New Grants Support Post-Hurricane Irma Housing

It is my great pleasure to let you all know that the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) recently awarded four new grants to support post-Hurricane Irma housing needs!

Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida on September 10, 2017 as a Category 3 storm after leaving a trail of destruction through the Caribbean, including significant devastation throughout the Leeward, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Haiti.

Irma killed at least 92 people in the United States, and 134 total, as it swept through the Caribbean and up the Gulf Coast. Irma was the fifth costliest hurricane on record with a damage estimate of $53.4 billion in the continental U.S. Its total devastation was nearly $65 billion including damage in the Caribbean.

In response to Hurricane Irma, the CDP launched the CDP Hurricane Irma Recovery Fund. The Fund was launched with the purpose of:

• Supporting vulnerable populations;
• Filling in gaps where public resources are unavailable or scarce;
• Fostering collaborative relationships among donors–including sharing information with funders and nonprofit organizations; and,
• Emphasizing funding that was long-term in nature.

Under the guidance of the grant committee, the Fund continued to focus on the varied housing needs that exist across the state of Florida. These include supporting the housing needs of older adults, those individuals living in the Florida Keys and broad planning efforts focused on affordable housing.
The CDP board of directors approved four grants totaling $570,000 for the following organizations:

• The Miami Beach Community Development Corporation was awarded $75,000, to secure long-term assistance to older adults, formerly homeless, and HIV/AIDS positive groups. This grant seeks to save about 400 affordable housing units in the Miami Beach area.
• The Florida Keys Land Trust was awarded $125,000, to preserve and enhance the way of life for the workforce of Monroe County, Florida. Funding from CDP will focus on rebuilding affordable and efficient houses that will meet and exceed all wind and flood codes.
• The Florida Housing Coalition (FHC) was awarded $100,000, in continuation of grant work from Wells Fargo Foundation and National Low-Income Housing Coalition that allowed FHC to evaluate the availability of housing recovery resources and to build a strategic framework for housing providers to escalate the development of affordable housing in Central Florida.
• The Redlands Christian Migrant Association (Immokalee Unmet Needs Coalition) was awarded $245,000. Serving as the fiscal agent, Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) will work with Immokalee Unmet Needs Coalition (IUNC) and Mennonite Disaster Services (MDS) to provide housing replacement for four-six families whose homes were destroyed or substantially damaged by Hurricane Irma.

Details about our first round of grantmaking for Hurricane Irma can be found here.
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is thrilled to be supporting these four important organizations.