Emergency Assistance Foundation Inc

TO ADMINISTER GLOBAL DISASTER AND HARDSHIP RELIEF FUNDS, THEREBY PROVIDING GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS IN NEED AROUND THE WORLD.

IN 2011, EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION (EAF) WAS ESTABLISHED WITH THE GOAL OF ASSISTING ORGANIZATIONS THAT WANT TO HELP THEIR OWN DURING TOUGH TIMES. WE SAW A HIGH AND RISING NUMBER OF DISASTERS TAKING PLACE AROUND THE WORLD WITH FEW ORGANIZATIONS CLEAR ON HOW TO RESPOND EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY. THIS LED US TO CREATE A PUBLIC CHARITY DESIGNED TO ALLOW THESE ORGANIZATIONS - OUR FUND PARTNERS - TO ESTABLISH GLOBAL DISASTER AND HARDSHIP RELIEF FUNDS THAT CAN PROVIDE GRANTS TO INDIVIDUALS IN NEED. EACH FUND IS DESIGNED WITH A UNIQUE NAME, SPECIFIC GRANT CRITERIA, AND A DEFINED CHARITABLE CLASS (THOSE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A GRANT).EAF'S SOLE PURPOSE IS TO INDEPENDENTLY ADMINISTER ALL FUND ACTIVITIES - INCLUDING ACCEPTING DONATIONS, OBJECTIVELY REVIEWING GRANT APPLICATIONS, AND AWARDING AND DISTRIBUTING GRANTS - WHILE ADVISING FUND PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT EACH FUND IS REGULATORILY COMPLIANT AND INCREASINGLY EFFECTIVE.THROUGHOUT OUR 10+ YEARS IN OPERATION, EAF HAS SEEN TWO SIGNIFICANT PERIODS OF EXPONENTIAL GROWTH. THE FIRST WAS IN 2017 WHEN HURRICANES HARVEY, IRMA, AND MARIA SWEPT ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, WITH SEVEN OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS OCCURRING OVER THE SAME TEN-WEEK PERIOD, INCLUDING THE TUBBS FIRE IN CALIFORNIA, TYPHOON LAN IN JAPAN, AND A 7.1-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE IN MEXICO. THIS RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT UPTICK IN INDIVIDUAL PHILANTHROPY MARKED BY EMPLOYEES ASKING THEIR EMPLOYERS FOR WAYS TO HELP IMPACTED COLLEAGUES. IN RESPONSE, MANY COMPANIES SOUGHT TO LAUNCH A RELIEF FUND, OFTEN FAVORING THIRD-PARTY ADMINISTRATION DUE TO THE RAPID AND LARGE-SCALE RESPONSE REQUIRED, AS WELL AS THE COMPLEXITIES OF RELIEF FUND BEST PRACTICES AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE. EAF'S PROCESSES WERE PRIMED TO PROVIDE EXPERTISE AND SUPPORT, WHICH LED TO A PERIOD OF RAPID GROWTH. OUR NUMBER OF FUND PARTNERS NEARLY TRIPLED AND AWARDED GRANTS INCREASED BY 1,234%.EAF'S SECOND PERIOD OF EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OCCURRED IN 2020 AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. RELIEF FUND ACTIVITY WAS GREATLY IMPACTED BECAUSE THE SCALE AND SCOPE OF THE PANDEMIC WAS MARKEDLY GREATER THAN A TYPICAL DISASTER. AROUND THE WORLD, PEOPLE SIMULTANEOUSLY SUFFERED FROM THE SAME CRISIS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, WHEREAS TYPICAL DISASTERS ARE CONTAINED WITHIN A SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHY AND HAVE A DEFINED INCIDENT PERIOD. MANY COMPANIES EXPERIENCED AN INCREASE IN REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS INQUIRIES FROM TEAM MEMBERS AND SENIOR LEADERS ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE. AS A RESULT, MANY FUND PARTNERS WORKED WITH EAF TO EXPAND THEIR CHARITABLE CLASS, AS WELL AS THE EVENTS AND EXPENSES INCLUDED IN THE FUND'S GRANT CRITERIA. COMPANIES WITHOUT AN ESTABLISHED RELIEF FUND PROGRAM BEGAN TO EXPLORE LAUNCHING A FUND, WHICH RESULTED IN MORE THAN 140 NEW FUND PARTNERS JOINING EAF. EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY AND NEW FUND PARTNERS RESULTED IN AN INFLUX IN REQUESTS FOR SUPPORT, WITH APPLICATION VOLUME INCREASING TO TWENTY TIMES MORE THAN THAT OF A TRADITIONAL DISASTER EVENT.EAF'S UNIQUE APPROACH TO DISASTER RESPONSE INVOLVES REMAINING ADAPTABLE, HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY, CREATING SCALABLE PLATFORMS AND PROCEDURES, AND CONSTANTLY EVALUATING PROCESSES FOR IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES. OUR RESOURCEFUL AND FEARLESS APPROACH ENSURES THAT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REACHES INDIVIDUALS IN NEED AS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE, NO MATTER THE UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES, WHICH MAY INCLUDE THE INTRICACIES OF INTERNATIONAL GRANTMAKING, THE IMPACT OF DISASTERS ON GOVERNMENT AND BANKING SYSTEMS, AND WIDE VARIATIONS IN HOW A GRANTEE IS ABLE TO RECEIVE PAYMENT.EAF HAS OUR PULSE ON DISASTER EVENTS OCCURRING AROUND THE WORLD IN REAL TIME, AND OUR UNIQUE IMMEDIATE RESPONSE PROGRAM (IRP) AWARDS SMALL GRANTS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY IN TIMES OF QUALIFIED, LARGE-SCALE DISASTERS. IRPS ARE SUPPLEMENTAL TO A FUND'S STANDARD GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH CAN PROVIDE LARGER DOLLAR AMOUNTS AND MAY COVER EXPANDED GRANT CRITERIA.EAF FEATURES TWO KEY OPERATIONAL ATTRIBUTES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO OUR ABILITY TO SUPPORT OUR FUND PARTNERS AND GRANT APPLICANTS. FIRST, ALL TEAM MEMBERS WORK VIRTUALLY, ALLOWING THEM TO BE LOCATED AROUND THE WORLD, CURRENTLY ACROSS 10 DIFFERENT TIME ZONES. THIS STRUCTURE ELIMINATES THE POSSIBILITY OF A SINGLE NATURAL DISASTER IMPACTING ALL TEAM MEMBERS AND IMPAIRING SERVICES, A PROBLEM THAT OTHER THIRD-PARTY RELIEF FUND ADMINISTRATORS HAVE EXPERIENCED. IT ALSO ENSURES THAT GRANT PROCESSING AND SUPPORT ARE AVAILABLE TO APPLICANTS ACROSS MULTIPLE TIME ZONES AND IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES WITHOUT THE RESTRICTIONS OF A TRADITIONAL EIGHT-HOUR WORKDAY OR FIVE-DAY WORKWEEK. SECOND, SERVICES ARE PROVIDED IN A VARIABLE FEE STRUCTURE BASED ON ACTIVITY TO MAINTAIN LOW COSTS. IF GRANT ACTIVITY INCREASES, THEN FEES INCREASE, CREATING AN ALIGNMENT OF OPERATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY AND EQUITABLE FEE ASSESSMENTS. OUR BASIC FEES HAVE NOT INCREASED SINCE OUR INCEPTION, AND WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO MINIMIZING FEES SO WE CAN MAXIMIZE THE DOLLARS SENT TO INDIVIDUALS IN NEED.EAF HAS ADAPTED AND CONTINUES TO ENHANCE VARIOUS TECHNOLOGIES THAT DRIVE GREATER INTERNAL EFFICIENCIES AND IMPROVE REPORTING TO FUND PARTNERS. EAF UTILIZES A LEADING DATA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR OUR UNIQUE NEEDS. THIS COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ENABLES INFORMATION PERTAINING TO INCOMING DONATIONS, OUTGOING GRANTS, AND THE APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS TO BE CAPTURED TOGETHER. THIS STREAMLINES INTERNAL PROCEDURES AND ALLOWS OUR TEAM MEMBERS TO BE EASILY CROSS TRAINED. EAF HAS ALSO PARTNERED WITH A WIDELY RECOGNIZED DATA VISUALIZATION SOLUTION THAT ALLOWS FOR AUTOMATED REPORTING, WITH DATA PRESENTED IN A USER-FRIENDLY DIAGNOSTIC TOOL THAT CAPTURES ALL FUND ACTIVITIES. AS DATA FLOWS INTO THE ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, THE DATA VISUALIZATION PLATFORM PULLS KEY INFORMATION INTO FUND DASHBOARDS THAT ARE VIEWABLE IN REAL-TIME. THIS NOT ONLY ALLOWS FOR INFORMED DECISION-MAKING DURING DISASTERS, SUCH AS ALERTING FUND PARTNERS WHEN THE FUND BALANCE IS RUNNING LOW AND REQUIRES ADDITIONAL DONATIONS, IT ALSO ENABLES THEM TO MAKE IMPACTFUL DECISIONS ABOUT THE FUND'S GRANT CRITERIA AND ANALYZE FUND EFFECTIVENESS AND OPPORTUNITIES.EAF HAS ALSO INTRODUCED TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE THE APPLICANT EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING AN ADVANCED CALL TRACKING SYSTEM AND A SUPPORT TICKETING AND COMMUNICATION SOFTWARE TO CAPTURE ALL EMAILED APPLICANT SUPPORT REQUESTS, ALLOWING FOR FASTER RESPONSE TIMES IN OPENING AND CLOSING SUPPORT TICKETS AND COMMUNICATING STATUS TO THE APPLICANT. THIS SOFTWARE ALSO ENHANCES THE MONITORING OF SUPPORT CALL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, ENSURING ALL APPLICANTS HAVE A HELPFUL EXPERIENCE. A CLICK-TO-CALL FUNCTION HAS ALSO BEEN IMPLEMENTED TO ALLOW APPLICANTS TO ENTER THEIR PHONE NUMBER AND COUNTRY, THEN CLICK A BUTTON TO REQUEST A CALL FROM AN APPLICANT SUPPORT AGENT. THIS ENABLES APPLICANTS AND GRANTEES TO AVOID CALL TOLLS, AS TOLL-FREE NUMBERS ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ONLY IN NORTH AMERICA. SIMILARLY, EAF WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OUR USE OF APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACES (APIS), ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION (RPA), AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TO SUPPORT OUR SEASONED TEAM MEMBERS. INCORPORATING THESE TECHNOLOGIES SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES INTERNAL PROCESSES AND FURTHERS THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT PROVIDED TO APPLICANTS BY EMPOWERING THEM TO GET THE HELP THEY NEED IN A TIMELY MANNER, AS WELL AS BY FREEING UP THE APPLICANT SUPPORT AGENT TIME CURRENTLY USED ON SIMPLE PROCESSES, SO A HUMAN TOUCH IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE WHEN IT MATTERS MOST.TECHNOLOGY IS ALSO CONTINUOUSLY BEING LEVERAGED TO SIMPLIFY AND SPEED UP GRANT PAYMENTS. DOMESTICALLY, A LEADING PLATFORM ALLOWS DIGITAL PAYMENTS TO BE DISTRIBUTED AND RETRIEVED SEAMLESSLY VIA EMAIL, WHETHER OR NOT THE GRANTEE HAS A BANK ACCOUNT. FOR PAYMENTS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES, EAF'S PROCESS ALLOWS APPLICANTS TO ENTER BANKING DETAILS INTO A SECURE SYSTEM AND RECEIVE PAYMENT VIA INTERNATIONAL WIRE TRANSFER. LOCAL CASH PICKUP OPTIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR GRANTEES WITHOUT BANK ACCOUNTS. THESE PAYMENT TECHNOLOGIES DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT EAF COLLECTS. THEY ALSO ELIMINATE THE NEED TO MAIL PAPER CHECKS, RESULTING IN FASTER PAYMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC FLEXIBILITY, AS APPLICANTS ARE OFTEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR PRIMARY RESIDENCE DURING A DISASTER. BULK PAYMENT BATCHING FEATURES HELP EAF MANAGE PAYMENT SURGES DURING LARGE-SCALE DISASTERS WITHOUT REQUIRING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, AND DIGITAL PAYMENTS PROVIDE MULTIPLE CASH OR DEPOSIT OPTIONS FOR GRANTEES. AS TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, SO WILL OPPORTUNITIES TO REFINE AND UPGRADE THESE SERVICES.