Philanthropy for disaster relief

Hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, epidemics, large-scale acts of terrorism. When extraordinary events with tragic outcomes occur and dominate the media cycle, the human reaction is to respond with compassion and to try to provide help. However — whether the event happens next door or halfway around the globe — it is not always easy to know how to have the greatest impact or how to get aid to those who most need it. Sometimes the most effective response is to make grants prior to a disaster striking.

There is a particularly important role for private philanthropy in responding to disasters, as private funding is more flexible and can often reach on-the-ground responders more rapidly than public funds can. In addition, private donors can take the long view and think about impact at all stages of disaster response.

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) has defined the four stages of disaster response¹ along with opportunities for philanthropic support at each stage:

1. Resilience, risk reduction and mitigation- support for regions or organizations to build, maintain and recover critical functions in the face of shocks/stresses. For example, redundant off-site storage of patient files for a health center or planting mangrove belts along coastlines to preemptively mitigate flooding from surges during major storms.
2. Preparedness- specific emergency preparedness activities for communities such as training for first responders, community education programs or city planning exercises around evacuation for flood or hurricane.
3. Response and relief- grants for immediate responses, particularly for basic human services.
4. Reconstruction and recovery- longer-term recovery and reconstruction, including activities to mitigate against future disasters (for example, raising houses in flood-prone areas).

In their long-running study Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy: Data to Drive Decisions², the CDP has consistently found that the bulk of funding in any given year is on the immediate response phase to disasters. Resilience, risk reduction and mitigation, and usually long-term recovery are all underfunded. The focus on response and relief is understandable, given the immediacy of images and stories that emerge directly after a catastrophic event, and there is no denying the importance of providing critical services—food, shelter, medical care, safety —as soon as possible. However, the longer-term reconstruction and recovery needs are often overlooked, more expensive, and dramatically underfunded by public, insurance and private funds.

In considering a donation in response to a disaster, some key points outlined by CDP and other experts include:

• Take the long view. Even while focusing on immediate needs, remember that it will take some time for the full range of needs to emerge. Be patient and willing to persist in learning about the long-term needs and impacts after major events. Many needs such as mental health or housing reconstruction may take months if not years to be fully apparent, and funding will be needed throughout.³
• Inequities may be exacerbated by the disaster. Consider focusing your giving to support under-resourced and/or socially marginalized populations who may have a harder time finding safe shelter or appropriate services.
• All funders are disaster philanthropists. Even if a you do not normally give in a particular geographic region or fund immediate relief efforts, there are multiple ways to tie disaster funding into a foundation’s mission. When thinking about an overall giving budget, it may be useful to have routine discussions about whether disaster giving is in place of or in addition to your regular charitable giving.³
• Support the sharing of best practices. Interested donors could help support the transfer of expertise from one region to another before the next disaster occurs. For example, a donor could fund the research and documentation of best practices in volunteer management.³
• Look to past disasters for guidance. There are often lessons learned that could be used to create better policies and procedures. Consider funding disaster risk-reduction research or projects that could inform more effective disaster preparation and response policy.³
• Do not collect or send physical goods unless an agency on the ground specifically requests them. Aid agencies are frequently overwhelmed when well-meaning but uninformed people send what they think to be necessary items, but which are frequently less than useful. ⁴

When making decisions about where to give in responding to a disaster, you should continue to undertake due diligence for an organization before you make a grant. Some questions to consider include:

• What is the organization’s track record in providing disaster relief? Does it work from a central national site, or have local affiliates or partners? Especially in international disasters, the importance of local knowledge is paramount, as responders need to be able to fluidly navigate the language, culture, policies and local institutions such as hospitals in the in the affected area.
• How well has the organization responded in the past to delivering the type of services needed? For example, if It’s providing medical services, does it have the appropriate staffing and expertise?
• Does the organization have current exempt status from the IRS?
• If this is a new organization formed in response to this specific disaster, what do you know about the board? Staff? Other funders? It’s wise to be particularly wary of new nonprofits formed at times of disasters. While many will be legitimate, there have also been a number of unfortunate situations where organizations raising funds for a specific disaster have later been revealed as scams.⁶ If you have any doubts, consult with a philanthropic advisor.