As you know, donations are crucial to the success of our programs because they fund the essential work we are undertaking worldwide. That is just the tip of the iceberg, though! Fundraising does so many more amazing things.

Firstly, it is the most authentic form of advocacy. When you ask your friends and family to support our cause, you send the signal that you trust the organisation and believe in our work. You are also raising awareness about the long-term impact of the disasters. Additionally, you inspire others to take action through volunteering or donating. A quarter of all our volunteers heard about us from other volunteers, which shows how powerful your fundraising posts on social media or messages to a family can be. Last but not least, you are giving back. You are helping us offset some of the costs of hosting volunteers for our programs by raising funds. Because of all of the above-mentioned reasons, volunteer fundraising is vital for the sustainability of running our programs and the entire organisation!

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we rely solely on donations to undertake our stated mission of helping those affected by a natural disaster. Therefore, the single greatest challenge and risk to the organization comes from funding. The nature of our mission requires us to quickly deploy to a location where we often have zero infrastructure and offer services to aid affected communities. This makes for an audacious business model — we are not always able to secure funding for our projects before we can commit to them, and we are often working with the knowledge of a gap in funds.