Disaster Response
South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund (SAERF):
Lessons LearnedAs the first initiative of its kind, the South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund (SAERF), administered by CECP, created a powerful collaboration between corporations, government entities, and nonprofit organizations to offer a sustainable response to the areas of Pakistan hit hardest by the devastating earthquake of 2005. After nearly three years of success in serving as a replicable model for comprehensive disaster response and providing millions of dollars in relief and building efforts, SAERF was closed on August 31, 2008.
The Fund was created following the October 8, 2005, earthquake that rocked the mountainous regions of South Asia, killing approximately 74,000 people and injuring over 70,000. A disaster of this scale compelled a global humanitarian response. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, President George W. Bush took the unprecedented step of engaging the private sector to help raise awareness and encourage donations to aid the survivors of this disaster.
SAERF was a tremendous success, helping to inspire U.S. corporations to commit more than $116 million in cash and in-kind contributions for earthquake relief and reconstruction, and nearly $20 million was collected through the Fund.
Lessons LearnedAs the first initiative of its kind, the South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund (SAERF), administered by CECP, created a powerful collaboration between corporations, government entities, and nonprofit organizations to offer a sustainable response to the areas of Pakistan hit hardest by the devastating earthquake of 2005. After nearly three years of success in serving as a replicable model for comprehensive disaster response and providing millions of dollars in relief and building efforts, SAERF was closed on August 31, 2008.
The Fund was created following the October 8, 2005, earthquake that rocked the mountainous regions of South Asia, killing approximately 74,000 people and injuring over 70,000. A disaster of this scale compelled a global humanitarian response. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, President George W. Bush took the unprecedented step of engaging the private sector to help raise awareness and encourage donations to aid the survivors of this disaster.
SAERF was a tremendous success, helping to inspire U.S. corporations to commit more than $116 million in cash and in-kind contributions for earthquake relief and reconstruction, and nearly $20 million was collected through the Fund.
SAERF: Lessons Learned
CECP published a lessons learned report to share the knowledge gained through the SAERF program. This report outlines six strategies that were core to SAERF operations:
- Collaboration. The initiative brought together companies from varied industries, but relied equally on collaboration with governments and nonprofits.
- Business Leader Engagement. The Fund’s five leading CEOs were deeply involved in fundraising, setting priorities, marshalling resources, and developing communication strategies.
- Implementation Considerations. Establishing a nonprofit takes time, thus SAERF created an administrative partnership with CECP that allowed the Fund to take immediate action. Several legal considerations were resolved early in the process to allow for a smooth process.
- Leveraging NGO Knowledge and Partnerships. Close relationships with NGOs allowed SAERF to better understand the complex social and cultural context of the affected area. Small local organizations were essential to the Fund’s long-term reconstruction efforts.
- Rigorous Monitoring. SAERF developed protocols jointly with pro bono partners to evaluate grantee progress toward important milestones and required periodic, detailed reports from grant recipients.
- Communications. The campaign focused on media, outreach, event planning, website operation, branding, advertising, internal company campaigns, and donor communications.
Download the report » (PDF)
