# Airbnb launches nonprofit to provide temporary shelter to people in crisis

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/12/07/airbnb-launches-nonprofit-to-provide-temporary-shelter-to-people-in-crisis/
- Published: 2020-12-07T17:47:49+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Holiday rental service Airbnb have announced the launch of [Airbnb.org](https://www.airbnb.org/),
a nonprofit organisation dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in
times of crisis.

 

Airbnb hosts will be able to offer free and discounted stays to people impacted 
by emergencies, including natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. These stays
aim to support government and nonprofit efforts to house vulnerable people. This
comes as many traditional shelters struggle to balance the demand for accommodation
with the need to limit resident numbers in order to prevent coronavirus transmission.

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Airbnb.org has also committed $2 million to partner with the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Community Organised Relief Effort(
CORE). This funding will be used to cover the cost of stays for IFRC staff and volunteers
supporting communities worldwide affected by COVID-19 and other disasters. The money
will also be used by CORE to fund stays for frontline workers administering free
COVID-19 tests, conducting contact tracing, providing flu shots and coordinating
quarantine support resources in ten cities across the US.

 

“We are incredibly grateful to Airbnb.org for providing places for our team to stay
while they are away from home and serving communities that are being affected by
COVID-19,” said CORE Co-Founder and CEO Ann Lee. “It’s heartening to know that our
hardworking team has a safe and comfortable place to rest and recuperate after the
hard work they do every single day on the frontlines of fighting this pandemic.”

 

**SEE ALSO: [Airbnb invites charities to run social impact experiences to fundraise (7 March 2019)](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/03/07/airbnb-invites-charities-to-run-social-impact-experiences-to-fundraise/)**

 

This announcement builds on Airbnb’s Open Homes and Frontline Stays programme, which
launched in 2012 following Hurricane Sandy. Since then, over 75,000 people have 
received accommodation through the programme.

 

Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and Chairman of Airbnb.org, said: “Founding and
supporting Airbnb.org allows us to double down on our efforts to help communities
in need across the world in coordination with our partners, including the IFRC and
CORE, to further amplify the generosity of our host community.”