[Infographic] When Disaster Strikes: How America Gives

Hurricanes. Earthquakes. Famines. Wars. When disaster strikes, nonprofits are often the first to respond, coming to the aid communities in need. But they can’t do it alone.

Nonprofits that work in disaster and crisis relief have a tough job. They have to be ready at a moment’s notice to help communities survive, rebuild, and thrive in the face of unforeseen events. And, on top of all of this, they have to find ways to fund their mission.

With the help of our friends at Venngage, we dug deep into our data and created this infographic to show you how donors respond when disaster strikes. We hope that nonprofits can use this information to develop effective strategies to educate their donors and fuel these live-saving missions.

The data below shows that the majority of donations related to a single disaster tend to be given within the first few weeks after the event – but the need is often ongoing. The need to educate donors on the long-term need for relief may be the single most important finding in these results.

*Note that at the time we created this infographic, data from donations related to the 2017 hurricanes was not yet available.