Philanthropic Preparedness, Resiliency and Emergency Partnership – PPREP

The PPREP network is a model for collaborative philanthropy

In 2015, The Funders Network and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy formed the Philanthropic Preparedness, Resiliency and Emergency Partnership (PPREP) network to build community foundation leadership and capacity to create more resilient communities.

This includes empowering local leaders with the information and resources needed to make decisions on disaster preparedness within their communities with the support of a collaborative network.

Over the past nine years, the PPREP network worked with 22 community foundations and regional associations across the Midwest. Participants come from place-based foundations across a 10-state region, including Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Community-centered tools and learning

PPREP participants come together twice a year for two days of educational briefings to learn about disaster hazards and physical and social vulnerabilities in the region, such as mapping flood zones, tracking tornadoes and the history of earthquakes in their respective states. The cohort would develop tools to mitigate the risks posed by the hazards with grant resources provided by The Funders Network.

CDP provides the learning curriculum and facilitation for each convening, including presentations on understanding the role of government agencies in a disaster and how community foundations can identify and address gaps in response and recovery mechanisms. It applies an equity lens to the learning objectives, ensuring that the network considers the economic, health and social indicators of vulnerability and the disproportionate impact of disasters on historically marginalized groups. By overlaying hazard and vulnerability data, PPREP participants could identify hotspots for resiliency planning.

CDP also develops practical tools and resources for the cohort, including a Disaster Preparedness Workbook for Community Foundations.

In 2022, network leaders launched 18 projects ranging from climate adaptation to cybersecurity and addressing the needs of counties with high poverty rates.

PPREP’s core elements include:

Convening a network of leaders from community foundations.
Learning about disaster hazards and vulnerabilities.
Building skills for disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
Developing practical tools such as a CDP Disaster Preparedness Workbook.
Granting funds for innovative projects designed by the network.
Implementing projects through the Community Foundation Disaster. Response Fund supported by The Funders Network.

PPREP Network Participants

The network cohort is made up of leaders from the following foundations: