Cash Relief for Venezuela Earthquake Survivors
Help us get cash to earthquake survivors so they can rebuild and recover.
On June 24, two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast in rapid succession, collapsing hundreds of buildings across the cities of Caracas and La Guaira. The second 7.5-magnitude quake was the largest in Venezuela in more than a century.
This disaster struck a country where nearly 80% of people already live in poverty, many in unreinforced brick and adobe homes that crumble in earthquakes — and where a decade of economic crisis has left the government with limited capacity to respond.
We’re deploying a team to Venezuela to scope a cash response for the families most affected. This emergency cash will help cover immediate needs, such as:
- 🍛 Essentials like food, water, and medicine
- 🏨 Shelter and temporary housing while displaced from damaged or collapsed homes
- 💳 Bills for phone, utilities, and healthcare for those with injuries
Your donations will reach those in greatest need quickly and remotely.
Receiving money — without strings attached — supports families’ short-term survival and long-term recovery. Cash aid is fast and fully remote, letting families meet essential needs quickly and reaching them via digital transfers even when roads are damaged.
This cash will help families meet their own urgent needs and rebuild their lives.
Cash aid allows survivors to meet their own needs rather than having others guess for them — which is why people impacted by a crisis say they prefer cash relief over donated goods.
Achieving our current fundraising goal will enable us to reach hundreds of families in greatest need. We have the capacity to deliver much more, so with more funds, we could expand to reach many more additional people.
If for any reason we are unable to deliver all funds to Venezuelan survivors, donations will be delivered to survivors of future crises through our Emergency Response Fund.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to receive money?
We will use damage and poverty data to identify the highest-need communities, and then enroll and pay impacted families. The exact process is still being determined, and we’ll update here when confirmed.
What if we raise more or less than the fundraising goal?
Any excess funds will help us deliver cash to more impacted families. If for any reason we are unable to deliver all funds to Venezuelan survivors, donations will be delivered to survivors of the next emergency.
How much will each family receive?
We’re still determining the size of the cash payment each family will receive to help them recover and rebuild their lives. The transfer amount will be designed to cover the cost of common post-disaster recovery items. We will update this page with more details when confirmed.
When will people receive my donation?
We’re currently identifying communities in greatest need and aim to complete outreach in the coming weeks. We will update this page with more details when confirmed. In our past responses, we’ve delivered cash 2-3 weeks after the disaster.
What is GiveDirectly?
We’re a nonprofit that lets you send money directly to the world’s poorest, no strings attached. In the last decade, we’ve delivered cash to over 2 million people across 15 countries, and we research the impacts it can have for families in need.
What if I’d like to make a major gift?
We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at info@givedirectly.org.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, donations are tax-deductible in the United States. We accept all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, checks, wires, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and more.
If you’re giving outside the U.S., you can still give to this campaign, but your gift may not be tax-deductible. Reach out to us at info@givedirectly.org with any questions or for more information on ways to give.