On January 12, 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. Within hours, Airlink was moving 2,000 doctors and nurses and 500,000 pounds of aid into the region. The model worked. But the lesson that stuck wasn't about speed. It was about what made speed possible: a partnership that was already built before the disaster hit.

Over 16 years and across dozens of crises, Airlink and United Airlines have learned the same thing together. If you're meeting your partner for the first time in a crisis, you've already lost precious time.

In this session, Paloma from Airlink and BJ from United will share the story of one of the most effective corporate-nonprofit disaster relief partnerships in the country, and what it actually takes to build that kind of readiness before you need it. You'll hear how United's commitment of flight resources, cargo capacity, and customer miles has delivered lifesaving relief to more than 23 million people across the world, saved the nonprofit community nearly $10 million, and deployed 2.1 million pounds of aid — including 133 responders sent to Maui over two years of recovery following the 2023 wildfires. You'll also hear about a structural problem hiding in plain sight: 84% of airline and logistics companies say they're willing to donate services to the humanitarian sector, but fewer than a third have formalized that commitment through any kind of agreement or policy. The desire to help is there. The mechanism isn't.

Attendees will leave with:

• A clear model for building corporate-nonprofit disaster relief partnerships before a crisis hits
• Insight on how to move beyond one-time donations toward pre-committed resources with clear activation triggers
• Real examples of what sustained partnership looks like across immediate response and long-term recovery
• A framework for making the business case for disaster relief investment as a driver of loyalty, workforce motivation, and operational resilience
• Practical guidance on how corporations can deploy their unique assets effectively through trusted nonprofit intermediaries