When a flood, wildfire, earthquake or humanitarian emergency strikes, NGOs need to act immediately. People may need clean water, food, shelter, medical care or help rebuilding their homes. At the same time, public attention moves quickly. Supporters want to help while the crisis is unfolding, and organisations need a reliable way to turn that willingness into effective aid.
For an NGO, choosing an emergency fundraising platform is therefore not a minor technical decision. The platform must be ready when the crisis begins! It should be secure, easy for donors to use and flexible enough to support both immediate relief and long-term recovery.
4fund.com was built for this kind of fundraising. NGOs can launch an online fundraiser without a platform fee, reach donors across borders and use practical tools for communication, campaign growth and donor management. Behind 4fund.com stands the team that developed zrzutka.pl, one of Poland’s leading crowdfunding platforms, with more than a decade of experience in online fundraising.
The Polish Red Cross flood appeal shows what this experience can achieve in practice.
Why speed matters in disaster relief fundraising
In a crisis, the first hours and days matter. Emergency teams need supplies, logistics and money before many traditional funding routes can respond. Grants and institutional support remain important, but they often cannot provide the immediate flexibility required on the ground.
Online fundraising allows an NGO to:
- accept donations as soon as the emergency begins;
- respond to changing needs without waiting for a new funding round;
- reach individual donors, companies and local communities at the same time;
- share verified updates directly from the affected area;
- continue raising funds after media attention starts to decline.
Timing also affects public engagement. When people first hear about a disaster, many actively look for a trusted organisation they can support. A clear, verified fundraiser gives them a safe and direct way to help.
Flood relief fundraising: the Polish Red Cross case study
In September 2024, severe floods hit south-western Poland. The Polish Red Cross (Polski Czerwony Krzyż, PCK) began preparing before the full scale of the disaster was visible in the media. Its representatives were already working with regional crisis teams, while its communications and fundraising staff prepared an emergency appeal.
The Polish Red Cross launched its #NaRatunekPowódź fundraiser on zrzutka.pl, the Polish sister platform of 4fund.com, before the rivers overflowed. That early decision meant donors could support the response as soon as the crisis became national news.
The fundraiser collected more than PLN 3.7 million on zrzutka.pl. According to PCK, almost 90% of contributions came from new donors. This is an important lesson for NGOs: an emergency appeal can do more than activate an existing supporter base. With the right message, trusted infrastructure and strong distribution, it can bring thousands of new people into an organisation’s mission.
What made the Polish Red Cross campaign effective?
The success of the appeal was not based on one viral post. It came from combining operational readiness with clear and continuous communication.
The Polish Red Cross:
- launched the fundraiser before the full scale of the flood was widely understood;
- showed that its rescue and humanitarian teams were already working in affected areas;
- shared current information about what people needed;
- contacted corporate partners immediately;
- provided journalists with regular updates and access to credible spokespeople on the ground;
- published progress reports for donors through the fundraiser and social media;
- explained why financial donations were often more useful than uncoordinated donations of goods.
At first, the funds supported urgent needs such as water, food and humanitarian deliveries. Later, the Polish Red Cross used the money for drying and cleaning equipment, support for hospitals and public institutions, and long-term financial assistance for affected households.
This transition from rescue to recovery was reflected in the campaign communication. Donors were not only told that help was still needed. They were shown how their contributions were being used and why rebuilding would take time.
What other NGOs can learn from the Polish Red Cross
The #NaRatunekPowódź campaign offers several practical lessons for organisations planning wildfire fundraising, flood relief fundraising or other emergency appeals.
1. Prepare before the crisis peaks
An emergency fundraising plan should define who can approve and publish a fundraiser, who gathers information from the field, who communicates with the media and who reports back to donors. These decisions are much harder to make while the team is already responding to a disaster.
2. Launch as soon as verified needs are known
NGOs should not wait for a perfect campaign page. A clear description, a verified organisation profile and an initial list of needs are enough to begin. The fundraiser can be updated as the situation develops.
3. Connect fundraising with field operations
The strongest messages come from real work on the ground. Photos, verified reports and comments from response teams help donors understand both the urgency and the organisation’s ability to deliver aid.
4. Report progress regularly
Transparency supports trust. Updates should explain what has been purchased, who has received help and what is needed next. This is especially important when a campaign continues after the crisis disappears from daily headlines.
5. Make it easy for others to mobilise their communities
Employees, volunteers, schools, companies and local groups often want to fundraise on behalf of a trusted NGO. Giving them a simple, controlled way to do so can significantly extend the campaign’s reach.
Why NGOs choose 4fund.com for emergency fundraising
An NGO needs more than a payment button. It needs tools that help the campaign reach people, remain transparent and grow across different communities. On 4fund.com, these tools are available without a platform fee.
No platform fee
Creating and running a fundraiser on 4fund.com is free. We do not deduct a mandatory platform commission from the amount raised. This matters in disaster relief, where every euro may be needed for food, transport, medical supplies, temporary accommodation or reconstruction.
Our model is based on optional contributions from users who choose to support the platform. The costs are clear, so an organisation can plan its campaign without worrying that a percentage of every donation will be taken as a platform fee.
International reach and automatic translations
Disasters do not stop at national borders, and neither should fundraising. 4fund.com supports international fundraising in euros and offers donors a range of currencies and payment methods.
Fundraiser descriptions can be automatically translated into 30 languages. This allows an NGO to publish one clear source version and make the appeal accessible to supporters in other countries. It is particularly useful for international organisations, cross-border emergencies and local NGOs with communities living abroad.
Donation boxes for supporters and partners
Donation boxes allow other people and groups to raise funds as part of the NGO’s main campaign. A volunteer can organise a personal challenge, a company can mobilise its employees, and a school or local community can run its own appeal while all the money supports the same verified purpose.
For a crisis campaign, this creates a wider fundraising network without forcing the NGO to manage many unrelated collections.
QR codes, posters and website widgets
Each campaign can use a QR code leading to the fundraiser or directly to the donation page. This makes it easy to connect offline and online fundraising during charity events, collections, press conferences or corporate initiatives.
NGOs can also generate posters and add a fundraising widget to their own website. Supporters can therefore reach the campaign from the channels they already trust.
Tracking links and campaign analytics
Tracking links help organisations compare fundraising channels. An NGO can see which partners, media publications, newsletters, social posts or paid campaigns generate donations. This information helps the team invest its time and budget where they have the greatest impact.
4fund.com also supports integrations with tools such as Google Analytics, Google Ads and Meta Pixel, giving experienced fundraising teams more control over campaign measurement.
Access to donor information
Where donors provide their details and the applicable consent, organisers can access information needed to manage the fundraiser and communicate with supporters in line with data-protection requirements. This can help an NGO thank donors, manage relationships and build long-term support beyond a single emergency appeal.
Updates and direct donor communication
Fundraisers can be updated throughout the response and recovery process. NGOs can explain how needs are changing, show the impact of donations and maintain transparency over time.
This is essential in crisis fundraising. Immediate relief may last days, but recovery can take months or years.
Fast access to collected funds
When aid is urgently needed, organisations cannot always wait through a long payout cycle. 4fund.com offers quick withdrawals, including card payouts where available, as well as bank transfer options. This helps NGOs move from fundraising to action without unnecessary delay.
Start an emergency fundraising
Start an emergency fundraising
