Why Donations Should Not Be Channeled to Disaster Relief
Things are … not very good right now. Hurricane season shakes the Caribbean, quakes rage in Mexico, the Pacific Northwest is on fire. It is clear that you want to help, and often the best way to help is by donating money to a charity. And it seems like the best thing to do is to allocate funds for the specific emergency you are responding to – after all, this is why you donate. But first, think about this:
Ideally, you donate to an organization you trust , whose work you support, and whose mission you believe in. And there is a chance that they work in more areas than just the latest, most publicized crisis. But they are there too. So let them spend your money where they need it.
If you, for example, go to make a donation on the Médecins sans Frontières website , you won’t even have the opportunity to direct your donation to a specific country or response effort. (You can mail the check or make a limited donation over the phone if you insist.) A sidebar note reads:
For Médecins Sans Frontières, the ability to respond quickly to medical and humanitarian emergencies is critical to saving more lives. Unlimited funds allow us to allocate resources most efficiently and where needed.
And that’s true – hopefully the disaster relief organization is in place before your donation is processed, or they’re even there waiting before a storm or other crisis hits. They should have supplies on hand and trained and helpful volunteers and staff. Unlimited funds help organizations prepare for the next emergency.
Better yet, make a regular donation. Even if it is small, that is, a one-time gift throughout the year, it provides a stable cash flow that allows the organization you support to plan for the future. A future in which there will surely be no major disasters. They can use the leftover funds to bake their first really great thank you cake reponder.