The disaster that dominated 2020 was the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of the year, this global phenomenon led to the deaths of almost two million people, over 90 million confirmed cases, and trillions of dollars in economic losses worldwide.

Although COVID-19 took up most of the globe’s attention, climate-related disasters also affected millions of people in 2020. According to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)’s 2020 Annual Report, 389 natural disasters affected 98.4 million people and cost $171.3 billion.

The 2020 Atlantic Ocean hurricane season broke the record for the highest number of named storms with 30 events. Hurricane Eta caused catastrophic damage from Colombia to the United States. Storms in Asia, including Cyclone Amphan, caused widespread damage in India and Bangladesh. Puerto Rico was struck by an earthquake swarm that included 11 earthquakes at a magnitude of 5 or greater from late 2019 to early 2020. In Australia, the 2019–2020 bushfire season, referred to as the Black Summer, led to over 60 million acres of burned area. The Sahel in North Africa continued to face droughts, and wildfires across the west coast of the U.S. caused $10 billion in annual economic losses three of the last four years.

Each year, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) and Candid analyze global disaster-related funding from foundations, bilateral and multilateral donors, the U.S. federal government, corporations, and donations through donor-advised funds (DAFs) and online platforms. We analyze funding according to a taxonomy that classifies giving by disaster type and disaster assistance strategy, allowing us to identify funding gaps and areas of opportunity so that crisis-affected communities have resources for immediate relief and to build back stronger than before.

As the world continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, while also facing the effects of climate change, what lessons can we take from the philanthropic response to disasters in 2020?

Key findings from our analysis of 2020 data include:

• Drawing upon 12 data sources, we documented almost $121 billion in disaster-related giving in 2020. Funding across all data sources increased dramatically in 2020 compared to 2019.
• We identified $5.2 billion in funding to date by foundations and public charities, in Candid’s database. (Data collection for 2020 is still underway, therefore, all institutional philanthropy analyses are presented as funding “to date.”)
  • Support for COVID-19 far outstripped funding for any other disaster. Epidemics accounted for 96% of dollars awarded.
  • Among disaster assistance strategies, 90% of dollars went toward response and relief efforts.
  • Comparing a matched set of 222 U.S. foundations, disaster-related funding in 2020 far exceeded giving in previous years, totaling $2.1 billion in 2020 compared to $110.7 million in 2019. The increase was due to additional funding addressing epidemics. Excluding funding for epidemics, giving in 2020 was $52.3 million compared to $45.2 million in 2019.
• Official development assistance by 30 government members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) totaled $36.4 billion for disasters and humanitarian crises in 2020. Non-DAC government donors and multilateral organizations contributed an additional $3.1 billion.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed $57.6 billion for U.S. disasters in 2020, a $54 billion increase from 2019. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated $9 billion in recovery efforts in 2020, an $8 billion increase from 2019. In 2020, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) invested approximately $1.2 billion in 988 projects, a $851.8 million increase from 2019. This is just a sampling of U.S. government contributions that make up the bulk of domestic disaster funds.
• Candid’s analysis of corporate public announcements found $3.6 billion in disaster-related funding from corporate giving programs. Based on data from Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), 161 of the world’s largest companies committed about $650 million to disasters and humanitarian crises.
• Among individual donors:
  • Individual donors contributed $494 million through donor-advised funds managed by Fidelity Charitable and $98.9 million through donor-advised funds managed by Vanguard Charitable. These numbers provide only a small snapshot of contributions made for disaster efforts through donor-advised funds, as Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable are just two of many donor-advised fund management companies.
  • Many individual donors also gave through online platforms, including Network for Good and GlobalGiving. Network for Good helped direct $16.4 million in donations to disaster-specific nonprofits in 2020. GlobalGiving raised $28.6 million for disasters, supporting 640 projects in 2020.
• Analyzing public announcements, Candid identified $5.8 billion in disaster-related funding from high-net-worth individuals. Most funding was in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Philanthropy is crucial in supporting the long-term recovery of individuals and communities affected by disasters. The Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy report encourages donors to increase their investments in addressing natural hazards, severe weather events, and complex humanitarian emergencies, recognizing that we all need to support communities to confront climate change. These funds need to address preparedness, mitigation, adaptation, and recovery while also focusing on the lessons from the pandemic of making flexible grants, supporting equity, and investing in local communities.

Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy 2022: Data to Drive Decisions