Jump to navigation links Jump to main content Jump to footer links

DISASTER RELIEF & RECOVERY

disaster relief and recovery fund

Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund

Effective responses to natural disasters require sustained involvement from donors, responding organizations, and many others. We created the Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund to respond to disasters by supporting long-term needs and rebuilding efforts. 

When you donate, you are contributing to significant and lasting investments that will help hundreds of individuals and families stabilize and rebuild. You can support long-term recovery by making online donations to the fund or recommending a donor-advised fund grant. We will evaluate the area’s long-term needs and recommend funding organizations, then follow up with donors to share how the funds are distributed.

Donate now

Our Disaster Relief Funding Criteria

Most disaster dollars are allocated during the emergency relief phase, covering needs like emergency food, shelter, water, sanitation, and health care. We recommend evaluating potential funding partners and grantees for sustained, long-term impact.

EXPERIENCE

Relevant, pre-existing presence in the affected location and an understanding of the community context prior to the disaster.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The ability to effectively meet the needs based on the current relief situation and with the capacity to develop and then implement a robust recovery plan.

SUSTAINED IMPACT

Potential to reduce poverty and improve the lives of affected people — moving them beyond where they were pre-disaster.

EFFECTIVE PARTNER

A strong understanding of the landscape of the recovery effort and the ability to work closely with the range of national, international, and community-based organizations involved in the disaster response.

Supporting our Allen community, together
$500,000 donated to CFT’s Support for Allen Fund
Left Right
Quote Icon
More than 650 individuals, families, and businesses have given a combined $500,000 to CFT’s Support for Allen Fund to assist local nonprofits.
- Tammy Mahan, Chief Executive Officer at LifePath Systems
Quote Icon
READ FULL STORY

Our long-term approach

Supporting medium to long-term community needs in response to disasters and tragedy. Our guidelines and recommendations for funding disaster and tragedy recovery:

  • Support organizations with long histories in the affected community, and ones with community-centric approaches. Many national and international organizations have worked in affected areas for decades, establishing relationships with communities and community-based organizations. Supporting such groups helps ensure donations achieve maximum impact on the ground.

  • Make multi-year commitments to rebuild public goods and community. Sustained support in the wake of a major event is vital. Donations that encourage close collaboration among local and federal governments and community-based organizations are especially effective. They help to rebuild physical structures and/or social fabric.

  • Support underfunded sectors. The sector-specific areas of protection, advocacy, transparency, and provision of psychosocial support are critical to the success of any recovery strategy. However, they are often very underfunded. We support these underfunded sectors to improve potential for long-term recovery and healing in the wake of tragedy.

  • Support risk reduction and preparedness efforts. Advance preparation can help mitigate loss in future events. For disaster preparedness, this includes support for alert and communication systems, disaster-proof construction, agricultural planning, and operational contingency planning.

Our team of experts often works in partnership with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.

Want to learn how you can help?

We can help you make lasting investments helping thousands stabilize and rebuild after disaster strikes.

CONTACT US

Search for: