Fire and forget: How to help in a polycrisis
Mar 5, 2025
The amount of global news we’re being fed these days is almost overwhelming – and it’s almost all overwhelmingly bad news too. If you’d like to make a stand but don’t know where to start, we have some advice.
Crisis, crisis everywhere
Food, clean water, medical supplies, education, shelter, money, trauma counseling, menstrual products, cash – the list of needs facing people living in crisis is long and getting longer. Today, our world is afflicted by what’s increasingly referred to as polycrisis – a situation where multiple, interconnected crises converge and amplify each other, resulting in a predicament which is difficult to manage or resolve.
Lots of people want to help, but don’t know where to start. So many countries, so many causes, so many organizations. How am I supposed to keep track of what’s happening where, who’s facing the greatest needs, and which organizations are having a real impact on the ground? Will my contribution even make a difference, given the scale of the problems facing the world?
Our friend, renowned celebrity photographer Alexi Lubomirski, has been an activist, advocate, and donor since his 20s. “When I got my first proper paycheck, I wanted to give something to charity but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Then I got stopped by a guy in the street who convinced me to sign up as a monthly giver to a charity I’d never even heard of.” Twenty-plus years later, and it’s a decision he has never regretted. In fact, he has spent nearly a decade of that time also lending his support as an ambassador for said charity, witnessing its impact firsthand.
One stop shop
So, what’s the big deal about Concern Worldwide? Well, for a start we do a LOT of different types of work. That list at the start of this article pretty much summarizes the breadth of our program activities, along with other important development work like vocational training, financial empowerment, livelihoods, disaster readiness, and health system strengthening. And it all happens in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities across four continents, from Haiti to Somalia to Syria to Bangladesh – 25 countries in all. Our experts regularly assess what’s needed where and design Concern’s interventions accordingly. When disaster strikes, we respond quickly. And we’ve been doing all this since 1968, so we know the ropes.
"Being a Concern(ed) Citizen means committing to change lives – every single month,” says Heather Thompson, who oversees the Concern(ed) Citizens program at Concern Worldwide. “It’s more than just another subscription – it’s a powerful way to help create the world we want to see. A small, consistent gift can make a lasting impact. Challenge yourself to find one monthly subscription you don’t need (or even want) and turn it into a monthly gift to Concern. Join a community of like-minded people who believe in change – that’s what Concern(ed) Citizens is all about.”
A trusted partner
In case you’re worried your monthly donation, however modest, might get lost in a tsunami of crises, rest assured that this is most definitely not the case. VP of Programs, Kirk Prichard, explains why: “Concern raises hundreds of millions of dollars every year from governments and institutional donors, but most of that money is restricted to very specific program activities. In order for us to have an organization that’s fit for purpose – with trained staff, robust systems, and the necessary infrastructure – we need your unrestricted dollars. Without them we would be unable to even compete for those big game-changing grants, never mind administer them. Our individual donors give us the leverage we need to expand our operational reach and impact.”
As an extra bonus, Concern Worldwide US Inc is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, so your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. It also has four stars from Charity Navigator, is a Candid gold level organization for transparency, and undergoes regular audits by the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative.
Join us!
If you do sign up as a monthly giver, we’ll keep you up to date on program highlights from around the world via a quarterly newsletter. You can also see the impact of Concern’s work on social media, our website, and through our annual report. Occasionally we organize webinars and other events to allow supporters direct access to staff and stories from our countries of operation. Of course, if you’d rather be blissfully unaware, that’s okay too!
“Fire and forget” is a military term that we’ve decided to co-opt and apply to a vital weapon in our humanitarian arsenal. Built from love and compassion, regular giving is central to our mission of ending extreme poverty – whatever it takes. If you’d like to join us in this battle against the polycrisis… you know what to do!
