Disasters Emergency Committee

Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) only appeal when they know they can help. They bring together 13 leading UK aid charities in times of crisis. Since their launch in 1963, they have run 69 appeals and raised more than £1.4 billion - saving millions of lives and rebuilding communities devastated by disasters. They respond to disasters in the world’s poorest countries, using a set of criteria to help them decide when they launch an appeal and how they can be most effective. The DEC consists of member agencies who are experts in humanitarian aid, delivering the efficient disaster responses which donors expect and those affected by disasters need. They are governed by a board of trustees which includes the chief executives of all their members and up to six independent trustees; with a very small staff team of 13, the DEC secretariat, to carry out the day-to-day running of the organisation. Along with the support of the Rapid Response Network, their media and corporate partners, they form a unique collaborative hub, able to launch appeals and raise funds to tackle some of the world’s most devastating crises. Their priority is delivering aid and support to those that need it, as quickly and efficiently as possible. Decisions about how they allocate your money to each of their members when a disaster strikes are taken in advance, based on each member’s ability to deliver aid where it is needed. They make certain that how they spend your money ensures that communities receive the urgent humanitarian aid required, as well as long term support to rebuild their lives after a disaster. They operate an extremely cost effective model, spending an average of just 5.9% of the money they raise, on running their appeals, with the rest distributed to their members to carry out their vital work. The DEC’s work is governed by a commitment to best practice and being accountable to both their donors and those affected by disasters. Their high standards begin with their membership, for which they have a strict set of criteria to make sure that the DEC is made up of the UK’s leading aid agencies.  They conduct and publish regular independent appeal evaluations, to check their members’ disaster responses are really helping the communities that need them most, and their annual reports provide details on the DEC’s operational and financial performance every year.