Monday, February 9, 2015
PNY's Disaster Relief Work Featured in SSIR
The important and diverse roles foundations play across the spectrum of post-disaster relief, recovery, and resilience have been well documented. Much literature on disaster philanthropy offers “how-to” instructional guidance or “who funded what” retrospective analyses—often published years later. This after-action research is critical to developing funders’ insights and response over time, but its focus is largely on funder behavior not community capacity.
What communities affected by disaster need most is good, real-time data on current needs, resources, and gaps. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the limits of our sector’s data infrastructure became painfully apparent to us. Absent good data, nonprofits in affected areas—often the first-responders—must instead navigate a rush of new attention and potential funders. Many attend multiple briefings with well-meaning supporters, hoping to cultivate relationships for the long haul. Philanthropy New York (PNY), for instance, convened invaluable weekly phone meetings to facilitate communication across the regional association’s membership. PNY’s early support also enabled TSIF to establish a special grantmaking fund....