This year’s Ebola outbreak has sparked a global response. Governments, aid organizations, and public health groups from across the world are pledging billions of dollars and sending personnel to provide relief in affected areas.

The situation is urgent. The World Health Organization projects that anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 new cases will occur weekly by December. The current outbreak has already claimed more lives than all previous ebola outbreaks put together.

At this rate, the already high cost of containment will only continue to grow. The ebola treatment camp in Bong County, Liberia (built by Save the Children, operated by the International Medical Corps) cost $175,000 to build. It employs a paid staff of 165 and goes through 100 sets of gowns, sheets, and other basic patient supplies a day. Monthly, the operating cost is around $1 million, or $15,000 per bed. According to figures from the WHO, operating 100,000 beds would cost West Africa $1 to $2 billion a month.

Frontline non-profits are struggling with these costs. Natural disaster development professionals are at pains to formulate effective fundraising strategies. While a couple of high-profile donations have secured media attention for the fundraising effort—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated $250 million the the Centers for Disease Conrol, and the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation pledged $50 million to UN agencies and various non-profits operating in West Africa—fundraisers face an uphill battle appealing to grass-roots funding.

According to Joel Charny of InterAction, this is because donors respond to cataclysmic events. Highly visible natural disasters such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the 2013 typhoon in the Philippines generate not only billions in fundraising, but also volunteers. According to David Wightwick of Save the Children, planes were overflowing with volunteers after Typhhon Haiyan struck the Philippines. But when his organization requested 28 logisticians to work in countries affected by ebola, 21 declined.

Gary Shaye, who also works for Save the Children, commented that “until [ebola] is something much more visible in the media, it’s almost impossible to raise funds.”

Finding a way to tap into the public’s philanthropic spirit is a paramount issue facing frontline non-profits working to contain ebola. Once fundraisers craft a message that connects their potential donors to the plight of ebola sufferers—just as donors felt connected to the victims of other recent natural disasters—disaster relief organizations will be able to move forward in their hugely important work.

This process may now be under way. Mark Zuckerberg has announced a fundraising drive that will be featured on Facebook, where users will be asked to help stop ebola with a donation to the response effort.