The American Red Cross North Dakota Region responds to home fires, flooding, and blizzards statewide, including the periodic spring floods that hit the Red River Valley around Fargo hard enough to force evacuations. Its blood collections supply Sanford Health, Essentia, and other North Dakota hospital systems. Below is how to donate, how to give blood, and who to call if you need disaster assistance.
Spring snowmelt makes the Red River Valley one of the country's recurring flood zones, and the Red Cross opens shelters and runs emergency assistance when evacuations happen. Winter brings the opposite problem: blizzards severe enough to isolate rural communities for days at a time, which turns basic sheltering and welfare checks into serious logistics.
Home fires fill in the rest of the calendar. After a fire, the Red Cross provides emergency lodging, food, and clothing at no cost to the household. For any disaster assistance in North Dakota, the number is 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Collections in the state supply Sanford Health, Essentia, and other North Dakota hospital systems, so donations stay meaningfully local. Find a nearby drive or donor center at redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Whole blood donation takes about an hour including check-in and recovery snacks, and donors are eligible again after roughly eight weeks. Rural drives rotate through smaller towns, so checking the schedule beats assuming there is nothing nearby. Employers, schools, and churches can host drives of their own through the same site, which is how collection reaches much of the state outside Fargo and Bismarck.
Financial gifts at redcross.org fund shelter operations, supplies, and recovery casework. In a state where disasters are seasonal and predictable, recurring donations are especially useful because they fund readiness before the flood crest arrives.
Volunteers train before deploying to shelter operations and casework, and the Red Cross also offers CPR and first aid classes; both paths start at redcross.org. Volunteering carries particular weight in a lightly populated state, where a flood response may need every trained shelter worker within a hundred miles. Training before flood season, rather than during it, is the practical move.
Verify 501(c)(3) status with the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search at apps.irs.gov and scan the organization's Charity Navigator page. If you give $250 or more, keep the written acknowledgment for tax time.
Sources: American Red Cross — North Dakota Region official site (redcross.org); our North Dakota charity guide research. Retrieved July 2026. We are not affiliated with American Red Cross — North Dakota Region and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
More North Dakota charities and donation guides