Disaster philanthropy is the receiving and allocating of resources to address community needs that arise from a disaster. Foundations often play a critical role in disaster relief and recovery and community foundations serve the role of grantmaking to improve the lives of people in a defined local geographic area. Additionally, foundations may bring various philanthropic entities together and may collaborate with nonprofits, communities, businesses, and governments to coordinate efforts. 

The Council on Foundations outlines three areas disaster philanthropy may be applied: 

• Immediate Relief 

• Short-Term Recovery 

• Long-Term Rebuilding
    

Case Study – The Maui Strong Fund^®

Philanthropic resources, like the Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund^®, are made possible by the pooled generosity of individuals and organizations that are interested in supporting the recovery of a disaster. Philanthropic support is generally administered via grants to nonprofit organizations who are operating programs with a charitable purpose in alignment to recovery efforts. Philanthropic support will be some of the quickest resources available in the early days of a disaster and is often flexible to the needs of agencies and organizations managing responsive operations.

Foundations like the Hawai‘i Community Foundation will serve disaster through some key activities.  

Fundraising
Foundation staff will coordinate fundraising opportunities through donation platforms that are accessible from every country. Donations are tax-deductible and a receipt is provided to the donors. Donations will range from $1 to millions of dollars, depending on the resources of the donor.

Bridge Building
Foundations, like HCF, will serve as a “bridge builder” during disaster response between the community organizations and the governmental agencies’ coordination of resources. This includes uplifting community voice and ensuring nonprofit leaders and community members are given opportunities to provide feedback and partner on programming. 

Listening
Foundations will often collect data and seek feedback from a variety of stakeholders to ensure alignment of response efforts to the needs on the ground. Foundations will engage in meetings and other coordinated conversations to ensure grantmaking is responsive and appropriate to the phase of disaster response.  

Responsive grantmaking
Grantmaking by foundations during a disaster will be responsive to the highlighted needs and considerate of the data emerging from the activities on the ground. Foundation grantmaking approaches may shift over time to align with the progress of the response. In the early days of an emergency, funds will be deployed quickly to trusted organizations supporting basic needs. As the recovery transitions to more interim/long-term strategies, the funding will focus on programs providing more structured support for impacted members of the community.