> GlobalGiving is a top-rated (4-star) charity on Charity Navigator<\/a>. We are also accredited by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance<\/a>. If at any time you’re not happy with how your funds have been used, we also offer the GlobalGiving Guarantee<\/a>.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> Thank you very much for your desire to give what you have in order to help survivors in South Asia. GlobalGiving does not have the capacity to collect in-kind donations on behalf of our nonprofit partners. Along with the Center for International Disaster Information<\/a>, we recommend that individuals give cash, rather than in-kind donations, after disasters. Through cash contributions, relief organizations can do more good for more people, with greater speed and sensitivity than with unrequested material donations. Cash donations provide medical and other life-saving services now, and rebuild infrastructure later. This interesting infographic<\/a> helps explain why sending material goods, despite the good intentions, can be costly and sometimes harmful. If you are with a company looking to donate in-kind supplies in bulk, visit Good360.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n A: There has been relatively little mainstream news coverage of the South Asia floods. Please recommend GlobalGiving’s South Asia Flood Relief Fund to your friends and family as a safe and easy way to help survivors who need shelter, clean water, and other basic necessities as they struggle to rebuild after the floods. You can easily share our posts and tweets below from your Facebook or Twitter accounts: <\/p>\nQ: How are the floods impacting people in affected regions?<\/h4>\n
Q: Where does the money from GlobalGiving\u2019s South Asia Flood Relief Fund<\/a> go?<\/h4>\n
Q: What’s GlobalGiving’s history in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh?<\/h4>\n
Q: How do you choose which nonprofits to support through the fund?<\/h4>\n
Q: Why do donors turn to GlobalGiving after natural disasters?<\/h4>\n
Q: GlobalGiving has a locally driven approach to disaster recovery. Why?<\/h4>\n
Q: How will you keep me updated about how my donation is used?<\/h4>\n
Q: How long will it take for my money to get to survivors?<\/h4>\n
Q: How do I know I can trust my donation to GlobalGiving?<\/h4>\n
Q: Can I donate goods, such as bottled water or medical supplies, through GlobalGiving to support relief efforts?<\/h4>\n
Q: How can I spread the word about the South Asia Flood Relief Fund?<\/h4>\n