Direct Relief
Direct Relief Realizes Unprecedented Fundraising for Disaster Response from Blackbaud on Vimeo.
Direct Relief SnapshotDirect Relief navigates complex fundraising needs, celebrity spotlight with steadfast cloud solutions.
While Direct Relief routinely responds to multiple disasters at a time, the nonprofit faced simultaneous need on a global scale as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Thankfully, Direct Relief’s philanthropy team could rely on Blackbaud’s cloud-based solutions to support high-volume online fundraisers—including Diddy’s Team Love Dance-A-Thon—and honor donor intent with transparency through the crisis.
When the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, even Direct Relief, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization responding to disaster since 1948, experienced extraordinary and sometimes surreal moments.
As the first cases were reported in January, Direct Relief delivered critical medical resources into Wuhan, China, including personal protective equipment (PPE), and considered potential scenarios if the virus spread. Once it did, Direct Relief found itself responding to unprecedented needs around the globe, and thankfully, unprecedented giving that was facilitated and supported with Blackbaud cloud-based solutions.
After all, the organization has relied on Blackbaud for nearly a quarter century, and in the cloud-based era looks to mainstays such as Blackbaud Luminate Online®, which provides a flexible and reliable online donation solution, and Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® for fundraising transparency to make certain financial donations are handled as the donor intends.
“Direct Relief is deeply grateful to Blackbaud for ensuring that our technology backbone for philanthropic efforts is robust and scalable,” said Heather Bennett, Direct Relief’s vice president for partnerships and philanthropy. “Blackbaud’s commitment ensures that the extraordinary generosity from individuals and institutions to help keep healthcare workers safe is immediately put to use to help those who help others.”
