Measuring The State of Disaster Philanthropy
Data to Drive Decisions
Hurricane Matthew rolled into the South Carolina Lowcountry in early October 2016, knocking out electricity, leaving behind flooded areas and downed trees. October 8, 2016. North Charleston / Creative Commons
Disasters and humanitarian crises affected millions of people globally in 2016. Donors responded generously to these disasters: How were their dollars allocated?
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is proud to partner with Foundation Center, the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide, to present this interactive dashboard, which provides an analysis of disaster-related funding by foundations, governments, corporations, and individuals. The data presented here illuminate funding trends, expose imbalances in where and when contributions are made, and can help donors make more strategic decisions about their investments in the full life cycle of disasters, including preparedness and recovery efforts.
Explore the Data Download the ReportWhat Types of Disasters Are Funded by Foundations?
A view of San José de Chamanga, Ecuador after an earthquake struck on April 16, 2016. Unicef Ecuador / Creative Commons
Over a third of private giving is done in less than the first four weeks of a sudden disaster...and two-thirds within two months. This giving stops almost completely after five or six months.
What Disaster Assistance Strategies Are Funded by Foundations?
- Resilience, Risk Reduction, & Mitigation 9% of giving$11,965,95430 grants
- Preparedness 6% of giving$8,032,85729 grants
- Response & Relief 39% of giving$54,018,544376 grants
- Reconstruction & Recovery 19% of giving$26,935,54262 grants
- Multiple Strategies 10% of giving$14,304,69979 grants
- Unspecified 9% of giving$12,048,98588 grants
- Other 9% of giving$12,509,24240 grants
Haitian citizens work to organize donated material during a supply delivery at Dame Marie, Haiti, October 11, 2016. The supplies were delivered by U.S. service members with Joint Task Force Matthew, a U.S. Southern Command-directed team deployed to Port-au-Prince at the request of the Government of Haiti to support the U.S. Agency for International Development with disaster relief operations in Haiti during the critical early stages after the island country was struck by Hurricane Matthew. U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Samuel Guerra / Creative Commons
Every dollar you spend upfront in some type of resilience initiative can be helpful to prevent the same recurring events that happen if all you do is respond after disasters.