It is never a good idea to collect goods for disaster relief without a firm plan in place that confirms the goods are needed and that addresses who will receive the goods, how they will be transported and how the goods will be distributed. Experienced disaster relief organizations base their disaster relief activities on overall disaster situation assessments and detailed needs assessments. Many relief groups, if interested in the donated goods, have some infrastructure in place to store and distribute the goods. Coordination with the relief group is essential so that the right goods are collected, the right amount is collected, and that the logistics issues of transportation, warehouse and staging area coordination, and distribution are fully discussed. Donors will find that it is often most practical to focus on one or two items that an organization says is needed rather than collect a variety of items and have boxes filled with mixed goods.
Transportation is frequently a major challenge for donors.
It must be planned for in advance otherwise a donor can easily be stuck with large amounts of donated goods and no means to bring it to the recipient agency in the disaster area. Do not assume unsolicited relief supplies will be transported at no charge or at government expense. The donor has the primary responsibility to find transportation for the donated goods. Local trucking firms may be willing to help in times of disaster, if funds are available to cover part of the expense. Often times donors raise money themselves to put towards the transportation of the donated supplies.