DisasterReady

What DisasterReady does

DisasterReady is a free online learning platform purpose-built for humanitarian and development professionals worldwide. Operated by the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and charitable arm of Cornerstone OnDemand, the platform delivers more than 1,800 courses, videos, downloadable guides, and 15 assessment-based certificate programs across 11 topic categories including Project and Program Management, Safety and Security, Humanitarian Essentials, MEAL, Professional Development, Management and Leadership, Health, Protection, Food Security and Nutrition, Staff Care and Safeguarding, and Cash and Voucher Assistance. Content is co-developed with 100+ leading humanitarian organizations, including UNHCR, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, the Red Cross, ICRC, and INSSA, and is delivered in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish.

The platform is built on Cornerstone OnDemand's enterprise learning management system technology, accessed via web browser on desktop and mobile devices. Users self-register and self-serve without sales interaction, creating a product-led growth model. Notable technical and product components include a multi-language certification system, assessment-based digital badges and certificates, and a premium DisasterReady+ (DR+) Enterprise Portal enabling organizations to deploy learning through secure private portals with customizable enterprise features.

The business model is freemium-to-free: DisasterReady charges learners nothing for any course, assessment, certification, or digital badge. The platform generates no direct user revenue and is sustained through foundation funding, partner contributions, and parent-organization support from Cornerstone OnDemand. Primary customer segments include individual humanitarian professionals seeking skills development, NGOs and non-profits training staff and volunteers, UN agencies requiring standardized training across global offices, and government ministries and community-based organizations. DisasterReady is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, alongside the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation.

Name

DisasterReady

Legal name

Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation

Website

https://disasterready.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DisasterReady is a free online learning platform serving 1.5 million+ humanitarian and development professionals across 195 countries with 1,800+ courses and 15 certification programs in four languages, operated by the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Professional Training

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disaster Recovery, Reconstruction & Resilience Programs (BPAGAAAK), Emergency Education / Education in Emergencies (EiE) (BPADADAN), Disaster Relief & Humanitarian Aid Volunteering (EDAIAGAF)

Keywords

• Humanitarian training platform
• Online certification programs
• Nonprofit learning resources
• Disaster response training
• Free professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Free Platform (Primary): DisasterReady operates as a 100% free online learning platform for humanitarian and development professionals. All courses, certifications, exams, and certificates are provided at no cost to learners. The platform is a signature program of the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and is funded through foundation support rather than user revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DisasterReady is a free online learning platform that provides more than 1,800 courses, videos, certifications, and downloadable guides for humanitarian and development professionals worldwide. Content is available in four languages (English, Arabic, French, and Spanish) and is built on the Cornerstone OnDemand learning management system, with content contributed by over 100 leading humanitarian and development organizations. The platform also offers the DisasterReady+ Enterprise Portal that enables organizations to deliver, track, and report on staff training at scale.

Product overview

DisasterReady is a single, unified online learning platform operated by the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation that provides free access to over 1,800 training resources for humanitarian and development professionals. The platform offers both standalone courses organized across 11 topic categories (Project and Program Management, Safety and Security, Humanitarian Essentials, MEAL, Professional Development, Management and Leadership, Health, Protection, Food Security and Nutrition, Staff Care and Safeguarding, and Cash and Voucher Assistance) and a portfolio of 15 assessment-based certificate programs. The certificate offerings include specialized professional certifications in Leadership Essentials, Project Management Essentials, MEAL Essentials, Core Humanitarian Certification, Personal Safety and Security, Security Risk Management Essentials, Security Risk Management Professional (SRMP), and Procurement and Logistics, as well as broader nonprofit sector certificates covering Financial Management, Board Member roles, Grant Seeking, Nonprofit Essentials, Fundraising, and Marketing. All resources and certifications are provided free of charge in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish. The platform is accessible on any device and available to users worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DisasterReady Online Learning Platform Free online learning platform providing 1,800+ courses, videos, downloadable guides, and certificate programs for humanitarian and development professionals, available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish, with content contributed by more than 100 humanitarian and development organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.5 million+ humanitarian professionals trained across 195 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cornerstone OnDemand FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDisasterReady is a signature program of the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation—the charitable arm of Cornerstone OnDemand. The foundation provides the technology platform, operational support, and funding that enables DisasterReady to offer free training to humanitarian professionals.
• Mercy CorpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMercy Corps partnered with DisasterReady to develop the Procurement and Logistics Certificate program. The program includes online courses, interactive scenarios, and assessments covering best practices of procurement, warehousing, fleet management, and asset management. Certificates are jointly issued by Mercy Corps and DisasterReady.
• Save the ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSave the Children partnered with DisasterReady to develop the Personal Safety and Security Certificate program. The assessment-based certificate comprises ten online courses and a test covering topics such as preparing to travel, field communications, preventing assaults, and responding to arrest situations.
• Global Interagency Security Forum (GISF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGISF partnered with DisasterReady and Insecurity Insight to develop the Security Risk Management Essentials Certificate. The program teaches essential security risk management processes, roles, and procedures for humanitarian staff.
• Insecurity InsightcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInsecurity Insight co-developed the Security Risk Management Essentials Certificate with DisasterReady and GISF, providing expertise on security risk management best practices.
• International NGO Safety and Security Association (INSSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINSSA partnered with DisasterReady to offer Security Risk Management Professional Certifications at Country level (SRMP-C) and Regional level (SRMP-R). INSSA is a non-profit global membership association committed to improving safety and security for humanitarian workers.
• Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit SectorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Leadership Essentials Certificate program is based on Jim Morgan's Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector booklet, providing eight practical insights for leaders contextualized to the humanitarian sector.
• MEAL DProcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe MEAL Essentials Certificate is aligned to the MEAL DPro Guide, ensuring the program meets sector standards for Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning practices.
• Project DProcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Project Management Essentials Certificate is aligned to the Project DPro Guide, ensuring the program meets sector standards for humanitarian project management.
• Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Procurement and Logistics Certificate program is accredited by CILT (UK), providing professional recognition for graduates of the program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• NonprofitReady: A sister learning platform also operated by Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation, focused on US nonprofit sector training — directly comparable infrastructure, business model, and target learner profile, and demonstrates the foundation's multi-platform approach.
• WorkforceReady: Another Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation sister platform offering free workforce development training — same operating model and tech stack, providing a third comparable peer within the foundation's portfolio.
• Humanitarian Leadership Academy: Parent organization of the Kaya learning platform and a Save the Children-led initiative; operates sector leadership and capacity-building programs overlapping directly with DisasterReady's leadership and project management certificates.

Broad incumbents

• LinkedIn Learning: Subscription-based professional learning platform from LinkedIn covering leadership, project management, and business skills — competes for the same professional development wallet-share that drives DisasterReady adoption.
• edX: Nonprofit MOOC platform founded by Harvard and MIT offering university-credentialed courses globally — comparable as a free/sponsored nonprofit online learning model with formal accreditation, a potential alternative for humanitarian professionals.
• Coursera: Global MOOC platform offering courses and Specializations including humanitarian- and development-related content from universities and NGOs — a broad incumbent whose credentialed certificates compete for the same learner attention.
• Cornerstone OnDemand: The commercial parent of the foundation operating DisasterReady; offers enterprise LMS and talent management software broadly. Relevant as both infrastructure provider and as a commercial incumbent that could expand into nonprofit/humanitarian learning.

Direct peers

• ReliefWeb: Operated by UN OCHA, ReliefWeb is the leading humanitarian information portal and also hosts training and capacity-building resources for humanitarian professionals — directly comparable as a sector-specific training/information platform for the same target audience.
• Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy): Kaya is a free online learning platform operated by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy that delivers humanitarian and development training, courses, and certifications to NGO and UN professionals globally — the closest direct comparable to DisasterReady in terms of audience, free model, and certification focus.

Emerging players

• Global Health eLearning Center (USAID): A USAID-hosted free e-learning platform offering certificate-bearing courses for global health and humanitarian professionals — overlaps with DisasterReady's audience and free-certificate model, though narrower in topic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/disasterready
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/disasterready1
• Facebookfacebook.com/DisasterReady
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/disasterready

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DisasterReady