As natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts, climate impacts and other crises become more frequent and severe, humanitarian organizations are facing an urgent funding and resource gap. Many corporate actors and corporate foundations are already stepping up to support relief efforts, primarily through financial donations and in-kind contributions. However, the scale and complexity of today’s crises mean that these efforts, while impactful, are no longer enough.

Corporates are uniquely positioned to fill such gaps using their core capabilities and expertise. With unparalleled resources, technologies, logistical networks, and global reach, they can deliver critical value to relief efforts. Yet many companies face barriers when attempting to engage more deeply: they don’t know how or where to begin.

This article outlines steps corporations can take to better leverage their capabilities, align with humanitarian systems, and engage in coordinated efforts that deliver scalable impact in a crisis.

The Case for Multiple Forms of Corporate Engagement

Corporate actors already contribute to humanitarian relief, but much of this support is concentrated in financial aid and ad hoc in-kind donations. Funding from private donors, including corporations, foundations, and the public contributed an estimated $7.3 billion in total international humanitarian assistance in 2023, representing 17% of all humanitarian financing, with an overall upward trend. Nevertheless, only 45% of international humanitarian assistance funding requirements were met in 2023 with 2024 estimates painting a similar picture, representing the largest ever funding gap for international humanitarian assistance.

There is a need for more support both in cash and in contribution of expertise to close this growing gap between needs and available resources. While companies continue to give more cash, there is a desire to go further by applying their core capabilities—such as logistical expertise, advanced technology, and innovative solutions—to humanitarian challenges. There are many examples of direct capabilities-led partnerships including:

Technology

Amazon Web services (AWS) technologies have been used to power applications to support refugee intake at border crossings and establish safe evacuation routes among other activities, while Microsoft’s AI tools have been deployed to predict natural disasters and optimize response efforts enabling smarter, faster decision-making.

Chile and Colombia Wildfires: Amazon, Help.NGO, and Red Cross

In Chile, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) team partnered with Help.NGO to leverage cloud technology in response to wildfires. Together, they established satellite connectivity that enabled the local Red Cross to survey over 700 families affected by the disaster. They also collected aerial surveillance images to monitor the fires and support relief efforts. In Colombia, the AWS teams created aerial photos of the damage caused by wildfires and generated digital surface models that helped teams determine how quickly evacuated residents were able to return to their homes, and how responders should work to recover the burned land.

Logistics and Infrastructure

UPS and DHL have leveraged their global logistics expertise to reduce the time and cost of delivering critical supplies in emergencies, and numerous airlines and logistics companies have partnered with Airlink and USAID.

Haiti Cholera Epidemic: American Airlines, Amerijet, SEKO Logistics, UPS Foundation Collaboration with Airlink and USAID

The Haiti Humanitarian Airbridge a public–private partnership between Airlink, the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, and commercial aviation and logistics companies, was set up to address severe logistics challenges faced by NGOs responding to a deadly cholera outbreak in Haiti. Over six months, the program facilitated 29 shipments, delivering over 232 tons of humanitarian aid—including medical supplies and water purification equipment—to support the treatment of 45,000 cholera patients and provide clean water to thousands, ultimately saving numerous lives.

Financial Innovation

Mastercard has developed digital payment systems for cash-based assistance, empowering disaster-affected populations to purchase goods directly, restoring dignity and stimulating local economies.

Syrian Refugee Crisis: Mastercard and WFP Collaboration

During the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Mastercard worked with the UN World Food Programme to deploy prepaid cards for refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, enabling them to purchase food locally. This approach not only empowered refugees to choose the foods that fit their needs but also stimulated local economies, creating a dual impact of humanitarian relief and economic recovery.

Alongside these success stories, however, there are many more companies that bring a willingness to engage more deeply but find themselves unsure of how to contribute effectively or where to engage within the humanitarian system. This hesitation is rooted in several common challenges.

Why Corporates Struggle to Engage

Corporations and humanitarian actors operate in fundamentally different paradigms, creating friction that undermines their collective potential. Key challenges include:

Fragmented Coordination Systems

Humanitarian ecosystems involve a web of UN agencies, NGOs, governments, and local actors. For businesses, navigating this maze can be confusing, complex, and time-consuming with no clear entry point or standard pathway for engagement. This is especially true if the disaster is located outside of the geographies where the business operates. Local governments, while best positioned to lead from a knowledge and accountability basis, may be reeling from conflict or disaster and often lack capacity to play the central coordinating role.

Lack of Understanding of Humanitarian Principles and Context

Humanitarian organizations may view corporations as complicated partners to work with, as experience has shown that corporate actors often lack the necessary context and understanding of the humanitarian system to engage effectively without slowing response efforts, creating bottlenecks, or engaging in ways that can cause unintended harm. Businesses need to understand the context in which they are supporting and know how to act responsibly—good intentions alone are not enough.

Operational Barriers

The timing, specificity of capabilities, and resources offered by corporations may not always be practical, timely, or resource-efficient and may not align with the priority needs of the affected communities and the humanitarian response. For example, there is often a strong rationale for why receiving organizations may insist that in-kind donations must meet exact product specifications. A product as simple as a bucket must meet size and material specifications, plastic sheeting may be more appropriate and effective versus tents or other prefab structures in many situations, and sanctions in conflict settings can dramatically restrict the types of goods that can be delivered to populations in need.

A Roadmap for Corporate Engagement

To unlock their full potential, corporations must move beyond sporadic efforts and adopt a more strategic, integrated approach to engaging in humanitarian assistance. Here are three steps companies can take to overcome barriers and engage more effectively in humanitarian response.

Step 1: Leverage Coordination Platforms

Existing and emerging coordination mechanisms offer corporations a streamlined way to engage with the humanitarian system. These platforms provide a clear entry point, align contributions with real needs, and reduce friction in partnerships.

Connecting Business Initiative (CBi)

A collaboration between UNOCHA and UNDP, CBi builds networks of local businesses to coordinate disaster preparedness and response. The Philippines Disaster Resilience Foundation (the model for this initiative) leveraged local business coordination during Typhoon Haiyan, enabling private sector resources to be deployed rapidly and effectively.

Private Sector Humanitarian Alliance (PSHA)

Backed by the Rockefeller Foundation, PSHA connects multinational corporations with humanitarian actors through a centralized platform. It provides a single point of entry, reducing friction and ensuring contributions align with ground needs. Scaling such networks globally—and ensuring their quality, coordination, and consistency—must be a priority. Governments and multilateral institutions are working to fund and support the expansion of these mechanisms, and corporations can support these efforts by engaging through these organizations and uplifting them to ensure no business or organization operates in isolation during crises.

Step 2: Building Capacity to Engage Responsibly

It is critical that corporate actors are not only aware of existing humanitarian principles and standards but also understand how to apply them in practice. This ensures that corporate engagement in humanitarian responses is responsible, effective, and aligned with established frameworks. To achieve this, businesses should focus on the following:

Develop Contextual Understanding

• Train staff on humanitarian principles, such as humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as outlined by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) and the United Nations.
• As a first step when directly supporting on any crisis, ensure relevant staff are provided with information on local cultural sensitivities, and are aware of community norms and practices to ensure that engagement is appropriate, respectful, and inclusive. For staff supporting multiple humanitarian crises, offer training on cultural sensitivity and competence.

Understand and Apply the Principle of Do No Harm

• Evaluate the potential unintended consequences of interventions, including economic, social, and environmental impacts.
• Avoid deploying untested technologies or introducing products and services that may pose risks to vulnerable populations.
• Assess the impact of providing goods and services, consider local availability, and ensure alignment with the needs defined by the responding organizations to avoid unintended consequences such as disrupting existing economies.
• Reference frameworks like the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) and Sphere Standards, which outline practical measures to ensure responsible engagement.

Ensure Transparency and Accountability

• Share information about company contributions transparently with humanitarian partners to support overall data gathering. Disclose activities in a way that builds trust among stakeholders, ensuring clarity about the company’s contributions, intentions, and outcomes.
• Adhere to recognized reporting standards to track contributions and measure impact effectively. Frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), UN Global Compact, or International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provide robust guidelines for corporate responsibility reporting.

By grounding your company’s humanitarian engagement in these standards and frameworks, you can ensure your actions are responsible, effective, and well-integrated into the broader humanitarian system.

Step 3: Foster Innovation and Adaptability

The private sector excels at innovation and can bring transformative solutions to humanitarian challenges. Companies should work with humanitarian organizations to co-create and test new approaches before deployment during a disaster. Examples include:

Public–Private Innovation Labs

Dedicate spaces for co-creating and testing solutions before deployment. For example, 3D mapping technologies, developed in partnership between academic institutions and local governments in the Philippines, have improved evacuation planning and hazard identification. Another notable example is the Response Innovation Lab, a global collaboration by Oxfam, Save the Children, World Vision, and Civic that supports humanitarian innovation by breaking silos.

Flexible Funding Models

Create financing mechanisms that pool funds from different institutions (e.g., foundations, corporate partners) and are responsive in the face of emergencies. For example – Oxfam’s Emergency Response Fund (ERF) allows for immediate financial response to crises, using tools such as prepositioned funds, allowing for unrestricted usage, and grants especially for small-scale emergencies to enable timely interventions.

Data Sharing Protocols

Establish mechanisms for sharing critical data—on disaster risks, resource availability, and community needs—while ensuring privacy and security. During the Zika virus outbreak in 2015, Google and UNICEF collaborated to share real-time data on the spread of the disease. By integrating mapping tools, public health information, and search data, they improved decision-making and resource allocation while safeguarding sensitive information.

Driving the Future of Humanitarian Action

Companies have a powerful opportunity to help close the growing gap in global humanitarian action. By aligning their efforts with the humanitarian sector’s principles and systems, and leveraging strategic partnerships and innovation, businesses can play a vital role in saving lives, building resilience, and supporting communities to create stronger futures.

Reach out to the authors to learn more: