Why your donation matters
When a disaster strikes, goodwill arrives fast. How much it achieves depends on whether it reaches people in a form they can use. This page sets out, with sources, why giving to disaster relief matters, what funds make possible, and how to give well.
AFDR is a new organisation. The evidence below describes the wider sector, where timely donations often have a significant effect on successful outcomes of relief and rescue efforts.
The need is larger than the funding
These figures cover all humanitarian crises, not only natural disasters
The UN’s 2026 Global Humanitarian Overview estimated that 239 million people needed humanitarian help at the end of 2025. It aims to reach 135 million people at a cost of US$33 billion, and to prioritise 87 million atUS$23 billion.1
The 2025 appeal received US$12 billion, the lowest in a decade, and aid agencies reached 25 million fewer people than in 2024.2
The UN says the whole appeal could be met if the world’s top 10 per cent of earners, those making US$100,000 or more, gave about 20 cents a day.3
A$38B
A$73B
average yearly cost of natural disasters to Australia, projected to rise by 2060.4
Closer to home, Deloitte Access Economics estimated in 2021 that natural disasters cost Australia about A$38 billion a year on average. It projected at least A$73 billion a year by 2060, even under a low-emissions scenario, with two-thirds of the costs falling in Queensland and NSW.4
Why money usually helps more than goods
Research by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies found that donated goods can cause congestion, tie up resources and hurt local economies. The World Food Programme and UNHCR report that people affected by disasters tend to prefer cash for the dignity, control and flexibility it gives them.5
An Australian Red Cross report found that shipping and processing goods costs far more than buying them locally, while cash is fast and flexible.6
Charities can buy supplies in bulk, close to the source.7
If you would like to give goods, an agency like GIVIT matches donors with specific requests, and community-run drives can work well because locals know what they need.7
Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires
A$17.5M
worth of goods donated
A$8M+
to store, sort and transport them
3,400
pallets holding over a million items
10+
months in a warehouse
After Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires, about A$17.5 million worth of goods were donated, and storing, sorting and transporting them cost more than A$8 million. More than a million items sat on 3,400 pallets in a warehouse for over ten months.8
What's made possible by funds
A donation doesn't buy a rescue. It funds the people and organisations who organise one.
Pooled funds such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund show how this works:
Speed
< 72h
Requests can be approved within 24 hours and disbursed in under 72 hours, going directly to local societies in 191 countries and territories.9
Essentials
Funds have supplied shelter tool kits, household kits, water purification tablets and unconditional cash transfers so households can buy what they need.10
Acting before impact
Flexibility
Needs change fast, and cash lets responders shift purchases and programmes as the situation evolves.13
Low overheads
≤ 5%
The fund’s operating costs are capped at a maximum of five per cent of annual allocations.14
$1
$6
Every dollar spent on preparedness saves at least six.
Recovery takes years
Full recovery is typically measured in years, and giving is still needed well after an event. Research cited by George Mason University suggests every dollar spent on preparedness saves at least six.13
AFDR was set up to support both stages: relief during a disaster, and the longer process of helping communities get back on their feet.