Where to donate for the Colombia earthquake (2026)

The fastest way to help after the 2026 Colombia earthquake is to give to a vetted 501(c)(3) that's already on the ground - Direct Relief, AmeriCares, Convoy of Hope, GlobalGiving's Colombia fund, or All Hands and Hearts. Each is a registered US nonprofit with a public track record, so your money reaches real relief instead of a scam. Below is what each one actually does, how to give without getting burned, and why it's worth giving a little past this week.

On August 8, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake tore through western Colombia near San José del Palmar, in the mountainous coffee region that spans Chocó, Risaralda, Quindío and Valle del Cauca. The government declared a national emergency. Hundreds of people have died, thousands more are still missing as rescuers reach cut-off towns, and well over a million have been affected - homes down, clinics damaged, water systems broken. If you've been staring at the news wanting to do something and not knowing where to start, this is for you. The good news: the "where" part is easier than it looks, and the "how much" part matters less than you'd think.

How to give wisely (and skip the scams)

Disasters bring out the best in people and, unfortunately, the fastest-moving scammers. Fake funds and lookalike charities spin up within hours of a major event, so a few seconds of care goes a long way.

Give to a registered 501(c)(3) with a public EIN - that means your gift is tax-deductible and the organization files real financials. You can confirm any US nonprofit's status in about ten seconds on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, and check its accountability score on Charity Navigator or the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. Give money rather than shipping goods; cash lets relief teams buy exactly what's needed, locally, without the cost and chaos of sorting donated stuff. And be wary of brand-new personal fundraisers with no verification behind them - not because people aren't kind, but because you can't see where the money lands.

Everything on the list below clears that bar. These are established organizations that are publicly, specifically responding to this earthquake - not generic "we work in disasters" pages.

Verified nonprofits responding to the Colombia earthquake

Direct Relief

Direct Relief is a medical aid organization that's been sending donated medicine and supplies to disaster zones since 1948, and it has moved more than $27 million in medical aid to Colombian health organizations since 2015. After the quake it's coordinating with local and regional health partners to get wound care, antibiotics and field-medic supplies to clinics that lost their stock. Roughly $3 covers a single dose of medicine for someone being treated right now. Verified 501(c)(3), EIN 95-1831116, and it holds Charity Navigator's top rating.

AmeriCares

AmeriCares is a health-focused relief organization that ships emergency medical and hygiene supplies to communities hit by disaster. It's a strong pick if you want your gift to translate into something tangible - a medical kit for a displaced family, essentially. Verified 501(c)(3), EIN 06-1008595, top-rated by Charity Navigator and BBB-accredited.

Convoy of Hope

If you'd rather fund food and water, Convoy of Hope is a large-scale disaster feeding organization moving meals and emergency supplies to families who've lost their kitchens and their local markets. Verified 501(c)(3), EIN 68-0051386, and a Charity Navigator 4-star charity for eighteen years running.

GlobalGiving - Colombia Earthquake Relief Fund

GlobalGiving runs a pooled fund that channels donations to vetted, locally led organizations responding on the ground - useful if you'd rather trust a group of Colombian responders than pick a single lane. Verified 501(c)(3), EIN 30-0108263, Charity Navigator 4-star, BBB-accredited and Candid Platinum.

All Hands and Hearts

Here's the one to remember for later. All Hands and Hearts clears debris and rebuilds homes and schools after the cameras leave - the slow, unglamorous work of putting a town back together. Verified 501(c)(3), EIN 20-3414952. Most disaster money arrives in the first week; rebuilding takes years, and organizations like this one are still there for it.

What if you can't give much right now?

Plenty of people read a list like this, feel the pull to help, then close the tab - not because they don't care, but because $50 or $100 feels like the ante and money's tight. It isn't the ante. A few dollars to a well-run relief organization buys something real: a dose of medicine, a hot meal, a hygiene kit. The idea that a donation only counts if it's big is the single most expensive myth in giving, and it mostly just stops people from giving at all.

We don't have a generosity problem. We have a consistency problem. The most useful thing most of us can do isn't to stretch for one heroic gift - it's to give a little, and to keep going. If you want a deeper look at why small donations matter, read Does one dollar actually help?

Why it's worth giving past this week

Search interest in "how to help Colombia" will spike for a few days and then fall off a cliff. The need won't. Families will still be rebuilding homes, clinics and water systems long after the story drops out of the feed, and that's exactly when funding tends to dry up. Disasters fade from the feed. Rebuilding doesn't.

This is the quiet case for steady giving over the one-off kind. A single burst of donations is generous, but it's hard for any organization to plan a months-long recovery on money that arrives all at once and then stops. A dollar a day from a thousand people is $365,000 a nonprofit can actually build a program around. Small, given consistently, turns out to be the holy grail - both for the people giving and the communities on the other end.

The easiest way to give - today and through the rebuild

If you want to help Colombia in about ten seconds and then keep helping without thinking about it, that's the whole reason Ritmo exists. Ritmo is a daily giving app: you pick what you care about, and each day you get one simple choice and one tap. For the Colombia earthquake it features Direct Relief, the verified nonprofit above, so $3 sends a dose of medicine straight to the response - and you can follow exactly where it went, right in the app.

Give once today, then keep giving a little as the rebuild goes on. You were probably going to check your phone anyway - this one counts.

Related reading: How to help after hurricanes · Ways to help your community