Disaster Grantmaking

For many foundation managers, meeting community, regional, or even global needs is a primary aspect of everyday business. But when disaster strikes, foundations may find the need to quickly provide relief while accurately navigating a new set of grantmaking rules. These guidelines outline the basic…

Grantmakers should be advised that Hurricane Sandy is a “qualified disaster” for federal tax purposes. Under IRS rules, this means that employers may more easily assist employees affected by the disaster. Employers and their related foundations may make payments for reasonable and necessary…

Hurricane Sandy has once again brought disasters—and the desire to help—to the forefront. Media attention has been critical to the nation’s preparedness efforts and in bringing immediate relief to affected communities. But lives will be impacted long after the storm has passed and media attention…

On the morning of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. Within hours, it became one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in U.S. history. As a Southern funder, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation recognized that while Katrina was an equal opportunity destroyer, it…

El Pomar Foundation began preparing to respond to one of the worst natural disasters in Colorado history 10 years before the first sign of smoke in Waldo Canyon. In June 2002, the Hayman fire ripped through four Colorado counties, consuming more than 137,000 acres. While those flames were still…

If there is an epicenter of the decline of a city and its loss of an economic base, the candidates start with Detroit, where the population has plummeted 25 percent in the last decade to 714,000–this for a city whose population was 1.85 million in 1950. The city now has an extraordinarily high…

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had…

Especially in our current funding climate, partnership and authentic engagement with those we seek to serve is critical to ensuring that limited philanthropic resources are invested wisely and deliver the greatest possible impact for those most in need. The success of Foundation for Louisiana’s…

Since 1979, the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers has dedicated itself to promoting and supporting effective philanthropy for the public good. This remains our core mission today. A year ago, NYRAG adopted a new strategic plan that envisioned rebranding our organization. As part of this…

The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers (CNJG) exists to strengthen and promote effective philanthropy throughout New Jersey. The leading resource for networking and information for New Jersey's philanthropic community, CNJG provides representatives of all types of grantmaking organizations with…

There has never been a more challenging time for philanthropy. Globalization, natural disasters, and economic turmoil have placed additional stresses on social safety nets already stretched to the max. In this environment, the philanthropic sector must be smarter, more adaptable, and more…

A new kind of charitable giver is emerging in the mobile age.  A report underwritten by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has found that this donor is younger and more likely to be African-American or Latino than traditional donors. Moreover, new donors often use their mobile phones…

I’ve long been wary about in-house videos. Because, let’s face it, videos can be tough to pull off. So it was with some trepidation that we decided not just to make our first set of short videos this year, but to feature them at our 25th anniversary annual meeting-indeed, to make them the…

Stuart Comstock-Gay has spent his career addressing issues of community, democracy and civil rights, both in philanthropy and civil rights work. He is president of the Delaware Community Foundation, the same post he held in Vermont. He has served as executive director of the National Voting Rights…

by Sandra Macías del Villar Emergencies are bound to happen. While there have been dramatic improvements in disaster preparedness and increased attention to mitigation, the outcomes of natural or man-made disasters are mostly unpredictable. In recent years we have seen a slew of catastrophes…