Cash Relief for Hurricane Survivors
Donate directly to help survivors in Florida and North Carolina rebuild and recover from Milton and Helene.
Update:We’re currently delivering payments to families affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Support future emergency relief responses here.
You can send funds directly to low-income families impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Hurricane Milton struck Florida on October 9, destroying homes, flooding roads, and spawning tornadoes across the state. Over 3.4 million people have lost power, and more than 31,000 people were evacuated to shelters.
Just weeks earlier, Hurricane Helene made landfall across 6 states, leaving catastrophic damage and millions without permanent shelter, running water, or power.
We’re now delivering $1,000 per family to low-income hurricane survivors in the hardest-hit areas in Florida and North Carolina. This emergency cash will help cover their immediate needs, like:
- Essentials like food, water, generators, medicine, and diapers
- Repairs for their home and car
- Bills for their phone, rent or hotels, and utilities
Your donations will reach those in greatest need quickly and remotely.
We’ll use aerial storm damage imagery and poverty data to identify the highest-need communities. We then target, enroll, and pay low-income survivors fully remotely through Propel, an app used to manage food stamp benefits.
We’re currently identifying communities in greatest need and aim to complete outreach, enrollment, and payments in the next 1-2 weeks.
When we sent cash to families impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Fiona in 2022, they received funds in their bank accounts less than a day after enrolling.
This cash will help thousands of families meet their own urgent needs and rebuild their lives.
Cash aid allows disaster survivors to meet their own needs rather than having others guess for them — which is why people impacted by a crisis say they prefer cash relief over donated goods.
Achieving our current fundraising goal will enable us to reach ~2,000 families in greatest need. We have the capacity to deliver up to $10 million in North Carolina alone, so with more funds, we could expand to reach thousands more.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to receive money?
We’ll use aerial storm damage imagery and poverty data to identify the highest-need communities and then enroll and pay families impacted by Hurricanes Helene or Milton remotely through the Propel app.
What if we raise more or less than the fundraising goal?
Any excess funds will help us deliver cash to more families impacted by the storms.
If for any reason we are unable to deliver all funds to hurricane survivors, donations will be delivered to other Americans in need or survivors of the next global emergency.
How much will each family receive?
Every family will receive $1,000 to help them recover and rebuild their lives. These transfer sizes are designed to cover the cost of common post-disaster recovery items, such as food, baby formula and diapers, first aid supplies, toiletries, portable generators, gas, and radios.
When will people receive my donation?
First payments were sent to 985 families in need on October 25. We’re currently sending a second round of payments to additional families.
What is GiveDirectly?
We’re a non-profit that lets you send money directly to the world’s poorest, no strings attached. In the last decade, we’ve delivered cash to over 1.6 million people across 15 countries and research the impact it can have for families in need.
What if I’d like to make a major gift?
We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at [email protected].
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, donations are tax-deductible in the United States. We accept all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, checks, wires, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and more.
If you’re giving outside the U.S., you can still give to this campaign, but your gift may not be tax-deductible.
Reach out to us at [email protected] with any questions or for more information on ways to give.