Hurricane Sandy Relief Resources and Information for Philanthropists and Volunteers
Disasters often motivate people to take quick action to provide relief and support. As you consider your individual, foundation or corporate response it is good to review these resources to guide your donation of time, talent and treasure.
Please contact the Community Foundation at 272-9333 for further advice.
Council on Foundations
Center for Disaster Philanthropy
American Red Cross
Love Knows No Bounds
United Way
Cornell University
Some considerations and suggestions:
Add disaster funding to an existing mission. Donors can most effectively leverage their resources by tapping into in-house expertise.
Support medium to long-term recovery efforts. Most donors will see the stirring images and react immediately, donating dollars that are allocated for emergency humanitarian relief.
Relief activities are obviously critical, but they do not address the need for longer-term recovery, which will require even more dollars and receive far less attention.
Support organizations with a long-standing history of service in hurricane-affected areas. Supporting these organizations maximizes existing expertise and response capacity and minimizes the learning curve associated with working in a disaster environment.
Look for underfunded sectors. Areas such as maternal and child health and provision of psychosocial support, for example, are critical to the success of any recovery strategy, but usually don't receive the attention necessary for long-term success.
Make connections. Reach out to your colleagues and responding organizations on the ground. If at all possible and appropriate, visit the affected areas, talk to people, and offer to support the work of like-minded organizations.
