We appreciate our partners in service who support the well-being and financial stability of workforces and stakeholders. The demand for emergency financial relief continues to grow nationally and internationally and is being driven by macroeconomic forces, including geopolitical events, economic conditions and climate-related disasters. These conditions are forcing global corporate and government leaders to continue furthering readiness for the next event. Seeing the growing need, our team at E4E Relief is planning how our platform and service can evolve to respond. In 2023, we advanced our thinking, our solution and our service.
The evolution of Emergency Financial Relief℠
2023 was the most transformational year to date for our market-leading solution.
In June, we celebrated the launch of our enhanced Emergency Financial Relief platform, achieving profound improvements to our operations, customer experience and business development opportunities, which enabled us to serve more companies and individuals around the world. At our launch event, we were joined by our technology partners, KPMG and Microsoft, who worked alongside us to build our world-class relief solution. We were also joined by McDonald’s, a globally recognized, decades-long industry leader we are proud to call an E4E Relief client, and one with leadership who have seen firsthand how emergency financial relief supports operational efficiency and workforce well-being in the modern business landscape.
Additionally, we launched our Native Translations Package, which allows individuals in need to access our application in 12 languages, making it possible for us to serve 80% of the connected world.
E4E Relief continued offering professional 24/7 applicant support in more than 200 languages to assist with any questions that arise during the application process.
As an organization supporting global corporations, these were critical steps in our evolution, allowing us to largely eliminate language barriers, especially around culturally sensitive topics, and make relief more accessible to individuals in the U.S. and globally.
We also broadened the scope of the stakeholder populations we support. Historically, E4E Relief centered our programs around supporting employees. Now, we understand that many individuals contribute to the success and sustainability of a business – employees, contractors, suppliers, franchisees and members of the broader community – and we have pivoted our business reach accordingly. Our clients can now choose to support a diverse pool of stakeholders through emergency financial relief. For example, we launched a new Resident Relief program in 2023, aligning with a real estate investment trust to provide relief grants to tenants at risk of eviction. Through that work, we were able to help keep over 230 families in their homes over the holidays and support the real estate company’s zero eviction management strategy.
Also in June, we launched ImpactStack℠, a first-of-its-kind effort to measure the outcomes of emergency financial relief for those who receive our grants and the companies they support. ImpactStack has already yielded fascinating and meaningful insights that draw a strong connection between our emergency financial relief programs and individuals’ financial stability, stronger workforce productivity, increased engagement and greater retention. We have also seen compelling evidence that our emergency financial relief plays a key role in helping individuals maintain housing stability and food security – two key aspects of overall workforce well-being. We are now able to analyze our outcomes across all our clients to understand the broad-based impact, and to make insights available to the companies we support so our clients can understand the impact of their investment within their organizations.
Throughout the rest of 2023, we continued to enhance our platform, incorporating single sign-on (SSO) and other forms of class verification to streamline the process of accessing our application and our dashboards. We added digital payment choice to better serve our grant recipients in the U.S., making five payment options from which applicants can select. We launched our Accelerated Response program to give companies an expedited option for awarding small emergency financial relief grants during qualifying disasters around the world. Our momentum continues as 2024 is entering its second quarter.
Measurable impact
Our commitment to enhancement led to some incredible outcomes for our clients and their stakeholders, as well as for our organization. Here’s a brief look at some key data points:
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Serving 160 clients, representing 6.5+ million individuals worldwide
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Processed 350,000+ applications and $359 million in contributions since 2020
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Awarded over $259 million in grants to individuals since 2020
In addition, we had the privilege of supporting individuals through another historic disaster season. There were 28 billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. alone in 2023, which beat the previous 22 billion-dollar record set in 2020. And those numbers do not include the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East or Typhoon Doksuri in the West Pacific. For so many of these disasters, our clients were able to use emergency financial relief programs to support essential personnel in impacted regions, and we hear stories every day about how this investment is a game changer for workforces and businesses.
In Maui, we heard from a grantee whose house burnt to the ground and, after weeks of living in transition between shelters, he used his grant to get into a new apartment. After Hurricane Idalia, a grantee expressed gratitude for financial relief as her family recovered from extensive flooding inside their house, which damaged furniture, clothing and floors. We are so grateful for the tangible evidence that our timely financial relief grants were a lifeline during unexpected crises.
ImpactStack℠ has also highlighted the strong connection between emergency financial relief and several meaningful social and business outcomes that are important to corporations and society overall, including financial stability, emotional well-being, productivity and more.
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82% of grant recipients have regained financial stability after receiving relief
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73% of recipients said their grant helped them maintain productivity
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72% said they feel an increased desire to continue employment at their company after receiving their grant
Up next
As we look toward the rest of 2024, we know disasters and hardships will continue to impact individuals around the world, and as we continue to enhance our work. We are focusing on making strategic investments and measuring the outcomes of relief.
Over the past year, I have had several insightful conversations with many clients focused on the importance of measuring the impact of social investments, and it continues to represent a key pain point for nonprofits and corporations alike. While the work of social impact is critical, it is just as vital to understand how investments in people and community are making a difference, both for the sustainability of social impact investments over the long term and to ensure corporate dollars are allocated to the most meaningful programs and solutions. We now know that relief supports human capital sustainability and addresses key workforce challenges related to emotional and financial well-being. Our goal is to continue to advance in this space and serve as a leader in impact technology for our clients and the broader impact community.
In addition, we are eager to empower our clients with new product features that enhance the emergency financial relief user experience for both individuals and the companies they serve. In January 2024, we launched our Mental Health & Well-being event solution, which allows companies to provide grants to support expenses associated with treatments in emergency mental health and well-being. Our industry-leading thinking about Mental Health & Well-being events was informed by our aforementioned investment in outcomes and insights, and the information employees are sharing about their emotional well-being.
At E4E Relief, we are financial first responders, and we empower compassionate company leaders to invest in the strength, sustainability and resiliency of their key stakeholders. Our clients are changing the world of work for the better, and it is our honor and privilege to serve as their partner.
I look forward to working with our existing and future clients and to supporting their business and social objectives this year. Wishing everyone the best in 2024 and beyond.
Sincerely,
Holly Welch Stubbing
President & CEO
E4E Relief
