Making Disaster Relief and Response Part of Your CSR Strategy

Leverage your company’s CSR technology to execute sustainable and scalable disaster relief and response initiatives. The need for support is ever rising and you need not look farther than your employees and community for those willing to take action.

Across the globe, devastating, heart-wrenching disasters seem to be around every corner. In Afghanistan, tens of thousands of people are attempting to flee the country as the Taliban takes control. In Europe, wildfires rage from Turkey and Greece to Portugal and France leaving several dead and thousands of scorched acres. In Haiti, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake has left thousands of buildings destroyed and tens of thousands dead, injured, or missing. Here in the United States hurricane season is in full swing and the effects are being felt from coast to coast.

In response to these crises, local and global organizations are collaborating to provide relief to those who have been directly affected. For Afghan refugees, nonprofit organizations are working to provide food, water, and shelter to those still in Afghanistan and taking refuge elsewhere. In response to the European wildfires, charitable organizations are collecting funds to support victims and save displaced animals. In Haiti, global organizations have responded by distributing medical supplies and staff, hygiene kits, blankets, and shelter repair items. In response to Hurricane Ida, local and national organizations are working to distribute meals, non-perishable items, water, and generators. 

As the world watches these devastating disasters unfold and grapples with what to do next, how do you plan to respond? For immediate action, offering employees the option for credit card donations to either a specific set of nonprofits or let them choose to create a flexible way to give and expedite contributions. Next, think about how you can leverage the resources you already have by adding a match or extending programs. For maximum impact, ensure you are communicating with employees so they are aware of how they can participate. But don't stop there! Spread the word to your extended community and local nonprofit partners to see how you can collaborate for a more effective and impactful response.

Top ways to communicate and connect with employees to get them involved: 

• Personal Giving: Consider adopting or expanding personal giving programs. Credit card donations can facilitate giving and the option to remove Nonprofit matching gift approvals is available.
• Engage Your Extended Community: Utilize Points of Giving programs to encourage employees, consumers, and community members to connect and participate in your disaster relief programs. 
• Partner NPOs: Consider partnering with vetted NPO’s and reassess in-kind giving to see if organizations need something different that you can offer. 
• Matching Programs:  Employ a dollar-for-dollar matching program for employee donations to achieve maximum social impact and help more people affected by the crises. 

CSR software offers a powerful opportunity for companies to ban together, respond to urgent needs, and drive social change. A small contribution from everyone on your team can make a big difference to someone who has been displaced, has lost their home, or is suffering from medical issues. To make the most of your team’s giving resources, it’s easiest to have a platform in which team members can contribute uniformly. 

Additional resources for engaging employees in your disaster relief initiatives: 

• Making Disaster Relief Part of Your CSR Strategy
• Keeping Remote Workers Emotionally Invested
• The Power of Employee Giving and Volunteering

Pro tip: When a crisis hits, feature partner NPOs on your CSR platform who need support, donations, or supplies to encourage employees to participate in your disaster relief efforts.  

Impact Makers in Action:    

3M Co, which produces bandages and other products used in skin and wound care, is working with relief agencies to provide medical kits to those injured or wounded by the earthquake.