Key Takeaway: Being proactive reduces burnout, confusion, and safety risks when a disaster strikes. Communicate with your volunteers and supporters frequently how they can help during blue sky days so when the moment arises, everyone is prepared on those grey sky days.
Global Lessons, Local Impact: What Every Organization Can Learn About Disaster Relief
When a disaster strikes, communities look to nonprofit organizations, volunteers, and leaders to move quickly, compassionately, and effectively. But behind every successful response is a foundation of preparation, communication, and culture built long before the crisis ever hits.
In our recent webinar, Global Lessons, Local Impact: Disaster Relief Strategies for Every Organization, Golden’s Arielle Meizen and Kelly Cristaldi sat down with Jake Wood, founder of Team Rubicon and CEO of Groundswell, to unpack what organizations of every size can learn from large-scale emergency response teams.
From recruiting volunteers to building emotional resilience to activating corporate partnerships, the discussion was full of actionable insights for anyone involved in disaster relief or community support work.
Read on to learn the seven biggest takeaways from our conversation!
1. Disaster Relief Begins Before the Disaster Happens
One of the strongest themes: your most important work happens in blue sky days—not gray sky days.
Jake shared that when Team Rubicon launched its first response in Haiti in 2010, the hardest part wasn’t the crisis itself—it was that organizations were too overwhelmed to onboard new volunteers in the moment.
His advice?
Prepare before you need the help.
What you can do today:
- Build and maintain updated volunteer rosters
- Pre-qualify volunteers with required training
- Keep “just-in-time” online learning available
- Host light-touch activities (open houses, social gatherings, short trainings) to help volunteers feel connected
- Establish clear processes, so during a disaster, volunteers plug in—not slow you down
Disaster relief that works is grounded in readiness, not reaction.
2. Make Volunteering Feel Safe — Emotionally, Logistically, and Socially
Responding to a crisis is emotionally demanding. Volunteers may see loss, destruction, or human tragedy—and even seasoned responders can be shaken. Team Rubicon’s approach is rooted in culture and community, including:
- End-of-day “campfire culture” to decompress
- Peer support systems
- Access to mental health professionals after major deployments
- Strong social connection before anyone ever steps into the field
As Jake noted, “Culture guides decisions in the absence of orders.” When volunteers feel supported, they perform better and stay longer.
Key Takeaway: Invest in community building. Even simple rituals or safe spaces for reflection can dramatically improve volunteer well-being and retention.
3. Create Easy Entry Points for New Volunteers
Not everyone can deploy for a week, nor are they ready for high-stakes environments. And that’s okay. Arielle encouraged disaster relief teams to meet volunteers where they are, offering:
- Short, simple roles that require limited training
- Micro-learning modules instead of long, upfront requirements
- Virtual volunteer opportunities (such as digital assessments or data validation)
- Local preparedness activities instead of high-profile deployments
This approach both widens your volunteer pipeline and reduces risk—because volunteers can “crawl, walk, run” into deeper service.
Key Takeaway: When you meet volunteers where they are, they’re more likely to deepen their support with you and answer the call to serve. Small opportunities lead to big engagement over time.
4. Don’t Chase the Disaster—Build Local Strength
Many people get inspired by dramatic news footage from high-profile disasters, but disaster relief is most effective when responders are local.
Team Rubicon redirects spontaneous volunteer energy into local training and nearby deployments. While some people drop off when the assignment isn’t glamorous, those who stay become highly committed contributors.
This shift helps volunteers:
- See the value of everyday preparedness
- Build long-term relationships within their region
- Understand how disaster relief is structured
And yes—some people drop off when the work becomes less “glamorous.” But the ones who stay often become your most reliable responders.
Key Takeaway: When you design and implement a system that rewards consistency, not proximity to headline-grabbing events, your volunteers will become highly committed contributors.
5. Volunteers Want to Be Part of a Story
A powerful insight: Volunteers don’t just want tasks—they want purpose.
Jake emphasized how storytelling fuels recruitment and retention. At Team Rubicon, every volunteer understands the “final chapter” they’re helping write.
Kelly echoed this from her animal welfare work: volunteers engage deeply when they see themselves as the hero in a narrative that leads to real transformation.
When you weave volunteers into your organization’s story, they are more inclined to participate. When we neglect to include them, we’re more likely to see them engage less when we need them most.
Key Takeaway: Tell your story clearly, tell it often, and show volunteers exactly where they fit in. When they feel included and seen, volunteers will want to engage and participate more often.
6. Corporate Partnerships Are Built on Mutual Value—Say It Out Loud
One way to really amp up support for your cause? Corporate partnerships. Corporate partnership programs can dramatically expand disaster relief capacity—from airline support to supply chain resources to co-marketing. It can be the key to expanding aid your organization is delivering to areas and people impacted by disaster.
Corporate partnerships can look beyond traditional economic value. It can be co-marketing efforts where each brand partners together to elevate each other in the media. It can be leveraging employee volunteers to make an impact for local disasters. There’s so many ways to leverage corporate partnerships that mutually benefit each other.
How to start:
- Tell a compelling story companies want to be part of
- Provide clear ways their support translates to community benefit
- Offer co-marketing opportunities that build visibility
- Focus on long-term partnership, not one-off donations
Key Takeaway: The way to a successful partnership is to be transparent that both sides benefit. It’s not transactional—it’s strategic impact.
7. Your Biggest Cost Isn’t Disaster Response—It’s Everything Before It
Most funders want to give after a disaster hits, which can often put a strain on already lean teams and overwhelm systems and processes. But as Jake explained, the real expense lies in training, preparedness, and volunteer management.
The more effectively you communicate this, the better you can secure support for the work that actually makes response possible.
One way to do this is to educate and inform your supporters early on in the process. This can be in the form of sending out annual or quarterly reports, bring attention to campaigns and projects you’re actively working on, or even simply being clear and direct in your asks for financial donations.
Key Takeaway: Be clear from the beginning about the costs associated with preparing for an eventual disaster, not just the aftermath that creates the need. That way supporters can show up during blue sky days, not just during grey sky days.
Disaster relief is complex, emotional, unpredictable work. But with preparation, strong culture, thoughtful volunteer pathways, and strategic partnerships, organizations of any size can build a powerful, resilient disaster response program.
Whether you’re a volunteer manager, nonprofit leader, community organizer, or disaster relief professional, these insights offer an actionable blueprint to help your organization thrive in times of need!
