Frequently Asked Questions

The Navigator lists various calls for response to specific emergency events around the world. Within each call for response, users can find lists of approved response projects for reference, and an option to make a donation through our standard single gift donations pathway. We will update the information on each charity and call for response as we receive it. Updates will be reflected within 48 hours of our notification on business days. In the event of a new call for response, we will make updates within 48 hours on weekdays and 72 hours on weekends.

All charities listed under a call for response are pre-approved for grants funded by CAF America’s donors, and have confirmed to us directly that they are responding to the call for response in question. This means they have passed our Expenditure Responsibility or Equivalency Determination review protocols and we have carried out the appropriate AML/CFT due diligence checks. More information on our due diligence procedures can be found here.

Our team is constantly monitoring news updates, inquiries from donors, updates from charities, and insights from our global network to maintain the most representative list possible of tracked emergencies. If you do not see a call to response for an event you believe should be listed, please email relief@cafamerica.org with your suggestion and we will investigate it. Note that as a cause-universal organization, CAF America aims to provide opportunities to assist all people in need, so long as the charities helping them pass our due diligence protocols.

In disaster situations, decisive action is required to meet the dramatic spike in need that often accompanies an emergency. While CAF America aims to deploy grant funding as quickly as possible, our focus is to ensure that all of our charity partners have the time they need to focus on their important work. Regardless if that means they cannot complete an online application, access their critical governing documents, log into their email account, or face any other barrier to funding, we want to ensure they have the space they need to focus on immediate needs.

For this reason, grants may not be made immediately, or within a short period of time after a disaster occurs. But all donors should be confident that we will work with all our recommended grantees to ensure that they receive the grants advised to them, in line with our internal protocols for donor-advised grantmaking and due diligence best practice.

Unfortunately, if you have made a donation through the Single Gift function on the map those funds will not be added to your DAF and our fees will not follow your DAF fee schedule. To avoid this outcome, be sure to follow the instructions above and pay attention to the warnings displayed in the popup boxes.

For donations under $100,000, CAF America retains 8% of the donation amount to cover our administrative costs, with no minimum gift or fee amount. If you have any questions regarding this cost structure, please reach out to relief@cafamerica.org.

Learn more about our products, resources, and solutions on our website, cafamerica.org.

Our team aims for your profile to reflect the most up-to-date information possible. For any updates, please email our team at relief@cafamerica.org with your requested changes. We may require you to complete a Grant Purpose Addendum form, which will be processed at no charge, to ensure appropriate oversight and stewardship of any future grant funding.

If you are in good standing with CAF America and have an approved grant purpose for disaster response, you should receive your grant within a few weeks of the donation being made. If any additional approvals or adjustments are required, this timeline may be extended as we complete our due diligence processes. Please check all email accounts (including Spam folders) to ensure that you are not missing automated notifications or reminders from our system.

CAF America is a donor-driven organization and as standard practice does not maintain ongoing discretionary funds for emergency response. Being listed on the Global Relief Navigator does not guarantee funding. While we are not accepting proposals for future or unstarted projects, you can alert us to your disaster response programs which are currently ongoing & available for funding via relief@cafamerica.org.