Trust in Donors in Times of Emergency

The key component that catapults an issue to a level that justifies emergency fundraising efforts for international relief and development organization Mercy Corps is media attention, says Julie Hambuchen, marketing director for the organization.

“In the real world out there, there are crises that are ongoing and really dire, but until they get that conjunction of media coverage and become a crisis in the public perception … we don’t really start an emergency campaign,” Hambuchen says. “There are not that many [crises] that really rise to this level of an issue that can really be successful as a true emergency fundraising campaign.”