Bob: Of all the things that happened to you and your organization in the five and a half months since Sandy hit, what surprised you most?

Hans: I continue to be surprised by the diversity and complexity of the needs that our communities face. Every day I hear of some impact that I had not considered. Not only are there are lots of gaps that need to be filled, they also seem to evolve rapidly. Crafting an effective response in that environment is challenging.

Chris: No real surprises. Disaster response and recovery is an emotional, frustrating, difficult and long-term process. There are many organizations involved, both public and private, all with their respective procedures and rules. Coordinating and collaborating to make the process more efficient and effective is a daunting task. The work following Sandy has been no different.

Bob: How did Superstorm Sandy affect your organizations?

Hans: We were displaced by the storm for two weeks which came with a set of administrative headaches. Concurrently, we needed to be prepared to work with donors who were ready to help immediately.  In retrospect we could have had some contingency plans in place for some of our systems.

Chris: Dodge was impacted only to the degree that staff had varying levels of damage and inconvenience. Fortunately, other than non-catastrophic property damage, staff members were spared.  Likewise, the office was in good shape – never losing power or heat. However, when we reached out to our grantees to survey their damage, we heard a wide variety of responses, with several organizations enduring significant physical damage and, more commonly, lost revenue from canceled performances and fundraising events.

Bob: Tell us a little bit about the roles each one of you and your organizations have played in responding to the storm and in supporting the philanthropic networks of your state.

Chris and Hans: The Community Foundation of New Jersey and the Dodge Foundation decided days after the storm to establish the New Jersey Recovery Fund, which Dodge seeded with a $1 million commitment, ($250,000 of which Dodge directed to its grantees for emergency relief for damages not otherwise covered by insurance or eligible for state and/or federal reimbursement funds).  Several other local and national foundations and individuals have also contributed to the Fund, which has raised approximately $5.5 million to date.

The very nature of the Recovery Fund has helped support our philanthropic network here in New Jersey by providing a vehicle for foundations to broaden their impact by pooling resources and collaborating on grantmaking. We continue to seek opportunities for cooperation and collaboration with other relief and recovery efforts here in New Jersey, including with the state and the Governor’s Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.

Bob: How has private philanthropy impressed you these past five and a half months?

Chris and Hans: Through individual and collective efforts, foundations in New Jersey, as well as from outside the state, have responded in thoughtful and substantive ways to assist in emergency relief as well as intermediate and long term recovery efforts.  We have appreciated our colleagues’ willingness to contribute to and participate in the NJ Recovery Fund so that we can support the long term recovery efforts we face.

Also, the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers has played a pivotal role in informing and educating the philanthropic community about state and federal efforts, ongoing recovery issues, and lessons learned from disaster officials in other states, through a series of weekly conference calls over a four- month period as well as bus tours of devastated areas along the shore.  The Council’s work has effectively helped us understand the depth and breadth of the issues and facilitated information sharing among philanthropic organizations about where grants might be strategically deployed to support recovery efforts.

Bob: What would you like to see more of from private philanthropy?

Chris and Hans: Even greater coordination and collaboration.  No matter how much money is provided by private philanthropy, it is a drop in the bucket relative to the need.  Working together improves our chances of success and our collective impact. Additionally, allowing more flexibility and placing fewer restrictions on contributions to a pooled fund.  We have discovered that the ground is constantly shifting underneath us – we learn about new issues and challenges all the time.  Having as few restrictions as possible allows us to change directions with grant dollars if the need arises.

Bob: What are the greatest unmet needs or gaps that you are seeing right now as a result of the hurricane (e.g. housing, mental health, vulnerable populations, etc.) and what role should private philanthropy play?

Chris and Hans: There are many unmet needs and gaps in response across the board.  The best role for private philanthropy is to help identify those gaps and bring resources to those individuals and communities most in need and most likely to be overlooked in the drive to restore the Jersey shore for the summer tourist season.  We also need to support efforts to ask and answer the most challenging questions, such as where and how should rebuilding occur – are there areas that should not be rebuilt given the prospects of sea level rise and other catastrophic events? Philanthropy is in a unique position to help address questions that are difficult to consider dispassionately in the context of urgency and emotion following a disaster.

Bob: If you had to write a playbook for philanthropic organizations that respond to catastrophic natural disasters, what would you be sure to include?

Hans: I am not sure our traditional ways of approaching our giving work that well in a disaster context.  Being effective requires a much more hands-on approach than we might traditionally use. I think it would be helpful for foundations to prepare those pathways before a disaster hits.

Chris: I would include a strong recommendation to work together: pool funds and allow for as much flexibility for spending those funds as possible; share information; meet and collaborate with local, state and federal officials; and engage and strengthen the nonprofit organizations that provide needed services on the front lines on a daily basis during normal times, and even more so during disasters.  They are the backbone of support for those in need.

Chris Daggett, president and CEO, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Chris Daggett is president and CEO of The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Previously he served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor of New Jersey, Regional Administrator of USEPA, and Commissioner of NJDEP. For six years he was Managing Director at private investment firm William E. Simon and Sons. Since 1996 he has operated a brownfields development company. Before joining Dodge, he was a principal with JM Sorge, an environmental consulting and management firm.

Hans Dekker, president, the Community Foundation of New Jersey

Hans Dekker has served as president of the Community Foundation of New Jersey since 2003. During his tenure the foundation has made over $225 million in grants to charitable causes. A key element of the foundation’s mission is a leadership role on the critical issues facing New Jersey and its communities. It has recently focused on public media, the links between wealth migration and charitable giving, and public safety by supporting the Newark Violence Reduction Initiative and the Community Eye, a camera surveillance and gunshot detection system in Newark.

Robert G. Ottenhoff, President & CEO

My usual bike ride route into work goes directly past the White House.  But in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Pennsylvania Avenue was closed off as a result of heightened security and I needed to find a different course.

Last week as I pedaled closer to the White House, I assumed my route would be reopened, but it was still shut off, and extra security staff was still in place.  My thoughts drifted to a discussion I heard on a news show about the capture of the second Boston bomber.  One commentator noted the remarkable resilience of Boston area residents and the fact they seemed to have quickly gotten back to normal. Another commentator quickly shot back: “This wasn’t resilience, this was defiance.”

Terror and tragedy and disasters were very much on the minds of all Americans as we came to realize that our lives may be back to normal in some respects but are also inalterably changed by disasters. What should be our collective response to disasters and tragedies?

Here at CDP we like the term resilience and its meaning of rebounding against whatever the odds.  But to some the word resilience sounds passive– more like enduring or accepting.  The word defiance more closely fits with our American image of self-reliance, independence and strength of character.  Most Americans feel better when they do something in times of disaster. In our social media oriented world, we are fast to share news on Twitter and check in with friends and family on Facebook and email to make sure they are ok, or just get their views on the events that took place. After that initial shock sets in, we do even more such as volunteer, donate money or send gifts.

After the bombings, the CDP team was on the phone with donors who were considering giving to Boston’s One Fund, established by the Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in response to the tragedy.

We counseled them to use this money wisely and patiently, reminding them that donors needs will be unfolding for many weeks and months to come. And while we want to be defiant, the truth is that tragedies like the one in Boston have psychosocial long-term impacts. Imagine the emotions of the man who lifted up his boat cover to find the second alleged bomber cowering, bleeding. And the thousands of school children who could not go to school and were on lockdown with their worried families for the entire day.  The emotional distress of event such as these can take months and years to dissipate, and sadly for some, it never does.

As always CDP was on standby for the media. Several reporters called to ask about good practices for special funds and we urged that those establishing funds put special emphasis on transparency and accountability as well as the medium- and long-term needs of survivors and affected communities. Most importantly, organizers of these funds need to answer this simple but important question: why is this fund being set up and how will the money be used?

Last Thursday afternoon we had well over 100 participants for a CDP-hosted webinar that included two prominent donor leaders active in the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort, Ronna Brown from Philanthropy New York and Nina Stack from the Council on New Jersey Grantmakers. Both told amazing stories of what their organizations did, but sobered us as well by outlining how much work still lies ahead.

It was a demanding week for us at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and left us thinking about the role we can play. Perhaps our biggest contribution can be to help society acknowledge that disasters and tragedies are an inevitable part of our life.  Fortunately, America’s generosity is amazing and admirable.  But sudden outpourings of money and volunteer time can lead to duplication and inefficiency, if not invested wisely. With demands for charitable supporting increasing, donors need to not only be generous but also make sure their money has maximum impact.

In today’s world we know more about disasters, natural and manmade alike, and owing to the speed of the media, more quickly than ever.  Planning and preparation can help to soften the blows and reduce recovery time.  Prevention can help to reduce the impact, particularly in the number of acts of terror.  But disasters and tragedies will happen despite our best efforts.  In the end we’ll need to rely not only on defiance and determination to push back against whatever the odds but also be resilient to absorb whatever life sends our way and bounce back with the help of our friends.

Regine A. Webster, Vice President

This past week our collective focus has been on both Boston and on Texas – hoping, praying, reading, learning, investigating, and railing against these two tragedies that took many lives and forever changed the lives of tens upon tens of thousands of people.

There is, however, at least one other disaster that is keeping my mind alert – the April 20, 7.0 earthquake that shook the Sichuan province of China leaving more than 200 people dead, 11,500 injured and leaving 1.5 million affected.  Extensive damage is seen across Lushan, Tianquan and Baoxing counties.  According to a United Nations Situation Report, “local roads were badly damaged and blocked by landslides and dozens of bridges damaged to varying degrees.  Major roads to affected areas are being restored gradually.  The quake led to a cut off of power and communication, gas and water.”  According to Xinhua, the China Earthquake Administration has reported 4,000 aftershocks as a result of this recent quake.

According to our outreach efforts to international NGOs operational in Sichuan, immediate shelter and basic food needs are being met by the Government of China, but vulnerable populations will require special care in the months to come.

There has been very little media coverage on the earthquake, and no international call for assistance from the Chinese Government – for both of these reasons, I’m writing to our CDP community.

Despite the fact that the Chinese government has not called for international assistance, the needs of the affected community is expectedly high, and NGOs are actively engaged in relief, recovery and long-term rebuilding activities.

Here are a few organizations where you can channel your philanthropic dollars to make a difference:

• Mercy Corps – initial plans include supplying vulnerable families with hygiene kits, providing hygiene training and promotion, and training caregivers to educate parents and adults in recognizing signs of trauma and working with children so that they may recover emotionally from the crisis.  Mercy Corps has a base of operations in Sichuan and a decade-long strategic partnership with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA). http://www.mercycorps.org/articles/china/assessing-emergency-needs-after-deadly-earthquake-sichuan-province
•  Save the Children – seeks to reach 80,000 people, including 30,000 children through the China Earthquake 2013 Children in Emergency Fund to provide needed food, care and support. Save the Children has worked in China for twenty years and responded to almost twenty disasters in that time, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the twin earthquakes of last year in Yunnan Province.  Thus far, Save the Children staff has distributed basic hygiene supplies, and plan on addressing both basic needs, as well as protection, health and education needs. More.
• Give2Asia – staff on the ground in China is assessing immediate and longer-term needs resulting from the quake.  The organization has launched the Give2Asia Sichuan Earthquake Fund 2013.  Give2Asia is working with local partners in China to help affected communities.  The fund seeks to address both immediate and long-term needs of affected communities. More.
• The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) – according to a recent report sent to me by the American Red Cross, the RCSC has been “carrying out extensive needs assessment and relief work in the areas affected by the earthquake…The RCSC response team set up the first batch of 200 relief tents the afternoon the earthquake struck to accommodate displaced people.”  According to the American Red Cross, the RCSC has mobilized 10,650 family kits, 8,1809 quilts, 7,000 jackets and clothing, 2,000 blankets, 2,584 tents, 2,300 bottles of water, 2,500 cartons of instant food, 447 mattress and dispatched 400 emergency response team members to impacted areas.
• UNICEF – The United Nations Children’s Fund, is working with the “State Council National Working Committee on Children and Women (NWCCW) to strengthen existing Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) near the epicentre. It will also support mobile child welfare outreach teams in surrounding communities to help connect vulnerable children with available services.” More

This list is far from comprehensive.  Church World Service, World Vision, Ofxam, the ACT Alliance, and many other well-established international NGOs are providing lifesaving support to individuals affected by this horrific quake.

While it is only natural to place our hearts and open our wallets with events close to home, we also have the opportunity to impact a community that has been struck three times in as many years. Learn more.