Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy 2024
The latest Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy (SODP) 2024 from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) provides important insights into institutional philanthropic disaster giving. Focused on 2022, the data shows that funders provided $1.7 billion in total giving for disasters that year.
Despite this, there is still a critical need for increased philanthropic involvement as disasters are growing in size, frequency and complexity, resulting in more needs, especially for long-term recovery.
Key finding #1: Disaster support from the largest U.S. funders shows an upward trajectory.
Based on Candid’s Foundation 1000 data sets, 1,000 of the largest U.S. funders, gave $860.2 million to support disasters in 2022, compared to just $111.4 million in 2012. This is the third-highest amount of funding since the first report published in 2014.
When epidemic funding is removed, the funders in the Foundation 1000 datasets gave a record $547.5 million to disasters in 2022 – a 105.6% increase from the 2021 total and more than the first five years of SODP (2012-2016) combined.
Key finding #2: Philanthropic support for disaster recovery and reconstruction is higher in 2022 compared to 2021. This is good news, but it is still not enough.
While response and relief still dominated this year’s giving, $201.8 million supported recovery and reconstruction in 2022, representing 11.6% of 2022 funding.
Response and relief is still the biggest disaster strategy at $1.1 billion and 66.1% of the 2022 total. However, there was a decrease from 2021, when that strategy represented 82.4% of giving.
Data also shows that more investment in reconstruction and recovery is still required, especially given the rise in costly disaster events, persistent vulnerability and other influencing factors, such as changes in the insurance industry.
For 2020 and 2021 data, Candid defaulted to coding COVID-19 grants as response and relief in the absence of any further description of a support strategy. However, COVID-19 transactions in 2022 were coded according to the descriptions provided by funders. This created a shift in COVID-19 funding designations in 2022, as some funders continued to support immediate relief efforts while others acknowledged and supported the longer-term implications and needs from the pandemic.
Key finding#3: Funding for complex humanitarian emergencies (CHE) – protracted events that occur at the complicated intersection of crisis, conflict and climate – grew from 1.2% of all funding in 2021 to 17.4% in 2022, driven by an unprecedented amount of funding for the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis.
In 2022, CHE giving totaled $301.8 million and was 17.4% of overall giving, making it the highest percentage of overall giving ever recorded in SODP for CHEs. At least 2,344 transactions from philanthropy included funding for Ukraine in 2022, totaling $247.2 million and representing 81.9% of the CHE dollars. Even excluding Ukraine-related funding, almost $54.5 million was given to CHEs, which shows a rise in philanthropic support beyond Ukraine compared to 2021.
The response among disaster philanthropists to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been unique, with high levels of interest and funding. Other humanitarian emergencies rarely see this level of investment from philanthropy, including the current civil war in Sudan, which began on April 15, 2023. The war in Sudan has been drastically underfunded, and several communities there now face famine-like conditions.
Despite the high level of interest, a preliminary review of giving for Ukraine in 2023 and 2024 showed a dramatic decrease, indicating that funding was not sustained.
Key finding #4: A high proportion of international disaster funding goes directly to local and national actors.
In 2022, 40% ($93.1 million) of philanthropic disaster funding to recipients outside the U.S. went to organizations headquartered in the same countries where the work occurred. This is a significant percentage, exceeding the commitment to provide 25% of humanitarian funding to local and national actors by signatories of the Grand Bargain.
CDP and other philanthropic organizations have committed to moving more money into the hands of local and national actors within the country where they are making grants. The 2022 data, combined with other evidence of philanthropy’s interest in supporting local humanitarian leadership, demonstrates the meaningful role of philanthropy in investing in local and national actors.
Overall, almost 2,000 disaster transactions provided $230.5 million to fund non-U.S. recipients. Of this total, $93.1 million and 85.6% of transactions (1,699) were provided to organizations chartered in the country where they were working.
The other 60% of funding was provided to non-U.S.-based intermediaries or for regional or multi-country activities.
The 2022 State of Global Giving report from the Council on Foundations looked at international giving data from large U.S. funders from 2016-2019 and found “fewer than 13 percent of global grant dollars going directly to organizations operating in the country served by the grant.”
About the data
Data is from Candid’s database as of June 2024. The data is sourced from publicly available data sources, including IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF and grantmaker websites; funders that report their grantmaking directly to Candid; and published media, including English-language news and press releases.
The dataset includes cash grants, grants to individuals, program-related investments, and in-kind gifts with a monetary value from private and community foundations, corporations (including corporate giving programs), and public charities in FYE 2022. The dataset also includes three transactions made by an individual donor. U.S. and non-U.S. donors are included: Of 3,661 funders, 3,611 were based in the U.S., representing 98.7% of dollars in the dataset. For U.S. community foundations, discretionary grants are included, as well as donor-advised grants when provided by the foundation. To avoid double counting, transactions to grantmakers in the dataset are excluded. The dataset excludes pledges (announced intentions to award a monetary or in-kind contribution).
Foundation 1000
Candid’s Foundation 1000 contains grants of ≥$10,000 by 1,000 of the largest U.S. community, corporate, independent and operating foundations. It excludes loans, grants to individuals, program- and mission-related investments, and grants from corporate giving programs, public charities and individual donors.
Direct giving data
This data is based on transactions to non-U.S. recipients whose location could be identified. Therefore, this analysis excludes recipients without location information, including some anonymous recipients and individuals. Candid used the same methodology for “direct” giving in the Council on Foundation’s Global Giving report.
For questions or to learn more about State of Disaster Philanthropy, contact communications@disasterphilanthropy.org.