A Rapid, Decentralized Response to the Collapse of Aid Networks

LifeChutes starts where traditional aid models end: at the last mile. Instead of aid trickling down through layers of bureaucracy—where as much as 95% of funding can be absorbed before reaching communities—this model begins with local networks. By working from the bottom up, LifeChutes ensures that resources flow directly to those delivering impact, not just those managing the system. The abrupt withdrawal of USAID funding and the UK’s decision to slash foreign aid are not just funding crises—they signal a systemic collapse of traditional development assistance. These

cuts are part of a wider global trend where governments are shifting resources away from aid, leaving critical programs in health, food security, climate crisis response, economic stability, and conflict response at immediate risk. Thousands of local organizations, service providers, and community-led initiatives are now on the verge of disappearing, not because they failed, but because they were embedded in a donor-driven system that never prioritized

their long-term sustainability.

Without action, decades of built-up knowledge, coordination, and local capacity will vanish, disrupting essential health

services, community development programs, and economic stability in fragile regions. But this is not the time to step back—it is more urgent than ever for those who have worked in this sector, including those whose jobs or funding have been lost, to take action. The networks that made this work possible still exist, and now is the time to step up and ensure they are not permanently erased. While funding is gone, these networks still exist—they just need a new way to stay connected and sustain their work.

LifeChutes applies a self-healing network approach—rather than waiting for top-down interventions, it enables local organizations

to dynamically reconnect and reinforce their networks in real-time, ensuring that aid ecosystems can regenerate and sustain themselves despite donor withdrawals.

LifeChutes is more than a mapping tool—it is a decentralized model that enables local organizations to protect their infrastructure, align efforts, and find new sustainability pathways in response to donor exits. Using real-time mapping and coordination tools, organizations can identify who is still operational, what resources remain, and where support is still reaching communities and where it is needed but has stopped.

What LifeChutes Does

Maps and connects organizations—both those at risk and those still operating—along with their services, existing donors, and the communities they serve. Flips the traditional humanitarian supply chain—starting at the last mile, where local actors can allocate resources directly, instead of waiting for top-down funding to reach them. Provides a real-time coordination platform where organizations can share resources, collaborate dynamically, and respond effectively. Enables partnerships with private sector, philanthropic, and public actors to create alternative sustainability models and prevent full system collapse. Businesses play a crucial role in sustaining humanitarian and development networks, ensuring supply chain stability, economic resilience, and workforce continuity in fragile regions. Encourages cross-sector collaboration to address health, food security, climate resilience, economic stability, conflict response, and disaster response as interconnected challenges. Ensures local actors take the lead in defining solutions, rather than waiting for a donor-led response. Integrates just-in-time resource allocation, ensuring that remaining funding, goods, and services flow to areas of highest need rather than being lost to inefficiencies.

Email: shelley@trellyz.com

Who Can Use This?

Grassroots & Local Organizations

Those with deep community ties but limited resources can use this to stay connected, coordinate, and sustain their work.

Networks of Community-Based Organizations

Groups that previously relied on donor funding can map existing resources and collaborate on solutions.

NGOs & Humanitarian Organizations

Ensure continuity of services by leveraging shared resources and funding connections.

Private Sector

Businesses play a crucial role in sustaining humanitarian and development networks, ensuring supply chain stability, economic resilience, and workforce continuity in fragile regions.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiatives

Companies looking to align social impact with sustainable, locally-driven solutions can strengthen networks, direct resources more effectively, and build long-term partnerships that go beyond traditional aid models.

Government & Philanthropic Funders

Support community-driven solutions with transparent coordination.

Get Involved!

With critical networks at risk of disappearing, this is a pivotal moment to rethink how aid ecosystems function—not by recreating old models, but by strengthening what remains and ensuring that local organizations can sustain themselves. We can all play important roles!
Volunteer your experience. If you have worked in humanitarian aid or have connections to organizations still operating, help us map and document these networks before they disappear.
Use available tools to coordinate more effectively. Trellyz is providing its software to help organizations map sectors, regions.
Trellyz is currently self-funding this effort because the urgency is too great to wait for external support. We have proven that decentralized coordination models can work—RefAid started as a volunteer effort and is now used in 50 countries. But long-term sustainability will require partners who see the value in strengthening local networks and ensuring aid ecosystems remain intact. If you're interested in supporting a more resilient, decentralized humanitarian system, let’s talk.

Adapt this model for your region.

LifeChutes is already preserving networks in areas affected by donor exits. If you see a need for this approach in your country or sector, we can help you implement it.