<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML+RDFa 1.0//EN"
  "//www.w3.org/MarkUp/DTD/xhtml-rdfa-1.dtd">
<html lang="en" dir="ltr">
<head profile="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/vocab">
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" />
<meta name="description" content="When disaster strikes, people come together to help. To make the most of your contributions, consider these tips for donating and volunteering responsibly:" />
<meta name="keywords" content="Volunteer &amp; Donate Responsibly, How to donate to a disaster, how can I help a disaster, what can I donate to a disaster" />
<link rel="canonical" href="//www.fema.gov/volunteer-donate-responsibly" />
<link rel="shortlink" href="//www.fema.gov/volunteer-donate-responsibly" />
  <title>Volunteer & Donate Responsibly | FEMA.gov</title>
  <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/css/css_lQaZfjVpwP_oGNqdtWCSpJT1EMqXdMiU84ekLLxQnc4.css" media="all" />
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/css/css__LeQxW73LSYscb1O__H6f-j_jdAzhZBaesGL19KEB6U.css" media="all" />
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/css/css_2xIW1IpUWng78091LzPsPXymxLMidts3lbbb9KZibWE.css" media="all" />
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/css/css_g1h7Nl9-p95WQ-MsLSC6s6f4Ihg9aidwnpywdeKBAqQ.css" media="all" />
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/css/css_rhTT2cJe3AGQVcpQMkV9vPCHt5dstPPxfSK6XrqCM0w.css" media="all" />
<link href='//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:300italic,400italic,600italic,700italic,800italic,400,300,600,700,800&subset=latin,cyrillic-ext,vietnamese,latin-ext,greek-ext,cyrillic' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
  <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
    var ExpandAllSectionsText = "Expand All Sections";
    var CollapseAllSectionsText = "Collapse All Sections";
    var NoResultsFoundText = "";
    var advancedSearchText = "Search for";
    var NavigationPlaceholderText = "Start typing here to filter…";
    var SearchPlaceholderText = "Search anything on fema.gov";
    var closeText = "Close";
    var downloadAppLabel = "Install the FEMA App";
    var inThisSectionLabel = "In this Section";
    var inThisSectionText = "In this Section";
    var AppAuthSubText = "Remember to plug in your PIV/CAC card.";
    var PivH2 = "PIV Card Login";
    //MediaElement variables
    var playButton = "Play.";
    var progressBar = "Progress Bar.";
    var closedCaptionButton = "Closed caption button.";
    var volumeButton = "Volume button.";
    var fullScreenButton = "Fullscreen button.";
  </script>
    <script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_wWN-49HeSQdTnCpbKF_LdRWTyYYELBaj6wZRxFIPt6c.js"></script>
<script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_THcwq4G882w3Eb1HklHrvzGAKa_-1g_0QbuBqjMhaV4.js"></script>
<script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_NpX2cwCeepkWZZ194B6-ViyVBHleaYLOx5R9EWBOMRU.js"></script>
<script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_Js4lOJ0_Am6ebnC0EP-psjO8Yu5gmlcOhu72hrxvi2s.js"></script>
<script>window.CKEDITOR_BASEPATH = '/sites/all/libraries/ckeditor/'</script>
<script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_gPqjYq7fqdMzw8-29XWQIVoDSWTmZCGy9OqaHppNxuQ.js"></script>
<script>(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,"script","//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/googleanalytics/analytics.js?p4bms4","ga");ga("create", "UA-29391347-1", {"cookieDomain":".fema.gov"});ga("set", "anonymizeIp", true);ga("send", "pageview");</script>
<script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_x1Asg_paR91u1arDvF7gS_xR7fthnVj3L414MbNvdNU.js"></script>
<script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_7E18bMLOJVTzOcxdValVlyzHz_k7NhhgkX2FcSMA2HA.js"></script>
<script>jQuery.extend(Drupal.settings, {"basePath":"\/","pathPrefix":"","ajaxPageState":{"theme":"unicorn","theme_token":"CuvBtE49qKvqyJQkyvzZLE7l2e4KOvmJDKtBKUlSGf8","js":{"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/contrib\/extlink_extra\/extlink_extra.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/bootstrap\/js\/bootstrap.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/jquery\/1.9\/jquery.min.js":1,"misc\/jquery.once.js":1,"misc\/drupal.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/ui\/external\/jquery.cookie.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/ui\/ui\/minified\/jquery.ui.core.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/ui\/ui\/minified\/jquery.ui.widget.min.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/contrib\/extlink\/extlink.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/libraries\/colorbox\/jquery.colorbox-min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/colorbox\/js\/colorbox.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/colorbox\/styles\/default\/colorbox_style.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/colorbox\/js\/colorbox_load.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/colorbox\/js\/colorbox_inline.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/custom\/wcm_survey\/js\/wcm_survey.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/custom\/wcm_survey\/js\/json3.min.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/custom\/wcm_survey\/js\/jquery.cookie.js":1,"0":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/google_analytics\/googleanalytics.js":1,"1":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/mediaelement\/build\/mediaelement-and-player.min.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_mediaelement_fixes.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_image_rotator.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/affix.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/alert.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/button.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/carousel.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/collapse.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/dropdown.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/modal.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/tooltip.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/popover.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/scrollspy.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/tab.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/..\/bootstrap\/bootstrap\/js\/transition.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_content_collapse.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_nav_filter.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_site_wide_fixes.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_social_images.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_download_app.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/tablesorter.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_tables.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/stacktable.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_mobile_fixes.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/left_menu_collapse.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/unicorn_is_useful_fixes.js":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/jquery.dataTables.min.js":1},"css":{"modules\/system\/system.base.css":1,"misc\/ui\/jquery.ui.core.css":1,"misc\/ui\/jquery.ui.theme.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/features\/fema_diamond\/fema_diamond.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/date\/date_api\/date.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/date\/date_popup\/themes\/datepicker.1.7.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/date\/date_repeat_field\/date_repeat_field.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/custom\/diamond\/diamond.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/custom\/fema_faq\/css\/fema_faq.css":1,"modules\/field\/theme\/field.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/custom\/wcm_survey\/wcm_survey.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/custom\/workbench_notification\/workbench_notification.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/custom\/diamond\/diamond_medialibrary\/diamond_medialibrary.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/contrib\/extlink\/extlink.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/views\/css\/views.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/colorbox\/styles\/default\/colorbox_style.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/ctools\/css\/ctools.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/modules\/contrib\/extlink_extra\/extlink_extra.508.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/js\/mediaelement\/build\/mediaelementplayer.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/css\/style.css":1,"profiles\/fema_gov\/themes\/unicorn\/css\/jquery.dataTables.min.css":1}},"colorbox":{"opacity":"0.85","current":"{current} of {total}","previous":"\u00ab Prev","next":"Next \u00bb","close":"Close","maxWidth":"98%","maxHeight":"98%","fixed":true,"mobiledetect":true,"mobiledevicewidth":"480px"},"wcmSurvey":{"userPercentage":"25","pageDepth":"4","url":"\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/s\/FEMAgov","force":false,"surveyRetakeTimeout":"90","surveyPopup":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022wcm-survey-popup\u0022 class=\u0022unicorn\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cdiv class=\u0022logo\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cimg alt=\u0022Federal Emergency Management Agency Seal\u0022 src=\u0022\/\/www.fema.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fema_surveypopup.png\u0022\/\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003Cdiv class=\u0022message\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cp\u003EYou have been selected to participate in a brief survey about your experience today with FEMA.gov.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003Cdiv class=\u0022choices\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cspan class=\u0022button yes\u0022\u003E\u003Ca title=\u0022Yes, I\u0027ll give feedback\u0022 href=\u0022\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/s\/FEMAgov\u0022 class=\u0022accept\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 id=\u0022external_link\u0022\u003EYes, I\u0027ll give feedback\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n    \u003Cspan class=\u0022button no\u0022\u003E\u003Ca title=\u0022No Thanks, I do not want to give feedback\u0022 href=\u0022#\u0022 class=\u0022decline\u0022\u003ENo, thanks\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","debugMode":1,"position":"top","offset":"65px","height":"250px","width":"631px","maxHeight":"75%","maxWidth":"75%"},"diamondMedialibrary":{"path":"media-library"},"extlink":{"extTarget":0,"extClass":0,"extLabel":"(link is external)","extImgClass":0,"extSubdomains":1,"extExclude":"(.*\\.gov)|(.*\\.mil)|(\\.addthis.com)|(.*\\.fema.net)|(s3-us-gov-west-1\\.amazonaws\\.com)|(surveymonkey\\.com)","extInclude":"","extCssExclude":"","extCssExplicit":"","extAlert":0,"extAlertText":{"value":"You are now leaving an official website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Links to non-FEMA sites are provided for the visitor\u0027s convenience and do not represent an endorsement by FEMA of any commercial or private issues, products or services. Note that the privacy policy of the linked site may differ from that of FEMA.","format":"untouched_html"},"mailtoClass":0,"mailtoLabel":"(link sends e-mail)"},"extlink_extra":{"extlink_alert_type":"confirm","extlink_alert_timer":"0","extlink_alert_url":"\/now-leaving","extlink_cache_fix":0,"extlink_exclude_warning":"","extlink_508_fix":1,"extlink_508_text":" [external link]","extlink_url_override":0,"extlink_url_params":{"external_url":null,"back_url":null}},"googleanalytics":{"trackOutbound":1,"trackMailto":1,"trackDownload":1,"trackDownloadExtensions":"7z|aac|arc|arj|asf|asx|avi|bin|csv|doc(x|m)?|exe|flv|gif|gz|gzip|hqx|jar|jpe?g|js|mp(2|3|4|e?g)|mov(ie)?|msi|msp|pdf|phps|png|ppt(x|m)?|qtm?|ra(m|r)?|sea|sit|tar|tgz|torrent|txt|wav|wma|wmv|wpd|xls(x|m)?|xml|z|zip","trackColorbox":1,"trackDomainMode":1},"bootstrap":{"anchorsFix":1,"anchorsSmoothScrolling":1,"popoverEnabled":1,"popoverOptions":{"animation":1,"html":0,"placement":"right","selector":"","trigger":"click","title":"","content":"","delay":0,"container":"body"},"tooltipEnabled":1,"tooltipOptions":{"animation":1,"html":0,"placement":"auto left","selector":"","trigger":"hover focus","delay":0,"container":"body"}}});</script>
  <!-- We participate in the US government's analytics program. See the data at analytics.usa.gov. -->
  <script async type="text/javascript" src="https://dap.digitalgov.gov/Universal-Federated-Analytics-Min.js?agency=FEMA" id="_fed_an_ua_tag"></script>
<!--[if lt IE 9]>
	  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/css/ie8.css">
  <![endif]-->
</head>
<body class="html not-front not-logged-in one-sidebar sidebar-first page-node page-node- page-node-53658 node-type-landing i18n-en unicorn" >
<div id="skip-link">
  <a href="#main-content" class="element-invisible element-focusable">Skip to main content</a>
</div>



<!-- this holds the mobile nag in desktop view -->
<div id="dialog-download-app"></div>

<div class="main-container container">
  <div class="dg-bg"></div>
  <div class="block-left">
    <div class="global-nav-wrapper">
      <div class="logo">

                <a class="logo" href="/"><img src="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/img/fema-logo-main.png" alt="US Department of Homeland Security - Federal Emergency Management Agency" lang="en" /></a>
      </div><!-- .logo -->

      <div class="global-nav">

        <!-- Global Navigation -->
        <div type="" class="global-nav-modal" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#navigation" tabindex="0">
          Navigation        </div>

        <div class="modal fade" id="navigation" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="navigationLabel" aria-hidden="true">
          <div class="modal-dialog">
            <div class="modal-content">
              <div class="modal-header">
                <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal">
                  <span aria-hidden="true"><div class="close-icon">&times;</div></span>
                  <div class="close-text">Close</div>
                </button>
                <div class="modal-title" id="navigationLabel">Navigation</div>
                <label for="unicornNavSearchBox">Enter Search Term(s):</label>
                <input placeholder="Start typing here to filter…" id="unicornNavSearchBox" type="text" size="31" />
              </div><!-- .modal-header -->
              <div class="modal-body">
                <div id="navigationItems">
                  <div id="noResults"> </div>
                  <ul id="unicornNavFilter"><li class="first leaf"><a href="/resources-people-disabilities-access-functional-needs" title="">Accessible ASL Videos</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/welcome-assistance-firefighters-grant-program" title="Assistance To Firefighters Grant Program">Assistance To Firefighters Grant Program</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/authorized-equipment-list" title="">Authorized Equipment List</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/state-earthquake-contacts">State Earthquake Contacts</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/blog">Blog</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="https://careers.fema.gov" title="">Careers</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/faith">Center for Faith-Based &amp; Neighborhood Partnerships</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/children-and-disasters">Children and Disasters</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/climate-change">Climate Change</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/community-resilience-indicators">Community Resilience Indicators and National-Level Measures: A Draft Interagency Concept</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/contact-us">Contact Us</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/dam-safety">Dam Safety</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/data-visualization">Data Visualization</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/disability" title="">Disability</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/disasters" title="">Disaster Declarations</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/disaster-emergency-communications">Disaster Emergency Communications</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/disaster-fraud">Disaster Fraud</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/disaster-recovery-centers">Disaster Recovery Centers</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/media-library/resources-documents" title="">Document and Resource Library</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/mitigation-egrants-system-application-process">eGrants Application Process</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/email">Email Updates</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/emergency-management-agencies">Emergency Management Agencies</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="//training.fema.gov/emi" title="">Emergency Management Institute</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/el-nino" title="">El Niño</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/office-environmental-planning-and-historic-preservation">Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Program</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/ned">Exercise</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/fact-sheets">Fact Sheets</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/finance-center">Finance Center</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/national-flood-insurance-program-flood-hazard-mapping">Flood Hazard Mapping</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/national-flood-insurance-program">Flood Insurance</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="//msc.fema.gov/portal/" title="">Flood Map Service Center</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/faq/" title="">Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/grants" title="Grants">Grants</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/grants-management-modernization-program">Grants Management Modernization Program</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/hazard-mitigation-assistance">Hazard Mitigation Assistance</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/hazard-mitigation-planning">Hazard Mitigation Planning</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/hazus">Hazus</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/high-water-mark-initiative">High Water Mark Initiative</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="https://www.fema.gov" title="">Home</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/how-make-payment-fema" title="">How to Make a Payment to FEMA</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/hurricane-harvey">Hurricane Harvey</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/hurricane-irma">Hurricane Irma</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/hurricane-maria">Hurricane Maria</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/incident-management-assistance-teams" title="">Incident  Management Assistance Teams</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/earthquake-publications-training">Training</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/national-flood-insurance-program-community-status-book">The National Flood Insurance Program Community Status Book</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="https://training.fema.gov/is/" title="">Independent Study Program</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/individual-and-community-preparedness-division">Individual and Community Preparedness Division</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/individual-assistance-program-tools">Individual Assistance Program Tools</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/individual-disaster-assistance">Individual Disaster Assistance</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/integrated-public-alert-warning-system">Integrated Public Alert &amp; Warning System</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/mobile-app">Mobile App</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/mississippi-recovery-office" title="">Mississippi Recovery</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/media-library/multimedia/list" title="">Multimedia Library (Photos, Video, and Audio)</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/national-exercise-program">National Exercise Program</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/national-continuity-programs">National Continuity Programs</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/national-disaster-recovery-framework">National Disaster Recovery Framework</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/national-incident-management-system">National Incident Management System</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/national-preparedness">National Preparedness</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/media-contacts">News Desk Contacts</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/news-releases" title="">News Releases</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/official-accounts">Official Accounts</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/openfema">OpenFEMA</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/preliminary-damage-assessment-reports" title="Preliminary Damage Assessments Reports">Preliminary Damage Assessment Reports</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/preparedness-non-disaster-grants">Preparedness (Non-Disaster) Grants</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/private-sector">Private Sector</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/protecting-homes">Protecting Homes</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/appeals" title="">Public Assistance Appeals Database</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit">Public Assistance: Local, State, Tribal and Non-Profit</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/recovery-resources">Recovery Resources</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-i-ct-me-ma-nh-ri-vt">Region I</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-ii-nj-ny-pr-vi-0">Region II</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-iii-dc-de-md-pa-va-wv">Region III</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-iv-al-fl-ga-ky-ms-nc-sc-tn">Region IV</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-v-il-mi-mn-oh-wi">Region V</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-vi-arkansas-louisiana-new-mexico-oklahoma-texas">Region VI</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-vii-ia-ks-mo-ne">Region VII</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-viii-co-mt-nd-sd-ut-wy">Region VIII</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/fema-region-ix-arizona-california-hawaii-nevada-pacific-islands">Region IX</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/region-x-ak-id-or-wa">Region X</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/required-notices">Required Notices</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/reservist-program" title="Reservist Program">Reservist Program</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/safer-stronger-protected-homes-communities">Safer, Stronger, Protected Homes &amp; Communities</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/social-media">Social Media</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/states" title="">States</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/testimony-and-speeches">Testimony &amp; Speeches</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/text-messages">Text Messages</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/fema-tribal-affairs">Tribal</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/unified-federal-environmental-and-historic-preservation-review-presidentially-declared-disasters">Unified Federal Environmental and Historic Preservation Review</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/urban-search-rescue">Urban Search and Rescue</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/us-coast-guard-retiree-fema-reservist-initiative">U.S. Coast Guard Retiree to FEMA Reservist Initiative</a></li>
<li class="collapsed"><a href="/voluntary-faith-based-community-based-organizations">Voluntary, Faith-Based, &amp; Community-Based Organizations</a></li>
<li class="last leaf"><a href="/volunteer-donate-responsibly" class="active">Volunteer &amp; Donate Responsibly</a></li>
</ul>                </div><!-- .navigationItems -->
              </div><!-- .modal-body -->
            </div><!-- .modal-content -->
          </div><!-- .modal-dialog -->
        </div><!-- .modal -->

        <!-- Global Search -->
        <div type="" class="global-search" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#uniSearch" tabindex="0">
          Search        </div>

        <div class="modal fade search-modal" id="uniSearch" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="uniSearchLabel" aria-hidden="true">
          <div class="modal-dialog">
            <div class="modal-content">
              <div class="modal-header">
                <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal">
                  <span aria-hidden="true"><div class="close-icon">&times;</div></span>
                  <div class="close-text">Close</div>
                </button>
                <div class="modal-title" id="uniSearchLabel">Search</div>
              </div><!-- .modal-header -->
              <div class="modal-body">
                <form accept-charset="UTF-8" action="//search.usa.gov/search" id="search_form" method="get">
                  <div style="margin:0;padding:0;display:inline">
                    <input name="utf8" type="hidden" value="&#x2713;" />
                  </div>
                  <input id="affiliate" name="affiliate" type="hidden" value="fema" />
                  <label for="query">Enter Search Term(s):</label>
                  <input placeholder="Search anything on fema.gov" autocomplete="off" class="usagov-search-autocomplete" id="query" name="query" type="text" size="31" />
                  <input class="search-submit" name="commit" type="submit" value="GO" />
                </form>
              </div><!-- .modal-body -->
            </div><!-- .modal-content -->
          </div><!-- .modal-dialog -->
        </div><!-- .modal -->

        <!-- Global Languages -->
        <div type="" class="language-modal" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#language" tabindex="0">
          Languages        </div>

        <div class="modal fade language" id="language" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="navigationLabel" aria-hidden="true">
          <div class="modal-dialog">
            <div class="modal-content">
              <div class="modal-header">
                <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal">
                  <span aria-hidden="true"><div class="close-icon">&times;</div></span>
                  <div class="close-text">Close</div>
                </button>
                <div class="modal-title" id="navigationLabel">Languages</div>
              </div><!-- .modal-header -->
              <div class="modal-body">
                <ul><li><a href="/" lang="en">English</a></li><li><a href="/es" lang="es">Español</a></li><li><a href="/fr" lang="fr">Français</a></li><li><a href="/el" lang="el">Ελληνικά</a></li><li><a href="/ar" lang="ar">العربية</a></li><li><a href="/zh-hans" lang="zh-hans">简体中文</a></li><li><a href="/de" lang="de">Deutsch</a></li><li><a href="/ht" lang="ht">Haitian Creole</a></li><li><a href="/he" lang="he">עברית</a></li><li><a href="/hi" lang="hi">हिन्दी</a></li><li><a href="/it" lang="it">Italiano</a></li><li><a href="/ja" lang="ja">日本語</a></li><li><a href="/ko" lang="ko">한국어</a></li><li><a href="/pl" lang="pl">Polski</a></li><li><a href="/pt-br" lang="pt-br">Português</a></li><li><a href="/ru" lang="ru">Русский</a></li><li><a href="/tl" lang="tl">Tagalog</a></li><li><a href="/th" lang="th">ภาษาไทย</a></li><li><a href="/ur" lang="ur">اردو</a></li><li><a href="/vi" lang="vi">Tiếng Việt</a></li><li><a href="/yi" lang="yi">Yiddish</a></li></ul>              </div><!-- .modal-body -->
            </div><!-- .modal-content -->
          </div><!-- .modal-dialog -->
        </div><!-- .modal -->

      </div><!-- .global-nav -->

      <!-- Left Sidebar (Rendered) -->
      <div class="contextual-nav-desktop"></div>
        <div class="region region-sidebar-first">
    <div class="menu-block-wrapper menu-block-8 menu-name-menu-left-menu parent-mlid-0 menu-level-1">
  <ul><li class="first last leaf active-trail active menu-mlid-36570"><a href="/volunteer-donate-responsibly" class="active-trail active">Volunteer &amp; Donate Responsibly</a></li>
</ul></div>
  </div>

    </div><!-- .global-nav-wrapper-->
  </div><!-- .block-left -->

  <!-- Skip Nav for Main Content -->
  <a id="main-content" name="main-content" href="#" class="element-invisible element-focusable">Main Content</a>
  <div class="block-right">

    <div class="content-wrapper">
      <section>
                                  <h1 class="page-header">Volunteer &amp; Donate Responsibly</h1>
                                                                                                      <div class="region region-content">
    <section id="block-block-5" class="block block-block clearfix">

      
  <script></script>
<style type="text/css">


/* This hides the related links section for disaster/4341 */
body.page-node-317009 div.content > h2, body.page-node-317012 div.content > h2  {
display: none;
}

body.page-taxonomy img.gis_image {
   border: none;
    height: 153px !important;
    margin-right: 0;
    max-width: 100% !important;
    width: 198px !important;
}

div.leadership  {
margin-bottom: 22px;
}

div.leadership div.col-md-9 {
padding-left:0;
margin-left:35px;
}

div.leadership-main div.col-md-2 {
text-align:center;
overflow: hidden;
}

div.headshot-wrapper-big {
width:140px; 
height: 175px; 
text-align:center;
overflow: hidden; 
margin-top: 7px;
}

div.content img.leader-headshot-big {
margin-left: -25px; 
height:175px !important; 
width:175px !important; 
max-width: inherit !important; 
text-align:center;
}

div.headshot-wrapper {
height: 113px; 
width:100px; 
overflow:hidden; 
text-align:center;
}

div.content img.leader-headshot-small {
margin-left:-8px; 
width:115px !important;
height:115px !important;
max-width: inherit !important; 
}

</style>
</section> <!-- /.block -->
<section id="block-system-main" class="block block-system clearfix">

      
  <div id="node-53658" class="node node-landing clearfix">

    
            
    
    <div class="content">
        <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div><p>When disaster strikes, people come together to help. To make the most of your contributions, consider these tips for donating and volunteering responsibly:</p><h2>Overview</h2><ul><li>Financial contributions are the most efficient method of donating. Funds allow the most flexibility in obtaining the needed resources, at the correct time and moves money into the local economy to help businesses recover. Remember, unsolicited donated goods such as used clothing, miscellaneous household items, and mixed or perishable foodstuffs require helping agencies to redirect valuable resources away from providing services to sort, package, transport, warehouse, and distribute items that may not meet the needs of disaster survivors.</li><li>Donate through a trusted organization. At the national level, many voluntary, faith and community based organizations are active during disasters, and are a trusted way to donate to disaster survivors. In addition to the national members, each state has voluntary organizations active in disasters (<a href="http://www.nvoad.org">www.nvoad.org</a>). If you'd like to donate or volunteer to assist those affected by disaster, these organizations are the best place to start.</li><li>Affiliate with existing non-profit organizations before coming to the disaster area. Immediately following a disaster, a community can become easily overwhelmed by the amount of generous people who want to help. Contacting and affiliating with an established organization will help to ensure that you are appropriately trained to respond in the most effective way.</li><li>Do not self-deploy. Wait until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support. Sign up to volunteer, and wait to travel until opportunities have been identified. Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety equipment for the task.</li><li>Be patient. Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often many years, after the disaster - especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period.</li></ul><h2>Volunteer</h2><p>Volunteer with a recognized organization involved in disaster response or recovery.</p><ul><li>Volunteer with a non-profit organization and be trained to find meaningful volunteer opportunities following a disaster.</li><li>There are many organizations and faith-based groups that work nationally and in your community, that have active disaster programs and need volunteers.</li><li>These groups offer a wide range of services following a disaster.  See National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster <a href="http://www.nvoad.org/">www.nvoad.org</a> for more information and to sign up for volunteer opportunities.</li></ul><h2>Donate Cash</h2><p>A financial contribution to a recognized disaster relief organization is the most effective donation to make. When the people support voluntary organizations with financial contributions, it helps ensure a steady flow of important services to the people in need after a disaster.</p><ul><li>Most needed and the most efficient way of helping those impacted by disaster.</li><li>Allow voluntary organizations to fund response and recovery efforts, obtain goods and services locally, and provide direct financial assistance to disaster survivors to meet their own needs.</li><li>Make a financial contribution to the voluntary organization of your choice.</li><li>If you need help in determining who to give to, the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster website <a href="http://www.nvoad.org/">www.nvoad.org</a> has a list of major non-profits active in disaster work.</li></ul><h2>Donate Goods</h2><p>When considering collecting and donating in-kind items, please use the established Emergency Management concept of allowing the responding organizations to ‘pull’ needed items and do not ‘push’ what you think is needed.  Be skeptical when you hear people say ‘everything is needed’ or ‘they need as much as they can get’.</p><ul><li>BEFORE Collecting:  Connect with organizations working in the affected area to identify WHAT is needed, HOW MUCH is needed, and WHEN it is needed.  The right items, in the correct amounts, at the right time.</li><li>BEFORE Collecting:  Identify transportation to move the items from where they are to where they are needed.</li><li>BEFORE Collecting:  Identify who will take possession of the items and how they will be used or distributed.</li><li>Used clothing is never needed in a disaster area.  Donate used clothing locally to an organization that has a year round mission with used clothing.  Or sell used clothing at a yard sale and donate the money raised to a responding organization.</li><li>Unsolicited, unorganized donated goods such as used clothing, miscellaneous household items, and mixed or perishable foodstuffs require helping agencies to redirect valuable resources away from providing services to sort, package, warehouse, transport, and distribute items that may not meet the needs of disaster survivors.</li><li>If you have a quantity of a given item or class of item to donate, and you need help in determining which organizations might need it, you can post your offer on <a href="http://www.nvoad.org/">www.NVOAD.org</a> where the VOAD members can view and connect with you if needed.</li></ul></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-updated-date field-type-entity-property-field field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Last Updated:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">10/03/2017 - 16:21</div></div></div>    </div>

    
    

</div>


</section> <!-- /.block -->
  </div>
        <div class="contextual-nav-mobile"></div>
        <footer class="content-footer">
          <a href="#footer-bottom" id="skipNavLink" class="element-invisible element-focusable">Skip footer content.</a>
          <div class="clear"></div>
            <div class="region region-footer">
    <section id="block-unicorn-social-links-unicorn-social-links" class="block block-unicorn-social-links clearfix">

      
  <div class="socialImagesDiv">
        <a id="showThisPageSpan" href="#"><span class="icon-show"><img src="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/img/social/icon_share.png"  alt="Click to expand and share this page on social networks"></span><span id="showText">Share This Page.</span></a>
        <div class="social-images">
        <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=UNIURL" target="_blank"><img src="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/img/social/icon_facebook.png" alt="Facebook Icon"></a>
        <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Volunteer+%26amp%3B+Donate+Responsibly&url=UNIURL&via=fema" target="_blank"><img src="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/img/social/icon_twitter.png" alt="Twitter Icon"></a>
        <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=UNIURL&title=Volunteer &amp; Donate Responsibly&summary=&source=" target="_blank"><img src="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/img/social/icon_linkedin.png" alt="LinkedIn Icon"></a>
        <a href="https://plus.google.com/share?url=UNIURL" target="_blank"><img src="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/img/social/icon_googleplus.png" alt="Google Plus Icon"></a>
        <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/share/link?url=UNIURL&name=Volunteer &amp; Donate Responsibly&description=" target="_blank"><img src="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/img/social/icon_tumblr.png" alt="Tumblr Icon"></a>

        </div>
    </div>
</section> <!-- /.block -->
<section id="block-menu-menu-unicorn-footer-menu" class="block block-menu clearfix">

      
  <ul><li class="first leaf"><a href="/" title="">Home</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/download-plug-ins" title="">Download Plug-ins</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/industry-liaison-program" title="">Doing Business with FEMA</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/privacy-policy" title="">Privacy Policy</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/foia" title="">FOIA</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/no-fear-act-data" title="">No Fear Act Data</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="//www.oig.dhs.gov/" title="">Office of the Inspector General</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/fema-strategic-plan" title="">Strategic Plan</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="//www.whitehouse.gov" title="">Whitehouse.gov</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="//www.dhs.gov" title="">DHS.gov</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="//www.ready.gov" title="">Ready.gov</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="//www.usa.gov" title="">USA.gov</a></li>
<li class="last leaf"><a href="//www.disasterassistance.gov/" title="">DisasterAssistance.gov</a></li>
</ul>
</section> <!-- /.block -->
<section id="block-boxes-unicorn-footer-dhs-text" class="block block-boxes block-boxes-simple clearfix">

      
  <div id='boxes-box-unicorn_footer_dhs_text' class='boxes-box'><div class="boxes-box-content"><p><a href="https://www.oig.dhs.gov/hotline"><img src="https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/img/oig-hotline.png" alt="OIG Hotline to report waste and abuse" /></a></p>
<p lang="en"><img lang="en" src="//www.fema.gov/profiles/fema_gov/themes/unicorn/img/icon_usflag.gif" alt="US flag signifying that this is a United States Federal Government website"> Official website of the Department of Homeland Security</p></div></div>
</section> <!-- /.block -->
  </div>
          <a id="footer-bottom" name="footer-bottom" href="#" class="element-invisible element-focusable">End of web page.</a>
        </footer>
      </section>
      <div class="clearfix"></div>
    </div><!-- .content-wrapper -->
  </div><!-- .block-right -->
</div><!-- main container -->

<div class="container unicorn-home-page-secondary-content">
  <div class="secondary-content">
    <!-- use JS to inject content here from div.views-field-field-also-featured-content -->
  </div><!-- .secondary-content -->

  <div class="secondary-footer">
    <!-- use JS to insert footer content here -->
  </div><!-- .secondary-footer -->

</div><!-- .unicorn-home-page-secondary-content -->
<script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_AZ9y0PShar4GyPuQUcAgecHmIwX4TUOo0HFPa06mnF0.js"></script>
<script src="//www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_x7i9_K8_u7Lf_Pr4XToSxjCDPT7-3IXdc15I1723_SU.js"></script>
</body>
</html>