May 28, 2024 03:56 PM EDT
Last year, the United States set a new record for the highest number of disasters causing over $1 billion in damages. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's forecast for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, starting June 1, predicts at least 17 named storms and four to seven major hurricanes.
Foundations need to adopt new strategies to prepare, according to Patty McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. She emphasizes the importance of all types of philanthropic entities in proactively setting aside funds for disaster preparedness. By having funds ready in advance, foundations can direct resources toward preparation, potentially saving money and lives. McIlreavy points out that it's far more cost-effective to prevent disasters than to recover from them.
The Miami Foundation will announce a round of proactive grants funding initiatives to inform locals on what goods to stockpile, how to prepare their houses, and when to evacuate on the first day of hurricane season. It will assist in supplying tarps, sandbags, and other safety gear.
The foundation will be able to transfer funds to those same partners immediately in the event that a storm is predicted.
A much smaller community foundation in Stuart, Florida, roughly 100 miles north of Miami, is planning to start its own permanent catastrophe fund. Martin-St. Community Foundation Inc. With a target of raising $500,000 by mid-summer, Lucie has already raised $300,000 for the Local Disaster Relief Fund.
The foundation is in advance forming partnerships with six local NGOs that can provide necessities such as food, medication, and shelter during a disaster in order to expedite that response.
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House of Hope, which is situated in Martin County, Florida, is one of their partners. It started out as a food bank forty years ago and has expanded to provide about 21,000 residents with a monthly range of vital services including job and housing help.
House of Hope will utilize a grant from the Local Disaster Relief Fund to provide storm kits containing food, water, and batteries to its guests throughout the summer.
The majority of the company's clientele wouldn't be able to accumulate materials without this help.
The fund will help House of Hope replace items that customers lose in a disaster, such as perishable food that goes bad during a power outage. Since hourly workers make up the majority of those it helps, the group will be able to support them with housing and medical expenses even in the event that firms close.
It also becomes costly to hire temporary workers to provide services or to compensate House of Hope's own personnel for working extra. With the community foundation arrangement in place, Ranieri knows he will have the money to satisfy the requirement.
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