Measuring The State of Disaster Philanthropy
Data to Drive Decisions
Texas Army National Guard Specialist Ryan Allen, left, with the 236th Engineer Company performs search and rescue operations. Specialist Allen and his company rescued 53 civilians in less than three hours on August 27th, 2017, in Houston, TX. Texas Military Department/ SGT Daisy Broker / CC BY 2.0
Disasters and humanitarian crises affected millions of people globally in 2017. Donors responded generously to these disasters: How were their dollars allocated?
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is proud to partner with Candid (formerly Foundation Center and GuideStar), 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?
Darfur’s forgotten refugees: Part of EU humanitarian funding goes to food and is done through food distributions like this one, in Djabal refugee camp, but also through cash assistance which give refugees the possibility of buying their food at local shops. The cash assistance gives them more dignity as they can make their own purchases and helps the local economy. European Union / Dominique Catton / CC BY 2.0
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 3% of giving$9,751,96418 grants
- Preparedness 1% of giving$3,447,28612 grants
- Response & Relief 59% of giving$165,077,943747 grants
- Reconstruction & Recovery 21% of giving$60,313,854115 grants
- Multiple Strategies 9% of giving$25,105,17798 grants
- Unspecified 5% of giving$12,914,669142 grants
- Other 2% of giving$4,519,61821 grants
A Chino Valley firefighter watches the oncoming flames of the Thomas Fire from the yard of a home in Montecito, California, December 12, 2017. C-130Js of the 146th Airlift Wing at Channel Islands Air National Guard Base in Port Hueneme carried the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System and dropped fire suppression chemicals onto the fire's path to slow its advance in support of firefighters on the ground. U.S. Air Force / J.M. Eddins Jr. / CC BY 2.0
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.