Humanitarian Assistance

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Wars and conflict, catastrophes caused by climate change, natural disasters, pandemics — the world seems beset by simultaneous, and often intertwined, crises that have devastating effects on people’s lives. The need for humanitarian assistance is vast and ever present, and many donors respond to crises with giving that can not only address immediate needs but also take on larger endemic challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, the hugely damaging earthquakes in Turkey, and the war in Ukraine are just some of the recent crises that have prompted donors large and small to support impacted people around the world. 

The United Nations reports there is a large gap between humanitarian spending and humanitarian needs. The vast majority of humanitarian aid comes from governments, moving through U.N. agencies and large NGOs. But private philanthropy plays an important, if smaller, role in this space. Private funders have more flexibility than governments, and can resource new thinking, as well as initiatives for communities or actions that governments, due to political obstacles, cannot fund. Philanthropy can fill gaps, move resources to underserved areas, and maybe even help transform the sector. 

Strategies for Impact

The U.N.’s Global Humanitarian Overview provides an annual assessment of humanitarian needs and the resources to respond to them. Nonprofits are engaged in a range of efforts relating to humanitarian assistance. Aid and relief efforts are often focused on food, shelter, non-food items such as clothing or hygiene products, and water/sanitation. All of this work is important and benefits from donor support. Below, we discuss several areas where donors might focus their funding and spotlight several organizations in each that represent the kind of nonprofits that donors might consider supporting.    

  • Shift from relief to transformational change. The history of global humanitarian philanthropy is rooted in a colonial framework of charity. Today, some in the sector are working to transform the traditional aid model into one that centers the experience and knowledge of impacted communities and that aims for racial, gender, economic, social and climate justice. An important piece of this is shifting power to local communities and moving resources to locally led response and recovery. Major INGOs like Oxfam are trying to make this shift. You can support a more just, equitable approach to humanitarian assistance by giving through intermediaries that are committed to this transformation or by directly resourcing locally led organizations such as the Alliance for International Medical Action in Dakar. Increasingly, when a disaster occurs, social-justice-minded intermediaries will identify local organizations to support as alternatives to the big international groups. As a donor, you can keep an eye out for these opportunities to give to locally led organizations during a crisis. 

  • Give special attention to women and girls. When conflict and disasters strike, women and girls are disproportionately impacted and experience gender-specific harms. American Jewish World Service is one humanitarian aid organization that knows addressing gender inequality is integral to disaster response. The Global Fund for Women and Mama Cash are women’s funds that give for crisis response as one part of broader grantmaking strategies for gender equality and gender justice. 

  • Address overlapping systems of oppression. Wars and disasters tend to affect everyone in a community, but some groups are impacted differently or are underserved by assistance efforts. Donors can have a greater impact by applying an intersectional lens and intentionally giving to disproportionately impacted or underserved communities. ORAM, for example, supports LGBTQ+ refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. During a crisis, organizations that are already connected with, or led by, underserved communities can help move humanitarian relief funding to those communities.

  • Fund resilience, reconstruction and recovery. More than 90% of foundation giving related to disasters in 2022 went to immediate response and relief, according to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. That means only a small share of funding is going to resilience, reconstruction and recovery — all of which are much needed, and will be for the foreseeable future. To support these ongoing, long-term needs, consider giving multi-year or recurring support to humanitarian nonprofits. Instead of giving only in response to a specific crisis, you can make a standing commitment to support a humanitarian nonprofit (or several), year-round, year after year. 

Insights and Advice 

In considering which impact strategies to support, donors should take into account their personal interests and outlook to find the best fit. Keep an eye out for emerging opportunities to give with maximum impact. Here, we offer a few insights and suggestions:

  • Don’t go it alone. U.S.-based affiliates and intermediaries can make it much easier for U.S. donors to give globally for something as complex and challenging as humanitarian assistance. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Oxfam, International Rescue Committee, Direct Relief, CARE, and the Global Fund for Women are some of the many international humanitarian organizations that can move your resources where they are needed in times of disaster. Locally, many community foundations are becoming active with disaster relief. They know the local organizations and needs, and can often move funds to impacted communities much faster than organizations and funders helicoptering in from afar. 

  • Provide general operating support. Unrestricted funding is critical to enabling organizations on the ground to use resources how they are most needed in an emergency and beyond. Unrestricted funding can also support local groups in getting aid to underserved and marginalized populations, and gives them the flexibility to fill gaps and to try new things. In moments of crisis, funds are needed now. Being prepared simply to give, without complicated applications or other requirements, lets you move resources rapidly when the situation calls for it.  

  • Give with equity in mind. Every nation in the world has inequities and injustices related to power imbalances. Donors from other nations may not understand the particular power dynamics of every society where they are trying to send humanitarian assistance or how their funding choices might contribute to existing inequities or conflicts. This is one of the reasons to give in ways that support local leadership and decision-making in how funds are used. Giving unrestricted funds through intermediaries that have relationships with local groups can support them in distributing aid and assistance with equity in mind. Things you might look for in choosing intermediaries include whether local people and organizations participate in decision-making about how resources are used and whether the organization is investing in local leadership. 

  • Fund before the crisis. In today’s world, there is no question that there will be a next crisis. We might not know exactly where, when or what, but crises are coming. Becoming a multi-year or sustaining donor of an international humanitarian organization is a way to help organizations build preparedness and resilience, make long-term plans and grow their capacity to be ready to respond when the next crisis hits. 

For Donors Getting Started

Donors who are new to this space should take the time to learn about the landscape. A good place to start is by reading IP’s State of American Philanthropy Brief on Giving for Global Humanitarian Assistance. 

In addition, peruse recent articles that IP has published about what’s happening in this area of philanthropy. You might also look at interrelated State of American Philanthropy reports such as the reports on Global Health, Global Economic Development and Climate Change and Clean Energy. 

Some funding intermediaries, such as the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, also offer reports and articles to help donors understand the giving landscape. Peace and Security Funders Group, Human Rights Funders Network and International Funders for Indigenous Peoples have resources you may find helpful. 

To find more well-respected local and national nonprofits working in this area, Charity Navigator is a reputable place to search for worthy organizations. In addition, Fidelity Charitable has helpful resources for donors looking to respond to the latest humanitarian crises. 

But the best way to get started giving for global humanitarian assistance is to make some initial gifts, learn from the groups you’re supporting, and connect early with a funding intermediary that can help you learn more about this giving area and increase your giving in a thoughtful way. 

Have suggestions for improving this brief? Please email us at editor@insidephilanthropy.com.