9 Lessons on Preparing for Disaster Grantmaking

The physical and emotional landscape of our community was forever changed on March 22, 2014, when a devastating mudslide swept through our community and took the lives 43 of our neighbors. The Darrington, Arlington and Oso communities are located in rural Snohomish County, north of Seattle.

Within a few days our Community Foundation started a fund for long-term community needs. This approach was directly in line with our mission of endowment building. It also complimented the local United Way, Red Cross and hospital foundation, which each launched funds for immediate recovery. We felt a coordinated funding response was important to foster community trust and create the collaborative environment we valued.

It became clear that disaster preparedness is over once a disaster happens. Our most important lesson has been “this is not about us, this is about our community.” All of our work filtered through this lens. We are learning every day, but here are a few insights that may be helpful to consider in your community.

• Local funders have a strong history of collaboration in our county. This includes a county-wide group that meets several times a year. Though we had never discussed disaster work, this collaboration carried forward into the disaster response.
   
• The United Way immediately convened funders to provide instant access to funding and support. Those who made grants immediately, removed red tape and created reporting processes easily managed by the local nonprofits.
   
• It was important for those funders to understand what they can and can’t give money for in a disaster.
   
• For a several years, the Community Foundation has provided capacity-building training and support to nonprofits. This positioned the Community Foundation as a trusting and respectful partner and provided a fast track to local connections and relationships we would never have had. Which has been the most important role we have played.
   
• Thinking back, we wished we would have had conversations with our board about how we would respond in a disaster. We could have discussed our foundation’s focus on long-term funding and how the board would make speedy decisions.
   
• We needed the skill and ability to quickly change our website and foundation communications.
   
• The Seattle Foundation was a major partner for us, by offering online credit card donations in a matter of minutes. We should have been prepared with that technology prior to the disaster.
   
• Crisis communication training and media preparation is valuable in a situation that garners national attention.
   
• Transparent communication about funding and how it has been used has been done exceptionally well by our United Way. We have watched their lead as we just begin to consider our long-term funds.

By beginning conversations now about how your organization could responds in a community disaster, you will be miles ahead if the time comes. The community relationships you build with libraries, schools, nonprofits and city officials will be the cornerstone for your philanthropic response in a disaster. We are grateful for all of those who responded. The work and the resiliency of this community continues.

Maddy Metzger-Utt is President & CEO of the Greater Everett Community Foundation.