4. Think beyond the immediate crisis to the long-term.
5. Bear in mind the expertise of local organizations.
6. Find out how prospective grantees operate.
7. Be accountable to those you are trying to help.
8. Communicate your work widely, and use it as an educational tool.
Responding to Hurricane Dean
Last Updated September 18, 2007
This resource is intended for grantmakers interested in responding to Hurricane Dean, a powerful Category 5 storm that brought torrential rain and damaging winds to Mexico and a number of Caribbean islands including Jamaica, Honduras and Belize. AlertNet, a humanitarian news network from the Reuters Foundation, provides informative updates on the extent of damage and ongoing relief efforts in affected regions.
The following resources are provided for educational purposes only. Please consult the Disclaimer for a full explanation of the purposes and limitations of this information.
Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ): EFJ is working with donor partners to provide relief and assist in rebuilding efforts in several communities. A main concern at this time is damage to the environment and impact on children. Contact Karen McDonald Gayle (kmcdonaldgayle@efj.org.jm) for more information on how to support EFJ 's relief and reconstruction efforts.
NGOs and Foundations
InterAction: The largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations, lists news updates from member organizations active in the region. InterAction members agree to abide by a set of standards to ensure accountability to donors.
United Nations Foundation: Launched an emergency fundraising appeal for $100,000 to support the recovery effort for communities in and around the Sian Ka'an Biosphere reserve in Mexico, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Intermediary Grantmaking Organizations: Intermediaries are generally public charities that offer fee based-services designed to meet the needs of grantmakers and individuals who wish to give outside the country in which they are based but prefer not to take on the responsibilities of doing so directly. This section is organized by issue area and geographic focus.
Government and Multilateral agencies
United Nations ReliefWeb: A project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this website serves as a clearing house for information relating to hurricane affected areas. This page provides updates on who is doing what in the area, lists current appeals and tracks contributions. Also included in this page is a link to the most current situation report from the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): UNICEF and other UN agencies are providing relief to help the authorities respond to the emergency needs of children and families in Jamaica
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): The U.S. Government's foreign assistance agency makes available on its website estimates of the extent of damage from the hurricane along with specifics of U.S. government assistance. USAID also provides general information on how to help those affected by a disaster overseas.
General Resources for Disaster Grantmaking
Disaster Grantmaking: A Practical Guide for Foundations and Corporations: A joint product of the Council on Foundations and the European Foundation Centre, this free publication suggests eight principles, listed on the left, plus practical tips for grantmakers to consider when responding to emergency situations. Download the PDF.
Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance Through Charitable Organizations: Prepared by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Exempt and Government Entities division. Although this publication does not focus on international grantmaking it extends advice on how to give through existing U.S. charitable organizations, how to set up a new charitable organization and the requirements for documentation. Download it here (in PDF).
