In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, countless individuals and communities are grappling with unprecedented challenges. Direct Relief has received an outpouring of generosity to assist those who have been affected and wishes to reaffirm its policy regarding donor-designated contributions, as it has in previous high-profile emergencies.

Direct Relief’s policy regarding designated contributions for Hurricanes Helene and Milton response activities is simple: All contributions designated for “Hurricane Helene” and “Hurricane Milton” will be used directly for relief and recovery efforts related to these crises.

Direct Relief does not use solicitations for disaster relief to raise funds for unrestricted use.

This update outlines Direct Relief’s commitment to transparency in its hurricane response activities and details its efforts to honor donor intent.

Commitment to Transparency and Accountability

Direct Relief is dedicated to ensuring transparency and accountability in all its operations, striving to provide those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton with the necessary aid and resources to recover and rebuild their communities. The organization values the trust placed by donors and is committed to maximizing the impact of every contribution.

To respect donor intentions, Direct Relief’s online donation page requires donors to choose either “Hurricane Helene,” “Hurricane Milton,” or a combined fund for both hurricanes, where donations will be split between the two responses. Donations specifying “Hurricane Helene,” “Hurricane Milton,” or similar notations in the check memo line or accompanying correspondence will be honored as instructions to restrict the gift for the designated response effort.

Designated Donations: Geographies Supported

Donations Designated for “Hurricane Helene”

• Supported Regions: North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and South Carolina.

Donations Designated for “Hurricane Milton”

• Supported Regions: Florida, primarily where Hurricane Milton made landfall and caused significant damage. Assistance may also extend to displaced residents in neighboring states.

Donations Designated for Both “Hurricanes Helene and Milton”

• Supported Regions: All areas affected by both hurricanes, encompassing all the states listed above. Donations made to support both responses will be split evenly between the two efforts, ensuring equitable support to all impacted regions.

How Designated Contributions Are Used

All contributions designated for “Hurricane Helene” and/or “Hurricane Milton” will be used exclusively for relief and recovery efforts related to these specific crises. This commitment includes both programmatic costs and associated expenses directly associated with the relief activities, including:

Deploying Humanitarian Aid and Medical Supplies:

• Urgent Medical Needs: Mobilizing urgently needed medications at no cost to affected communities, including chronic disease medications (e.g., insulin, hypertension medications), vaccines (e.g., tetanus vaccines), and other essential drugs.
• Essential Supplies: Providing field medicine packs for first responder teams and vital items for displaced or sheltered populations.
• Distribution: Securing necessary medications and supplies through donations and procurement, and transporting them to nonprofit healthcare providers, including free and charitable clinics, health centers, public health agencies, and mobile medical teams.
• Financial Assistance: Offering direct financial support to bolster on-the-ground operations.
• Emergency Grants: Providing emergency operating grants to offset cost burdens for grassroots organizations serving core functions.
• Infrastructure Rebuilding: Supporting the rebuilding and reinforcement of damaged infrastructure in affected communities.
• Data and Analytics Infrastructure and Information Management: Conducting assessment, analysis, reporting, and dissemination of crucial situational information to ensure an effective and coordinated response.
• Associated Expenses: Direct Relief Activities: Covering costs directly related to the relief efforts, such as credit-card processing fees, accounting fees, postage for issuing receipts, banking fees for wire transfers, warehousing and packaging of medical materials, and IT support necessary for relief operations
• Note: No funds designated for these hurricanes will be used for Direct Relief’s fundraising activities, which are covered by generous bequests.

Accounting for Restricted Donations

Direct Relief establishes internal funds for all designated contributions to ensure that donor intentions are honored. All expenditures related to Hurricanes Helene and Milton are meticulously recorded for both internal management and external reporting purposes.

Importance of Unrestricted Support

While designated contributions are vital for specific relief efforts, general unrestricted financial support is essential for Direct Relief to fulfill its broader humanitarian mission. Unrestricted funds enable the organization to respond rapidly and effectively to emergencies, providing assistance to people in various situations that may not receive widespread attention.

Honoring Donor Intent

Direct Relief is obligated to—and will always—honor the intent of a donor-designated financial contribution, including, obviously, in this instance with regard to contributions designated for Hurricanes Helene and Milton. If a donor makes a clearly restricted gift for a purpose or with a restriction that Direct Relief is not able to fulfill or comply with, the organization will advise the donor of this situation and inquire if other uses may be permitted. If a donor’s intent cannot be met, Direct Relief will offer to direct the gift to another nonprofit able to fulfill the donor’s intent or return the gift.