Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency

Cash donation

Donations:

Cash is Best We should be proud of how quickly our community responds in the face of natural disasters like the Kauai flooding, and many of us would like to make a donation to help support recovery efforts and comfort those who have lost so much. Still, we should ensure that our donations can do the most good. Cash offers volunteer agencies the most flexibility in obtaining the most-needed resources, needs that may change over time. Many charities specialize in providing relief in disaster areas, yet face significant financial barriers to getting their staff, equipment, and supplies into impacted areas. Your donation helps put experienced disaster responders on the ground, and gives them the tools they need to help survivors recover. Organizations typically prefer cash donations because they allow organizations to: • Purchase food, water, medicines, and equipment from secure and familiar supply chains; • Buy materials locally, which can help rebuild the local economy; • Conserve resources. Money is always necessary and cheap to send, while the cost of shipping material supplies can be high; • Material supplies such as clothing, miscellaneous household items, and mixed or perishable foods require helping agencies to redirect volunteer labor away from providing direct one-on-one assistance to sort, package, transport, warehouse, and distribute items that may not meet the needs of the survivors.