CDP Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund

Following Hurricane Harvey, a total of 41 counties in Southeast Texas received a federal disaster designation, and nearly 900,000 individual assistance applications had been received by FEMA by the end of November 2017. An additional 200,000 to 300,000 individuals and families were also impacted but did not register with FEMA, mostly because of fragile legal status. Many residents are still displaced from their homes, some still living in hotels across the state and beyond. The storm also impacted schools, affecting more than 1 million students and 220 school districts throughout the region.

Members of FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue Nebraska Task Force One (NE-TF1) perform one of many water rescues in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
Members of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Nebraska Task Force One (NE-TF1) perform one of many water rescues in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey

Overview

Philanthropic dollars, though significant in support of this disaster, will not be nearly enough to address all the needs. It is imperative that the funds available to support medium- to long-term recovery through the CDP Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund be used in a focused and purposeful manner, leveraging other public and private funds to have the biggest impact on the recovery efforts. Since a large percentage of the public funds for Hurricane Harvey are geographically designated specifically to meet recovery needs of Houston and Harris County, it is also important to support recovery efforts throughout the entire region.

Hear voices of recovery from Hurricane Harvey and see how we’re supporting affected communities:

See our grantmaking in action and how diversity, equity and inclusion is the cornerstone of the work we do.

To mark the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, we have compiled some of the media coverage of the storm’s after effects and the state of recovery in Texas here.

Grantmaking Timeline

October 2017 – $50,000 grant awarded to OneStar Foundation
February 2018 – $1.2 million awarded to seven long-term recovery organizations
March 2018 – $266,500 awarded to two local disaster recovery organizations
June/July 2018 – $4,026,094 awarded to nine outstanding organizations
December 2018 – $2.65 million awarded to five organizations to build resilience
July 2019 – $2.66 million awarded to five organizations to support resilience and housing recovery
September 2019 – $1.06 million awarded to four organizations to support holistic recovery
November 2019 – $871,092 awarded to 10 existing grantees to sustain their work

Grant Committee

A grant committee featuring national, state and local experts in the areas of long-term recovery, nonprofit and government leadership, and the issue areas identified during the assessment has been convened and held its first meeting on January 11, 2018. The purpose of this committee is to advise and assist the CDP Board of Directors and staff leadership in awarding grants. This advice will help CDP maximize the impact of donor generosity that recognizes the full life cycle of the disaster.

Grant committee members include:

Committee Chair: Lori J. Bertman, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge- based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. Lori is the co-founder and chairman of the board of CDP.

John T. Cooper, Jr., Ph.D., is the Assistant VP of Public Outreach and Partnership at Texas A&M University. He has an extensive background in disaster long-term recovery, especially as it relates to community resilience, and has previously directed the FEMA-funded Emergency Preparedness.

Kelli King-Jackson is the Senior Program Officer for The Simmons Foundation, a private foundation located in Houston and focused on education, health, civic & community, and human services. She brings more than 15 years of experience working in nonprofit advocacy.

Damian Morales is the Disaster Services Manager for the OneStar Foundation, where he works to support Texas resiliency. He also serves as the chair of Central Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD).

Rey Ocanas is based in Houston and serves as the Executive VP and Director of Corporate Responsibility and Reputation for BBVA Compass. He also oversees the bank’s corporate foundation.

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Grantees

New grantees will be posted as additional grant funds are awarded.

4B Disaster Response Network was awarded a $350,000 grant. With the grant, 4B will be able to expand volunteer home repair operations by increasing volunteer engagement and organizational capacity to complete repairs in 220 homes. 4B Disaster Response Network is one of the largest and oldest faith-based disaster response networks working through the Houston Responds (a round four CDP Harvey Fund grantee) coalitions.

All Hands and Hearts received $527,000 for the Hurricane Harvey Repair Project: Coastal Bend to improve the ability of the most vulnerable families in the Coastal Bend region of Texas to recover from Hurricane Harvey. All Hands and Hearts will provide full housing recovery for approximately 90 people (36 homes) in San Patricio, Refugio and Aransas counties.

In our final round of grants, All Hands and Hearts received an additional $107,506 grant to support the continuation of their housing repair and rebuild work in the Coastal Bend area of Texas.

Attack Poverty was awarded more than $1.17 million, to be distributed over two years, for the Disaster Recovery Capacity Building project. The funds will allow Attack Poverty to increase its capacity to support full recovery from Hurricane Harvey, and build individual and community resilience within the communities where they are currently working, Fort Bend and North Harris counties, and expand into Brazoria, Galveston and Liberty counties. They will also provide support and technical assistance to those working to provide recovery services in other counties.

The Baytown Area/Chambers County United Way long-term recovery group received $166,500 from the Fund. They’ll use this grant to hire a case worker and a project manager to expand their reach to rebuild and repair more homes in their area. They will focus their efforts in support of elderly and disabled residents first and foremost in order to address the needs of those who have the greatest needs and the least resources for recovery.

This group also received an additional $100,000 to continue to provide housing repair and rebuild projects in the Baytown area where the needs for this work and the difficulty of the repairs is increasing. This United Way coordinates the long-term recovery process for their community and has worked as a strong convener of all the local and national groups working on recovery. The funding will allow them to sustain their capacity for recovery as they continue to focus on rebuilding their community.

BuildAid Houston – A Project of HomeAid Houston – received $700,000 to provide full home repair services to homeowners across the greater Houston metropolitan area who experienced flooding due to Hurricane Harvey. BuildAid is the Houston area’s home builder community’s response to the devastation created there by Hurricane Harvey. Through this program, qualified homeowners will be matched with experienced builder members of the Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA) who will walk them through a finish selection process. The funds provided to support BuildAid Houston will result in at least 20 completed houses for low-income, vulnerable individuals and families.

The Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience (CEER) received $164,000 to engage a community education director to convene public-private meetings regarding recovery efforts and available resources, and to advance the eight-point plan adopted by CEER member organizations. Additionally, CEER will draft targeted white papers outlining community issues for presentation to elected officials or others in the recovery effort, and seek public input or comment on dollars directed toward communities. The 24 member organizations who are part of this important collaborative effort will advocate for those whose voices are most often not heard during recovery and mitigation following a disaster.

The Coastal Bend Recovery Group received a grant of $250,000 to work with case managers to identify an estimated 8,000 households and refer them to community resources for further assistance; purchase materials for and coordinate the repair or rebuild more than 100 homes; and, to initiate an initiative to address additional unmet needs in the area.

In our final round of grants, the group was awarded an additional $85,000 grant to provide disaster case management staff in order to maintain the program so that the recovery progress can continue. At this point in recovery, the cases have become more difficult and complex so these funds are needed to effectively and efficiently provide recovery services to clients in the area.

The Disaster Leadership Team received a grant in the amount of $50,000 to support communities and Texas Long-Term Recovery Groups working to recover from the effects of Hurricane Harvey. They are also planning to develop an online searchable database of long-term recovery forms and documents for other groups to use as they ramp up for the long-term recovery process.

Enterprise Community Partners received $500,000 as a match to $1.5 million in funds provided by the Rebuild Texas Fund for their Housing and Economic Assistance to Rebuild Texas (HEART) program. The program will help families throughout Texas move into healthy, safe homes that are rebuilt to withstand future major flooding and/or hurricane events. Enterprise will work in partnership with the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) to provide technical assistance and sub-grants to build the capacity of local housing rebuild/repair organizations working in Texas.

Free Indeed – Community Works CDC was awarded with a $300,000 grant to support the High 5 Harvey Recovery Program, serving at-risk youth and their families in northeast Houston that were affected by Hurricane Harvey. Through this program they will provide a holistic wrap-around approach to supporting the families in this neighborhood. By funding a program that is engaging youth and families on recovery and preparing an at-risk community for the next one, we are supporting organizational and community resilience, one of our identified issue areas for this round of funding. Community Works CDC also collaborates with other organizations for whom we’ve provided funding, so this grant will leverage those dollars, as well.

The Galveston County Long Term Recovery Group was awarded $219,000 to facilitate county-wide outreach and communications on available disaster-related services and advise local government and other stakeholders on community needs and the state of the recovery. The grant also enables the LTRG to directly fund disaster case management and analyze disaster related data to conduct outreach and to identify service gaps in the county.

The Galveston County Long Term Recovery Group was also awarded a second grant of $77,250 to continue to support data management and other operational expenses for sustaining the recovery in their service area. This is one of the first long term recovery groups (LTRGs) we funded and they have been one of the most consistently successful groups with whom we’ve worked. The funds will help them sustain their good work and allow them to continue to leverage their information and resources to engage other organizations in the area.

Golden Crescent Habitat for Humanity was awarded $500,000 to help low-income homeowners achieve strength, stability and self-reliance by repairing and/or rebuilding their homes that were damaged by Hurricane Harvey. These funds will be used to expand Golden Crescent Habitat’s reach into more counties to include: Victoria, Goliad, Dewitt, Jackson, Lavaca and Refugio Counties. These are all locations with few other organizations working to rebuild. Funds will be used to help hire project managers designated to the service areas and contractors when volunteer labor is either not available or requires skilled supervision.

Golden Crescent Habitat for Humanity was also awarded a second grant for $1.2 million to support their involvement repairing and rebuilding homes in Victoria County, Texas, where they will partner with others to completely relocate individuals and families whose homes were in high-risk flooding areas. This project addresses our identified focus areas of housing repair and rebuild and building community resilience. A new subdivision, Hope Meadows, is a collaborative effort of the Victoria County Long Term Recovery Group (VCTLTRG), GCHFH, Samaritan’s Purse, and Mennonite Disaster Services, with funding coming from several different organizations, including our partners at the Rebuild Texas Fund.

Good360 received $250,000 for Good360 Hurricane Harvey Long-Term Recovery to accelerate Hurricane Harvey recovery by solving challenges around logistics and the distribution of needed goods. The grant funds will also satisfy unmet product needs of nonprofit organizations working in long-term disaster recovery in southeast Texas. Specifically, by providing distribution methods and warehousing, the grant will support getting products to where they are needed, and storing and organizing them in a way that is easily accessible to Good360’s nonprofit partners.

Good360 was awarded an additional $125,000 grant to continue to fill material gaps in some of the hardest hit and least funded areas – the Golden Triangle of Jefferson, Orange and Hardin Counties, plus Brazoria County.

Harvey Home Connect (a project of the Greater Houston Community Foundation) was awarded $500,000 for the further development of Harvey Home Connect (HHC), a common application management system for Harvey-impacted homeowners, with a focus on aligning it with existing disaster case management software programs in a more efficient manner. Continued development of HHC will facilitate applications for recovery assistance from Harris County and enable expansion to Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Waller, and Montgomery counties. This funding is expected to connect more than 1,000 families to recovery resources they would otherwise have difficulty accessing. HHC was created to eliminate barriers to recovery for clients and the nonprofits attempting to serve them. Hurricane Harvey caused property damage at anywhere between $50 billion and $180 billion. Many displaced and affected residents have been relying on nonprofit organizations for transitional housing, food and supplies, financial assistance, case management, connections to available federal resources and housing cleanup/repairs. Nonprofit organizations play a key role in the necessary hard work of cleaning up neighborhoods house by house and rebuilding block by block. Frequently, non-profits and government programs encounter challenges in serving low income residents including legal issues, poor documentation, pre-existing social vulnerabilities, and mental health challenges. Working with the United Way of Greater Houston and the Rebuild Texas Fund, our hope is to expand the positive experience we’ve seen with HHC in Houston to areas beyond the metro and potentially for use in future disasters.

Help! I’m Hurting! Inc., was awarded $100,000 to address the long-term recovery needs of Port Arthur’s uninsured and under-insured residents who have been unable to secure assistance with recovery needs. They plan to support community resident sustainability and meet and maintain housing needs.

Hope Disaster Recovery received $350,000 to expand current operations in order to provide low-cost, volunteer-driven home rebuild operations, increase mobilization of their volunteers and provide staffing support to the volunteers in order to facilitate the full home rebuild process. Hope is a member of the Houston Responds recovery network.

Houston Community ToolBank received $157,400 to expand the geographic reach of its tool lending program and to add requested tools like generators and HEPA air scrubbers to its inventory. This supports our focus area of housing repair and rebuild, as well as organizational resilience. Houston ToolBank will construct four modified shipping containers to be placed in central locations in Galveston County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County and Harris County. They will also purchase a box truck for tool deliveries and transferring tools among these facilities. Additionally, funds will allow them to hire a staff member to support these additional tool sites and will expand the number and types of tools provided to include generators and HEPA air scrubbers to their inventory (at the request of those using their services). By providing support for these projects, we will allow the important service the Houston ToolBank has been offering to nonprofit organizations during the rebuild process to more easily access their tools and services, making the process run more efficiently. Their reach will also be expanded, which will help these organizations, and in some cases, individuals who are self-recovering, to save precious funds they’ve been having to use to rent or purchase tools.

Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative (HILSC) received $427,202 for Making People Whole After Harvey – Immigration Legal Services through the Equal Justice Works Disaster Recovery Legal Corp. HILSC is focused on helping immigrants without legal status navigate complex social and legal services systems, both public and nonprofit. This funding will support recovery among the immigrant population and help build resiliency for this population in Texas by deploying four immigration lawyers or “fellows” to Catholic Charities’ Cabrini Center for Legal Assistance, Human Rights First, YMCA- International Services and the Tahirih Justice Centers, all member organizations of HILSC.

HILSC received an additional $75,000 grant to support the continuation and implementation of the Humanitarian Action Plan and the NeedHOU open source social services database. The plan they are implementing is well-received in the community and will make for a better response in Houston for future disasters.

Houston Responds received $750,000 over 18 months to support increasing community and organizational resilience. Houston Responds works to mobilize churches for disaster response. These funds will help support building the resilience of the communities they serve by developing and/or expanding coalitions of local churches in disaster response networks; empowering network leadership and training church liaisons; ensuring coordination with community leadership and VOAD organizations; advising and supporting network fundraising to secure long-term viability; and developing a model for church networks that can be replicated elsewhere. Specifically, funding will support these efforts in 15 to 22 regions and will help build networks in each of these regions of 20+ churches representing 10,000+ potential volunteers.

The La Grange Area Long Term Recovery Team will use their $100,000 grant to hire a case management supervisor, volunteer coordinator, and construction manager to oversee the process for rebuilding, repairing or relocating homes in flooded neighborhoods along the river in flood zones. They will focus on helping those residents who did not qualify for FEMA assistance and are some of the most vulnerable living in their community.

Lone Star Legal Aid was awarded $500,000 to be used to match more than $2 million provided by the Rebuild Texas Fund to help Lone Star continue to provide legal services to Harvey-affected victims. Legal services provided will include evictions, lease terminations and other landlord problems; mortgage difficulties such as foreclosure; repair scams, insurance scams and appeals; property rights, title-clearing, probate and tax problems; environmental hazards; lost/destroyed documents; appealing FEMA decisions; income maintenance; access to health care, education and unemployment benefits; and family law issues and estate matters. Funds will be used to provide attorneys and paralegals with expertise in disaster-related legal issues in 25 of the 41 affected counties. In addition, funds will be used to facilitate outreach to those who can most use the services provided.

Mental Health America of Greater Houston (MHAGH) received a $163,670 grant to complete the funding to establish the Dickinson Mental Health Project, a collaborative effort with the Hackett Centre at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, DePelchin Children’s Centre, Texas Children’s Hospital (a CDP Harvey Fund grantee), Collaborative for Children and other local partners. We are partnering with the Rebuild Texas Fund to address the mental health needs of the students and families of the Dickinson Independent School District (DISD). Dickinson, Texas saw significant damage from Hurricane Harvey. The trauma and grief it created for the children, youth, teachers, staff and parents within the school district continues to affect the entire community. There is potential for this project to be replicated in other communities as well.

In our final round of grants, MHAGH was awarded an additional $75,000 for a new pilot program to address the hoarding issues that rebuild/repair organizations have been seeing as they’ve tried to support client recovery. They have been integrated into the recovery process from the very beginning, working strategically with schools, long-term recovery groups and other nonprofit organizations to address many of the mental health needs for Harvey survivors.

NECHAMA – Jewish Response to Disaster received $150,000 for their Wharton County Rebuild Project. Funds will help provide basic repairs and rebuild to homes affected by Hurricane Harvey in Wharton County, as well as muck and gut and sanitation as still needed. NECHAMA will complete repairs on 36 homes, and will work closely with fellow CDP Hurricane Harvey Fund grantee, the Wharton County Recovery Team.

OneStar Foundation was awarded a $50,000 grant to add an additional staff member to their disaster services program with work dedicated to supporting long-term recovery efforts across the state of Texas. The new staff member has been hired and is currently working to support training and stand-up of long-term recovery groups.

TechSoup Global received $200,000 to enable community service organizations in disaster-declared counties of Texas to increase their resiliency by strategically migrating their operations to the Cloud to maintain their operations during disaster. TechSoup will identify local consultants that will be able to support building organizational resilience to develop and implement an organizational disaster resiliency plan. Funds will also be used to deliver an updated Disaster Planning and Recovery Guidebook.

Team Rubicon was awarded $200,000 to continue their rebuild operations in Hurricane Harvey affected areas, extending their operations to a third year for those still struggling to recover. This funding will allow them to sustain the work they’ve been able to do in the greater Houston area since recovery first began. Though Team Rubicon’s work started as a clean-up or “muck and gut” operation, they quickly saw the need to do more and began their rebuild program. They’ve become an important partner in helping our communities recover. Our hope is to support this essential work here in Texas to build on their abilities to respond similarly in future disasters, both domestically and internationally.

Texas Children’s Hospital was awarded $779,917, to be spent over two years, for the expansion of the Trauma and Grief Center at Texas Children’s Hospital’s Mobile Unit program. The funding will increase access to best-practice care among traumatized and bereaved children affected by Hurricane Harvey. The Trauma and Grief Center will expand its mobile clinic program to include two units that will provide trauma-informed assessments and care to youth located in the most underserved areas of greater Houston. These units will go to neighborhoods and schools to provide care for children and family members most at risk for PTSD, grief, bereavement, depression and other stressors related to the effects of Hurricane Harvey, particularly those most vulnerable in the population – lower income, immigrants, minorities, etc. Care providers through the mobile units will meet the children where they are, in their communities and in their schools. Referrals for more intensive care can be made to other programs through collaboration with other providers in the Houston Medical Center.

The Texas Tribune received $50,000 for “Public Service Journalism Covering Hurricane Harvey.” The grant will help the Tribune continue to provide coverage on Hurricane Harvey that is not already being provided by other news outlets – going deeper on policy and infrastructure issues, tracking response in Washington, and watching the long-term effects on the economy and the demographics of the region. As the national spotlight has moved away, the Tribune has remained on the story, devoting extra resources to this disaster and how it continues to affect people and policy alike. The Tribune follows recovery funding, housing issues, environmental disasters, links to health and mental health issues, and stories of individual challenges to recover and rebuild lives. The Tribune will also continue to produce free, on the record, public events and panels specifically related to Hurricane Harvey recovery.

United Way of Orange County received $250,000 as the fiscal agent to establish implementation of long-term recovery teams to support the unmet needs of the citizens affected by Hurricane Harvey in Orange, Hardin and Jefferson counties. Orange County Disaster Rebuild and Hardin County Strong are both fully operational and working toward recovery in their respective counties. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick, and county commissioners are working to identify the best structure for long-term recovery in their county.

Hardin County Strong received a second $75,000 grant to supplement additional funds they’ve secured to replace four homes. With full support of a strong county judge, Hardin County Strong managed to corral community resources along with statewide and national resources to move Hardin citizens along the recovery path.

Orange County Disaster Rebuilds was awarded an additional $75,000 grant to help build and sustain their staffing capacity for recovery. The funds will be used to support administrative staff for two additional years.

The Victoria County Long Term Recovery Group (VCLTRG) will use their $250,000 grant to establish a permanent, effective and accountable long-term recovery group. This group will plan and provide recovery services to individuals and families affected by disasters in Victoria County.

VCLTRG received a second $76,336 grant to cover staffing costs, unmet needs expenses and warehousing expenses in order to sustain their recovery work. This group has also been creative in addressing the needs of their citizens. Their project will enhance response and recovery in the area for future disasters as well as help with current needs in Harvey recovery. The group stands out as a shining example of how best to manage county-wide disaster recovery.

The Wharton County Long Term Recovery Group received a grant in the amount of $100,000 to provide for the unmet needs of Harvey survivors within the county. The organization’s goal is to provide the infrastructure for long-term rebuilding. Some of this work will be done through direct assistance and rebuilding. Other elements of the work will be to coordinate volunteer groups to provide assistance.

Wharton County Recovery Team (WCRT) was awarded $500,000 to build and repair homes for Harvey survivors whose homes were located in high-risk areas for additional flooding. This is one of two proposals we considered for this round that is part of a complete neighborhood development in order to relocate individuals and families who have suffered from repeated flooding events. It responds to our issue focus areas of housing repair/rebuild and, of course, community resilience. Working with their partners, WCRT will build 40 new homes in the West End of Wharton; repair 100 homes in need of minor repair; add 3 new homes in other parts of Wharton County; and repair 5 homes that have major damage. Wharton County has had four recent floods, including Hurricane Harvey, so building resilience to flooding is paramount in this community.

A partnership between the Rebuild Texas Fund and the CDP Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund funded the following projects to support preparedness, mitigation and resilience:

Impact Stories

CDP Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund grants have helped rebuild the capacity of local organizations and empowered them to serve their communities at a time of great need. As the long recovery process unfolds, please read and share their stories.

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Take Action

We’re grateful for all the generous donors to the CDP Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund in support of recovery work currently underway. Though this fund is now closed, please consider supporting our efforts to transform disaster giving. We will use your donations where they are needed most. Explore additional ways to support CDP here.

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For more information or for additional assistance, please contact:
Sally Ray
Director, Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund
(405) 831-2245
sally.ray@disasterphilanthropy.org

Relevant Resources

CDP 2018 California Wildfires Recovery Fund

Paradise, California four months after the Camp Fire.

Overview

Lives, houses, vehicles and entire towns were lost in the ravaging fires that swept through California in November. In the north, the Camp Fire in Butte County burned 153,336 acres, destroyed 18,733 structures, killed at least including 88 people, making it the most destructive and deadliest fire in California history. In the south, the Woolsey Fire claimed three lives, burned 96,949 acres and destroyed 1,500 structures, while the Hill Fire burned more than 4,531 acres and destroyed four structures.

In response to these wildfires in 2018, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy launched the CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund.

With your support, CDP experts on staff worked with local NGOs and other agencies to assess the long-term needs, with an emphasis on:

  • Support vulnerable populations, especially the elderly whose lives and livelihoods will have been devastated.
  • Fill in gaps where public resources are unavailable or scarce.
  • Foster collaborative relationships among donors – including the sharing of information with funders and nonprofit organizations.
  • Promote cross-sector coordination with government agencies, academics, donors, think tanks and public/private humanitarian actors.

The programmatic expertise of CDP’s board, staff and advisory council – paired with an extensive network of disaster management actors and academics – guides our grantmaking strategy. Emphasis is placed on investing well rather than investing quickly – addressing the greatest needs and gaps in funding that may yet to emerge.

Impact

Generous donors stepped up and helped us raise more than $1.6 million for the CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund. As a result, we awarded seven grants to support local long-term recovery groups, housing recovery programs, and mental health outreach and assistance in communities devastated by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill wildfires.

Major Donors

Thank you to the following donors for their generous support of the CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund:

  • The Wallace Foundation
  • The Crown Family
  • 21st Century Fox
  • The John & Marcia Goldman Foundation
  • Fallon Family Foundation
  • The Theda and Tamblin Clark Smith Family
  • The Illinois Foundation
  • The William J. J. Gordon Family Foundation
  • The Ho Chen Family Foundation
  • Nion McEvoy
  • Lisa and John Pritzker Family Fund
  • The Victor and Christine Anthony Family Foundation
  • Flocco Foundation
  • The Clark R. Smith Family Foundation
  • BlueMountain Capital Management
  • Entertainment Industry Fund

Grant Committee

The grant committee for the CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund includes:

Committee Chair: Lori J. Bertman, President and CEO of the Baton Rouge-based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. Lori is the co-founder and chairman of the board of CDP.

Jono Anzalone, Global Disaster Response & Relief Partnerships and Special Projects, Airbnb

Vanessa Bechtel, President & CEO, Ventura County Community Foundation

Alexa Benson-Valavanis, President & CEO, North Valley Community Foundation

Harold Brooks, Former Vice President, American Red Cross

Denise Gilliam, Senior Advisor, Recovery, California Office of Emergency Services

Alan H. Kwok, Director of Disaster Resilience, Northern California Grantmakers

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Grantees

Butte County Office of Education’s Response and Recovery Project received $500,000 to support expanded mental health outreach, assistance and services for school-aged children and their families across Butte County.

Camp Fire Long Term Recovery Group was awarded $114,656 to support their Camp Fire Resource Center which will become the “storefront” for community recovery resources, services and assistance for the entire county.

Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) received $250,000 to support the reconstruction of affordable multi-family housing in Paradise destroyed by the Camp Fire.

Disaster Leadership Team was awarded $30,000 to continue providing direct mentorship support to the Camp Fire Long Term Recovery Group and Los Angeles Region Long Term Recovery Group.

The Workforce Housing Project (a project of the North Valley Community Foundationreceived $250,000. This partnership of funders and stakeholders is working to provide solutions for more stable temporary housing among Camp Fire displaced residents.

United Policyholders received $143,140 to scale-up their Roadmap to Recovery program in Los Angeles and Ventura counties in addition to increasing available resources for wildfire recovery in the housing sector in southern California.

Ventura County Community Foundation was awarded $250,000 to support local nonprofits providing housing and/or mental health support or services in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Take Action

For more information or for additional assistance, please contact:

Regine A. Webster
Vice President
(206) 972-0187
regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org

CDP 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund

Mexico Beach, Florida in January, nearly four months after Hurricane Michael made landfall with winds topping 155 miles per hour.

Overview

In response to the needs that will arise following Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Michael and other storms that may hit throughout the Atlantic hurricane season, the CDP 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund will focus on medium- and long-term recovery needs, including rebuilding homes and businesses; meeting the needs of young children; and supporting mental health services (among other needs). Specific locations and funding gaps to address unmet needs will be determined by a grant committee that will be established to guide CDP’s staff and board.

The Fund will explore investing in all geographic areas affected by this season’s Atlantic hurricanes.

The 2017 hurricane recovery funds are emblematic of CDP’s approach to investments. For Hurricane Harvey, allocations were made within months following the hurricane’s landfall. Meanwhile, Irma and Maria presented unique situations – particularly in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean – that required rigorous, extended assessments to reflect the complex on-the-ground situation to ensure good stewardship of the funds.

The CDP 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund allows donors to give now to support recovery needs that will continue to surface throughout many parts of the United States and the Caribbean long after our attention has turned away from these major weather events. Through CDP’s unparalleled expertise in disaster management and grantmaking, we will invest in projects and initiatives that:

  • Support vulnerable populations whose lives and livelihoods have been devastated.
  • Emphasize funding that is medium- and long-term in nature and based upon prevailing needs that emerge in the weeks and months to come.
  • Fill in gaps where public resources are unavailable or scarce.
  • Foster collaborative relationships among donors – including the sharing of information with funders and nonprofit organizations.
  • Promote cross-sector coordination with government agencies, academics, donors, think tanks, and public/private humanitarian actors.

 
The programmatic expertise of CDP’s board, staff and advisory council – paired with an extensive network of disaster management actors and academics – guides our grantmaking strategy. Emphasis is placed on investing well rather than investing quickly, addressing the greatest needs and gaps in funding that may yet to emerge. CDP will provide due diligence so donors can give to the fund with confidence and ensured.

Major Donors

Thank you to the following donors for their generous support of the CDP 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund:

Grant Committee

The grant committee for the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund includes:

Committee Chair: Anita Whitehead, Principal at KPMG. Anita is a CDP board member.

Ret Boney, Executive Director, North Carolina Network of Grantmakers

Laura Harwin, Director of Nonprofit Relations, Community Foundation of North Florida

Leslie Ann Jackson, Vice President of Community Investment and Engagement, North Carolina Community Foundation

Cherry Jochum, Philanthropy Advisor, FEMA

Sabeen Perwaiz, Executive Director, Florida Nonprofit Alliance

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Grantees

All Hands and Hearts received $200,000 in the form of a matching grant for their Rebuilding Resilient Communities in the Aftermath of Hurricane Michael program which will provide critical repairs and interior finishes to 18 homes in Bay County.

CORE Community Organized Relief Effort was awarded $250,000 to support their North Carolina Housing Rehabilitation and Resiliency Program in Robeson County which targets the Lumbee Native American community to assist with housing repairs to 50 homes and build community resilience through local capacity building efforts.

Disabilities Rights North Carolina received $150,000 to improve disaster services and assistance through indirect and direct assistance to people with disabilities, advocacy and more inclusive emergency management planning.

Habitat for Humanity of Bay County was awarded $177,163 for their Hurricane Michael Critical Home Repair Program which will provide repairs to 55 homes in Bay County to low-to middle- income families.

Land Loss Prevention Project received $50,000 for staff support to provide legal services to address immediate critical needs of homeowners, landowners and farmers in the 34 disaster recovery counties.

Legal Services of North Florida was awarded $100,000 to support their Hurricane Michael Legal Advocacy program which provides persons affected by Hurricane Michael with legal assistance, information and access to resources to maintain or secure housing.

Mennonite Disaster Service received $250,000 for building materials to build up to four new homes or perform 10 critical home repairs for families still in need referred by local disaster case management and the North Florida Inland Long Term Recovery Group in rural Jackson and Calhoun Counties.

North Carolina Baptists on Mission was awarded $263,717 to provide direct support and assistance for housing repairs to 60 families using their three program support hubs (Robeson, Craven and Duplin counties) which will feed, house and mobilize up to 300 volunteers a day.

Rebuilding Together of the Triangle received $200,000 for the critical repair of 20 homes in Bladen and Pender counties.

ToolBank was awarded $50,000 to establish a tool bank with up to 5,000 square feet of warehouse space in Panama City to provide tools free of charge to nonprofits and community-based organizations working in housing recovery.

Take Action

For information on the work of CDP’s 2017 hurricane funds and how money is being allocated, please see:

For more information, contact:
Regine A. Webster, Vice President                                                          
(206) 972-0187
regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org

CDP 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund

The 2017 hurricane season was one of the most active seasons on record, with Hurricanes Irma and Harvey making direct hits on the U.S. mainland, as well as devastating Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Cuba. Hurricane Maria made a direct pass over the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as a Category 5 storm, devastating the area for the second time in the span of ten days. Hurricane Jose made an indirect pass on the Carolinas and the northern seaboard as it swept back out to sea.

flooded streets in Juana Matos, Puerto Rico
People walk in a flooded street next to damaged houses in Catano town, in Juana Matos, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Credit: Hector Retamal, AFP/Getty Images.

Overview

Though the transition from relief to recovery typically takes place four or five months after a U.S. disaster, that has not been the situation in the Caribbean. While tremendous work is occurring by federal and nongovernmental partners, significant relief work continues and mid- and long-term needs are still being determined. Given this unique situation—particularly in Puerto Rico and the USVI/BVI—CDP is adjusting our grantmaking timeline to incorporate a more rigorous, extended assessment and to reflect the complex on-the-ground situation.

Grantmaking Timeline

Approximately $3.4 million was donated to the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund.

September 2018 – $2.9 million awarded to 12 organizations
December 2018 – Full fund distribution

Grant Committee

The grant committee for the CDP 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund includes:

Committee Chair: Lori J. Bertman, President and CEO of the Baton Rouge- based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. Lori is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of CDP.

Dee Baecher-Brown, President, Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands

Janice Petrovich, Executive Director, Red de Fundaciones de Puerto Rico

Sara Moffitt, Program Officer, Crown Family Philanthropies

Javier E. Zapata-Rodríguez, Deputy Director for Economic Development, PathStone Enterprise Center

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Grantees

Antigua and Barbuda Red Cross received $25,000 to support families on the island of Barbuda with ongoing repairs and reconstruction to their homes.

Americares was awarded $500,000 to accomplish three goal: 1) provide training, support services and skills to reduce stress, improve coping and reduce burnout among 5,250 post-disaster care providers recovering from Hurricane Maria; 2) determine the level to which various levels of support interventions reduce stress, improve coping and reduce burnout;. 3) train 2,750 care providers to integrate psychosocial programming into emergency and safety net sector primary care.

ASPIRA received $300,000 to address food security via three work objectives. They will work to increase the amount of locally grown food, support economic development through tourism activities, and develop agriculture and hospitality industry skills in youth ages 12 to 18.

Barefoot College was awarded $250,000 to provide communities with stable and sustainable electricity so they can manage self-sufficiently. This effort will benefit the Fund focus areas related to food security and health and mental health resources with agricultural improvements, internet access, and increased communication with the outside world.

Centro de Servicios Primarios de Salud de Patillas Inc. received $50,000 to develop an educational program for elderly populations to keep food in good condition during disasters or emergencies with emphasis on securing food, potable water, food storage, reading and interpreting food labels, nutritional and healthy menus, among other food security issues. The program also provides coolers to keep medications safe, water filters, cans of food and bottled water.

COSSMA, Inc. was awarded $49,398 for their pilot “Strengthening Our Roots” project which includes community training sessions on home gardening that will expand to new community health clinics Puerto Rico. This grant will enable them to reach more beneficiaries through community training sessions addressing food security and aims to increase the number of people growing healthier foods at home.

Fundación Casa Cortés received $25,328 for their “Educa Cortes: The Art of Wellness and Mental Health” program, in partnership with AARP, that will bring innovative healing and art therapy activities to senior citizens in Puerto Rico to reduce levels of post-traumatic stress.

International Medical Corps (IMC) was awarded $250,000 to support their efforts to improve access to evidence-based, high-quality and culturally-sensitive mental health and psychosocial services (MHPSS) for vulnerable populations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to completing MHPSS needs assessments and mapping existing medical services, IMC is enhancing the capacity of healthcare staff to provide MHPSS by developing a mental health training package and conducting training for at least 255 healthcare staff from 15 clinics. They’ll also work to improve community awareness of mental health and psychosocial support, and strengthen referral pathways.

Love City Strong was awarded $100,000 to address the lack of sustainable access to clean and safe drinking water at the household level by promoting and installing new UV and carbon filtration systems on residential cisterns, targeting senior citizens, single-parent families, low-income households and people with disabilities on St. John.

NetHope received a grant in the amount of $303,600 to accomplish three goals: First, they will 1) ensure that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community organizations have necessary connectivity; 2) build an information management system that will enable local community organizations and NGOs to share indicators and data sets; 3) enable citizen correspondents to aggregate stories around the response.

The Puerto Rico Agricultural Extension Service (PRAES) was awarded $300,000 to support food security and food preservation, provide mitigation education, and increase farming biodiversity across all five regions of Puerto Rico.

Mentes Puertorriquenas en Accion (Mentes)/DMPA Corp received $10,000 to support #EnAccion a civic engagement program in which citizens contribute to community projects through volunteering activities, pro-bono work and internships. This project will work in the Toa Baja community with 150 residents to foster community outreach, food security and livelihoods.

PathStone Enterprise Center, Inc. received an award totaling $140,000 to provide direct sub-grants to at least thirteen small businesses and provide technical assistance to at least thirty small businesses to support resiliency and general business administration. PathStone wishes to expand its current donation fund and technical assistance program.

Puerto Rico Community Foundation received $200,000 to support economic activity and job generation by working closely with economic development community-based organizations that work with individuals in their communities to provide new competencies and skills that facilitate job creation and long-term self-sustainable projects. This will be accomplished through community business incubators and technical assistance efforts.

The Puerto Rico Conservation Trust was awarded $35,000 to outfit one community center with solar panels for renewable energy and water catchment and filtration system by June 2019, and to train key community members to ensure the installed equipment will receive the required maintenance. The overarching goal of this work is to have sustainable community centers that serve as symbols of self-sufficiency, hope and innovation.

The Solar Foundation received $500,000 for the Rio Piedras Market Solar Jobs Training Project. Goals of this effort are three-fold: 1) increase food and energy security for the Plaza del Mercado in the Rio Piedras neighborhood of San Juan; 2) build workforce capacity for the local solar industry; and 3) measure improvements to the livelihoods and economic recovery of project beneficiaries.

St. Croix Foundation for Community Development received $67,866 to support their Community Solar Project in partnership with the Virgin Islands Workforce Investment Board, Sustainable Systems International and Lion’s Den Solar. The project will train 40 individuals in the community on fiber optics and solar installation through the National Center for Construction Education and Research.

The St. Thomas Recovery Team via Lutheran Social Services received $150,000 to continue to coordinate St. Thomas’ long-term recovery response, resource management, resilience planning, and training in response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria. As part of this project, they will: promote urban gardening and local food production, identify food desert hot spots, and ensure the continued viability of local indigenous fruits and vegetables for future generations.

Take Action

We’re grateful for all the generous donors to the CDP 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund in support of recovery work currently underway. Though this fund is now closed, please consider supporting our efforts to transform disaster giving. We will use your donations where they are needed most. Explore additional ways to support CDP here.

For more information or for additional assistance, please contact:

Regine A. Webster
Vice President
(206) 972-0187
regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org

CDP Hurricane Irma Recovery Fund

Overview

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.

Coast Guard Flood Punt Teams conduct rescue operations in Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 11, 2017. The Coast Guard has deployed assets and resources from across the country to assist in rescue operations for Hurricane Irma. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo/Released).
Coast Guard Flood Punt Teams conduct rescue operations in Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 11, 2017. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard.

Grantmaking Timeline

We have raised just over $1.4 million for this Fund. Some donors restricted their gift to Florida sites; others restricted contributions to Caribbean sites.

July 2018 – $836,000 awarded to six organizations for housing recovery
September 2018 – $570,000 awarded to four organizations

Grant Committee

The grant committee for the CDP Hurricane Irma Recovery Fund includes:

Committee Chair: Lori J. Bertman, President and CEO of the Baton Rouge- based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. Lori is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of CDP.

Michael Corley, Senior Consultant, Administration, The Patterson Foundation

Robert “Bob” McFalls, President and CEO, Florida Philanthropic Network

Jacqueline Patterson, Director, NAACP Environment and Climate Justice Program

John Slocum, Independent Consultant and Associate Senior Researcher CIDOB, Barcelona Center for International Affairs

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Grantees

New grantees will be posted as additional grant funds are awarded.

Centro Campesino received $150,000 for the pilot development of a housing collaborative in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Additional funding is being sought by the grantee through Enterprise Community Partners and NeighborWorks America. Centro Campesino was also awarded a second grant for $200,000 to support home repairs for minority and vulnerable populations in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties who are still in need following Hurricane Irma.

Citrus County Long-Term Recovery Group received $150,000 through their fiscal agent, Daystar Life Center, a Catholic Charities affiliate, to hire one part-time staff person to handle grant administration and construction costs to conduct home repairs. For this grant, CDP partnered with Volunteer Florida who will contribute an additional $100,000.

Florida Housing Coalition (FHC) was awarded $36,000 for staff and system costs associated with conducting weekly update calls during the next year on long-term housing needs in Florida, with special attention to Hurricane Irma demands. For this grant, CDP partnered with Fannie Mae who will contribute an additional $10,000.

During the second round of grants from the CDP Hurricane Irma Recovery Fund, FHC received an additional $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.

Florida Keys Community 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 Heart of Florida United Way received $250,000 to support the rapid rehousing needs of evacuees from the Caribbean in central Florida. This grant recommendation is the outcome of a New Floridians Action Plan, led by the Florida Housing Coalition. Rapid rehousing, implemented here, was the first action item in the plan.

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.

Monroe County Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG) received $50,000 for staff capacity. Securing staff for long-term case management work, including a large focus on housing, is critical to recovery in the Florida Keys. Other funders to this grantee include the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, Volunteer Florida, United Way of the Florida Keys, The Miami Foundation and the Miami Dolphins Foundation.

During the second round of grants from the CDP Hurricane Irma Recovery Fund, LTRG received an additional $49,917 to provide support to volunteers working on repairs and reconstruction to homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irma.

The NAACP received a $10,000 grant. They used the funds to train and certify representatives from 25 branches of the NAACP Florida State Conference as Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members. The CERT program trains volunteers to prepare for, respond to and recover from the types of disasters that their communities may face. The NAACP CERT members will serve as stewards of civil and human rights, and help support their communities before, during and after disasters.

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 and Mennonite Disaster Services to provide housing replacement for four-six families whose homes were destroyed or substantially damaged by Hurricane Irma.

Take Action

We’re grateful for all the generous donors to the CDP Hurricane Irma Recovery Fund in support of recovery work currently underway. Though this fund is now closed, please consider supporting our efforts to transform disaster giving. We will use your donations where they are needed most. Explore additional ways to support CDP here.

[button]DONATE HERE[/button]

For more information or for additional assistance, please contact:

Regine A. Webster
Vice President
(206) 972-0187
regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org

CDP Mexico Earthquake Recovery Fund

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck central and southern Mexico on September 19, 2017, killing nearly 400 people. In Puebla, Morelos and Mexico City, close to the earthquake’s epicenter, there was widespread damage to homes, schools, businesses, and public infrastructure. While the Government of Mexico has an incredibly high capacity to respond to disasters, international assistance was necessary to support a full recovery for all affected communities.

direct-relief-mexico-city
The earthquake left many buildings destroyed across the city, including this one in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City. (Photo by Natasha Pizzey for Direct Relief)

Overview

Center for Disaster Philanthropy research identified several needs that exceed the capacity of government and local nongovernmental capacity including: housing, medical and mental health needs, and small business recovery.

Grantmaking Timeline

Approximately $300,000 was donated to the CDP Mexico Earthquake Recovery Fund.

May 2018 – Full fund distribution

Grant Committee

The grant committee for the Mexico Earthquake Recovery Fund includes:

Committee Chair: Lori J. Bertman, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge- based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. Lori is the co-founder and chairman of the board of CDP.

Aryah Somers Landsberger, Director of Programs, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees

Eliza Brennan, Program Officer, Education/Arts & Culture , International Community Foundation

Carlos E. Mejia, Humanitarian Change Goal Manager, Oxfam America Foundation

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Grantees

Mercy Corps received $150,000 to support economic recovery and growth of small businesses affected by the earthquake.

Fundación Hogares was awarded $74,819 to support local economic and neighborhood recovery in five specific neighborhoods in the Jujutla municipality of Mexico.

Habitat for Humanity Mexico received $95,183 to support home rebuild projects for 178 families in Puebla who are operating home-based businesses.

Fondo Acción Solidaria (FASOL) was awarded $19,000 for the creation of a cultural center that allows the community to benefit from meeting space, workshop implementation and cooperatively organized community space.

Take Action

For more information or for additional assistance, please contact:

Regine A. Webster
Vice President
(206) 972-0187
regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org

CDP Global Refugee Crisis Fund

Private philanthropy has a unique and critical role to play in the unfolding refugee crises. While governments wrangle with the politics and policy surrounding refugees, private funders have the ability to quickly provide help and support to people who are miles from home and arriving with little or no possessions, clothing, or money. This vital support will assist the crisis that has become the defining disaster of this decade. The unprecedented movement of people around the world has created the highest number of displaced persons since World War II.

 

All grantmaking from this fund is now complete, however, if you are interested in funding to help address the global refugee crisis, support our Global Recovery Fund.

LE_Eithne_Operation_Triton-1024x682
Photo: Irish Defence Forces used under CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.

Overview

Since its inception in 2015, the CDP Global Refugee Crisis Fund has focused on capacity-building efforts to protect people forcibly displaced within Syria. The fund has been used to strengthen community-based protection initiatives for women and adolescents struggling through the ongoing conflict, as well as programs to improve adolescents’ psychological well-being through leadership training, education services and trauma support. According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, children now make up more than half of the world’s refugees.

Grantmaking Timeline

March 2016
August 2017
August 2018
April 2019 – Full fund distribution

Grant Committee

The grant committee included:

Committee Chair: Lori J. Bertman, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge- based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. Lori is the co-founder and chairman of the board of CDP.

Susan Martin, Donald G. Herzberg Professor Emerita in International Migration with the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University (retired)

Kenneth Mack, Managing Partner of Mack Law, PLLC

Tony Pipa, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution

Joe Ruiz, Director, The UPS Foundation’s Humanitarian Relief & Resilience Program and Communications

Julien Schopp, Director of Humanitarian Practice, InterAction

Aryah Somers Landsberger, Director of Programs, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees

Grantees

Concern received two grants to provide protection programming to women and children in Syria. Concern has leveraged the grants to help Syrian women to protect themselves and assert their rights through community-based protection initiatives. Additionally, community members received training on key protection concerns, particularly gender based violence and child protection.

Mercy Corps received two grants to support two No Lost Generation Community Centers to address the critical needs of more than 360 adolescents, their families, and communities in Syria. In the immediate term, Mercy Corps is addressing the psychosocial well-being of adolescents along with their access to safe spaces.

With their grant, Maram Foundation for Relief and Development is undertaking facility and capacity improvements for the school that they run for internally displaced children.

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy also received a designated gift to support the International Rescue Committee’s programs in Europe. The purpose of this grant was to create sustainable and dignified conditions for refugees fleeing to Europe.

Impact Stories

Take Action

Check out the CDP Global Recovery Fund to learn how to meet the ongoing and ever-expanding challenges presented by international disasters.

For more information or for additional assistance, please contact:

Regine A. Webster
Vice President
(206) 972-0187
regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org

CDP Nepal Earthquake Recovery Fund

The earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday, April 25, 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8 was the worst in more than 80 years. Earthquakes can be more devastating than other natural disasters because they usually occur without warning. They can also be more difficult to respond to because the ability of relief organizations to access and maneuver within the affected region is hampered by damage to airports, roads blocked by debris, and buildings unsafe to enter.

Photo: Krish Dulal used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia.

Overview

The CDP Nepal Earthquake Recovery Fund focused on the unique needs of child protection following disaster in a country where children were already extremely vulnerable. We awarded four cross-sectoral grants, focused on child protection through direct research and advocacy, safe education spaces, and nutrition.

Grantmaking Timeline

We raised approximately $600,000 for this Fund.

December 2015 – Full fund distribution

Grant Committee

The grant committee included:

Committee Chair: Lori J. Bertman, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge- based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. Lori is the co-founder and chairman of the board of CDP.

Bikash Pandey, Director of Innovations, Clean Energy, Environment and Water group, Winrock International

Erin Potts, CEO & Co-Founder, Revolutions Per Minute

George Varughese, Country Representative, Nepal, The Asia Foundation

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Grantees

All Hands Volunteers received $100,000 to rebuild earthquake-devastated schools with a total enrollment of 1,667 students in Nepal’s Nuwakot District, where nearly 90 percent of the schools were destroyed. All Hands summarized their impact in the “Nepal Earthquake Impact Report: Two Years On.”

Plan International USA received $219,690 to fund its Fighting Against Child Trafficking in Emergencies (FACTE) Project in Nepal.

Project HOPE received $219,956 to strengthen the maternal newborn and child health service delivery system and improve hygiene behavior in the Makawanpur District of Nepal.

Shakti Samuha received $61,264 to reduce vulnerability to human trafficking and other kinds of violence by providing income generation skills and education support for women and children in the districts of Sindupalchowk, Ramechhap, and Sindhuli.

Impact Stories

Take Action

For more information or for additional assistance, please contact:

Regine A. Webster
Vice President
(206) 972-0187
regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org

CDP Typhoon Haiyan Recovery Fund

Typhoon Haiyan was one of the most powerful storms in recorded history. It resulted in more than 6,155 deaths with 1,800 people unaccounted for. All told, it affected 16 million people and damage was estimated to be in the billions. Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) left hundreds of thousands of people without permanent shelter.

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Overview

More than 230,000 pregnant women were affected by the typhoon. Ten days after the disaster, the United Nations Population Fund reported that nearly 900 women were giving birth each day, with around 130 likely to experience potentially life-threatening complications. To meet this critical need, we focused our long-term recovery funds on maternal health for women and their newborns.

Grantmaking Timeline

We raised approximately $300,000 for this Fund.

July 14 – Full fund distribution

Grant Committee

The CDP Typhoon Haiyan Recovery Fund grant committee included:

Committee Chair: Lori Bertman, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge- based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. She is the co-founder and chairman of the board of CDP.

Joel Charny, Director, Norwegian Refugee Council USA

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Grantees

Direct Relief worked to ensure safe newborn deliveries in the Philippines by equipping midwives with essential supplies to ensure safe births among Typhoon-affected populations. Midwife kits were distributed to 100 trained and skilled midwives working in local health centers throughout remote regions in the Philippines; consumable products in midwife kits were restocked; and Direct Relief worked with the Integrate Midwives Association of the Philippines to identify additional midwives in need of resources.

Mercy in Action rebuilt a birthing center in Tanauan that was devastated by the typhoon. The organization’s objectives for this project were four-fold: rebuild and bring back to the community a trusted birth center, run by licensed Filipina midwives; maintain lower than the national average mother and infant mortality rates in the Typhoon-affected region; provide free, clean, safe, and attended birthing services to pregnant women; and, provide free prenatal care of high-risk populations without access to maternal health care. This clinic now provides prenatal care to about 1,500 women and supports 250-300 births at the clinic annually. Based on previous history, the clinic’s mortality rates are eight times lower than the national average.

Save the Children used its CDP Typhoon Haiyan funds to improve access to clean birthing supplies and materials in typhoon-affected communities and communities at risk of such disasters. The organization sourced and distributed Birthing Essentials and Care of Newborns (BEACON) boxes to prevent excess maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Save the Children partnered with local health officials, who took care of each BEACON box, and who communicated back to Save the Children when supplies needed to be replenished.

The Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) worked with women living in Tanauan Leyte to improve their health and resilience. Designed to build the capacity of local women’s groups to support response and prevention in Typhoon-affected Philippines, the Women’s Refugee Commission project fulfilled these four objectives: improved opportunities to organize women for skill and knowledge building related to reproductive health, livelihoods and protection, through safe spaces; conducted workshops with women within DAMPA’s federation (Damayan ng Marlitand Pilipinoong Api, Inc. – meaning solidarity of Poor Oppressed Filipinos), to identify risks and vulnerabilities during disasters, as well as local solutions to reduce identified risks; implemented community developed action plans to improve access to basic services for women, including reproductive health and protection; and strengthened gender-sensitive policies and programs that deliver health and basic services to women most in need.

Impact Stories

Take Action

For more information or for additional assistance, please contact:

Regine A. Webster
Vice President
(206) 972-0187
regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org

CDP Hurricane Sandy Disaster Fund

Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history. The storm affected a wide swath of the Atlantic from Haiti and Jamaica and north into Canada. More than 200 deaths were attributed to the storm, with 146 of those in the United States and 98 in the Caribbean.

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Overview

While immediate relief dollars went to housing, food and clothing, the CDP Hurricane Sandy Disaster Fund was established to invest in long-term projects that filled gaps where public resources were unavailable or scarce. CDP requested grant applications from NGOs committed to projects that crossed broad disciplines to ease the transition from disaster to normalcy; fostered collaboration among donors; used existing local philanthropic networks and worked to strengthen local philanthropy; promoted cross-sector coordination with academics, donors, think tanks, and public and private humanitarian actors; and supported innovative research that informed policy and strengthened future disaster preparation and response.

Grantmaking Timeline

September 2013
October 2013
February 2014

Grant Committee

The CDP Hurricane Sandy Disaster Fund grant committee included:

Committee Chair: Lori J. Bertman, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge- based Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation. Lori is the co-founder and chairman of the board of CDP.

Doug Bauer, Executive Director, The Clark Foundation, Senior Vice President, The Clark Estates, Inc.

Elizabeth Greenstein, Director of External Affairs, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Irwin Redlener, National Center for Disaster Preparedness

Nina Stack, President, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers

Grantees

Human Services Council (HSC) received a $15,000 grant to support its forum, Sandy One Year Later: Assessing Community Recovery and Anticipating Another. HSC connected leaders of the nonprofit, public, and philanthropic sectors and discussed recent survey findings about the nonprofit human services sector’s response to Superstorm Sandy, continuing recovery efforts, and approaches to preparing for the next disaster.

The Brooklyn Community Foundation received a $45,000 grant to develop a planning tool to assess needs and conditions at the neighborhood level; create a series of neighborhood maps that illustrate the recovery progress; train community partners how to use data for long-term planning purposes; and support civic dialogue on community recovery and planning.

The Community Foundation of New Jersey received a $75,000 grant to fund a collaborative project among Creative New Jersey, WHYY, and Citizens Campaign. The three organizations provided training and tools to support community organizing efforts to respond to disasters. WHYY’s NewsWorks hosted community dialogue. Creative New Jersey brought its community organizing expertise to the effort, and Citizens Campaign empowered citizens by helping them understand and navigate local and state governments to enable effective participation in decision-making that impacts their communities.

Council of New Jersey Grantmakers used its $25,000 grant to create an innovative Philanthropy Playbook  to help funders consider best practices and the most effective strategies for disaster giving.

The Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University used the $48,000 award to write a trade book designed to advance knowledge about Superstorm Sandy, climate change, and the future of cities to inform recovery efforts and strengthen community resilience.

Make the Road New York invested its $50,000 gift in expanding work with Hispanic populations in Staten Island. The grant helped them identify urgent needs and connected families for immediate help; provided legal services; helped train community members and placed them in jobs; and made the voices and interests of the community heard as important decisions were made about the recovery effort across the affected area.

New Jersey Future used its $25,000 grant to build Sandy-affected towns’ capacity to manage recovery issues while taking the longer-term view and planning to become more sustainable and resilient in the face of climate change. Specifically, it created a network of local recovery planning managers for three significantly impacted municipalities, who focused on medium- and long-term community needs.

The Puerto Rican Association for Human Development received $26,600 to extend the reach of its Hurricane Sandy Victim Outreach Initiative to immigrant populations. The group supported 124 people through food vouchers, Wal-Mart gift cards, and access to case management, homelessness prevention, rental assistance, career development, housing counseling, senior services, and energy assistance.

Turnaround for Children, Inc., received $65,000 to partner with 10 New York City schools to provide specific interventions designed to mitigate the effects of stress and trauma exacerbated by Sandy.

Foundation Center used $20,000 to implement a research project and produce a report on how the philanthropic community responded to Sandy and how dollars were allocated across geographic areas, target populations, and topical areas.