FAQ s

To add a new question go to app settAll donations to this fund will support coronavirus relief and recovery efforts. The fund will help initially focus on meeting affected communities immediate needs, including the provision of healthcare and supplies. Once initial relief work is complete, this fund will transition to support longer-term recovery efforts run by vetted local organizations, including education initiatives, that will make communities more resilient to future outbreaks.

Our Organisation has longstanding relationships with nonprofits in affected areas. Our partners such as The United Nations (UN) provide a range of services in areas such as crisis response, healthcare, education, and economic development. ECOWAS RELIEF FUND leverages its existing partnerships to provide relief to those in need such as the ongoing GRANT.

Here's how disaster recovery at ECOWAS RELIEF FUNDS works: Our Organisation community is made up of large and small nonprofits from 170+ countries. When disasters and crises strike such as the Covid-19 Pandemic, we are committed to connecting donors to vetted organizations that are immediately responding to needs in the impacted communities. We often support international or regional first responders in the initial stages of relief. However, we believe local, community-led organizations are best positioned to assess and respond to needs in the medium- and long-term, so we listen carefully to what these local leaders deem most critical. Our view is that community-led organizations possess critical knowledge about their communities and can nimbly and effectively navigate unique dynamics in their region. Getting funds to them benefits communities directly, quickly, and with longer-term impact.

For donors, ECOWAS RELIEF FUND.Org provides a trusted way to help quickly and effectively without having to do a lot of research. Donors such the United Nations (UN) can support both immediate relief and long-term recovery with donations to our relief fund. Every nonprofit that receives funds must commit to sending reports regularly, and we typically conduct site visits to check on the work being done. Donors will receive updates on progress reported by GlobalGiving’s nonprofit partners.

Our Organisayion helps companies give to relief and recovery projects that are important to employees, customers, or other stakeholders. Many companies use ECOWAS RELIEF FUND to track and match employee donations to disaster relief efforts, amplifying employee impact and driving further support directly where it's needed. We also facilitate grants to specific organizations and manage ongoing disaster grant programs for companies and foundations to mention afew.

Depending upon the scale of the disaster we will provide updates within weeks of a significant disaster, and at a minimum quarterly, to donors who provide email addresses. These updates include information showing the efforts supported through the fund, including the names of the organizations that are receiving funds. As time goes on, we'll share specific stories, photos, and videos from these relief and recovery efforts.

We'll make disbursements from the Coronavirus Relief Fund as soon as possible, which means your donation could be on the ground within a week or less. (This is rare for most organizations that aggregate funds as we do!) Our commitment to local nonprofits and medium and long-term recovery means we are deliberate about how we disburse donations. For relief Funds that raise less than $1 million, our goal is to disburse all contributions within 12 months. For larger disasters, we commit to disbursing at least 50% of Fund balances raised within the first year, with additional contributions to be directed to support priority needs and vulnerable communities in years two and three. All donations to Funds will be disbursed within 36 months.

We appreciate your desire to give what you have in order to help people in need. GlobalGiving does not have the capacity to collect in-kind donations on behalf of our nonprofit partners. Based on the research of the Center for International Disaster Information, we recommend that individuals give cash and not in-kind donations after disasters. Through cash contributions, relief organizations can do more good for more people, with greater speed and sensitivity to emerging needs than with unrequested material donations. Cash donations help provide medical and other life-saving aid now, and rebuild critical infrastructure later. This infographic explains why sending material goods, despite the good intentions, can be costly and sometimes create a secondary disaster. If you are with a company looking to donate in-kind supplies in bulk.

No. Urgent Action Fund does not require organizations to have official registration. We understand that in some areas this can put activists and organizations at greater risk. When possible, we send funds to a fiscal sponsor organization.

Yes! Due to the nature of our grantmaking, we also support networks and coalitions that come together for a common and/or urgent cause. Networks or coalitions use a fiscal sponsor to receive grant funds on their behalf.

Urgent Action Fund supports women’s human rights defenders (or WHRDs) throughout the world. This term is used by the United Nations and many international organizations to highlight the work by activists on the ground. The United Nations defines “human rights defenders” as such: “To be a human rights defender, a person can act to address any human right (or rights) on behalf of individuals or groups. Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights as well as the promotion, protection and realization of economic, social and cultural rights.” This distinction of “human rights defender” for activists working on the protection or fulfillment of human rights was given international recognition and protection through the passage of the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly known as the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders). The UN General Assembly adopted this document in December 1998 after 14 years of negotiation. The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD IC) provides further definition for women’s human rights activists: “Those advocating for women’s human rights – no matter what gender or sexual orientation they claim – are in fact human rights defenders. Their gender or the nature of their work has made them the subject of attacks, requiring gender-sensitive mechanisms for their protection and support.”