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 the Tsunami and Eruption in Indonesia and Cholera Outbreak in Haiti
Updated: November 5, 2010
In recent days, two major humanitarian disasters have affected Indonesia and Haiti.
Indonesia was hit with a two-pronged disaster. A powerful earthquake and resulting tsunami on Monday night killed at least 343 people on the Mentawai Islands in western Indonesia and almost 400 are unaccounted for, amid fears they were swept away by the wave. On Tuesday, the government was handed another natural disaster in the form of the erupting Mount Merapi in Java, about 800 miles from where the tsunami hit.
On Wednesday, the Haitian government said that the death toll from Haiti's cholera outbreak had risen to 292 with 4,147 confirmed cases. Many fear that the situation could get much worse. One United Nations official predicted that the disease could spread and grow to "tens of thousands of cases" if it were to reach Port-au-Prince's makeshift camps where 1 million homeless Haitians live.
Situational Information and General Resources on Disaster Grantmaking
To assist its members and the field with leadership and guidance on global disasters, the Council on Foundations compiles timely, crisis-specific resources, available at www.cof.org/disasterresponse, including links to eight principles for disaster management, legal FAQs, and templates for your foundation’s disaster preparedness and recovery plans.
In addition, below is more information and resources specific to each disaster:
Responding to the Tsunami and Eruption in Indonesia
An update from BBC on the current death toll and missing people (includes a short video, a timeline of the disaster, and a map of the tsunami’s area of impact)
ReliefWeb: A project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This web site serves as a clearing house for information related to the tsunami with maps/ongoing situational reports.
AlertNet: A humanitarian news network from the Reuters Foundation that provides detailed news updates on the extent of damage and ongoing humanitarian relief efforts.
Philanthropy’s Response
Council members are encouraged to let us know of your response efforts by sending them to disasterresponse@cof.org and we will circulate a summary through our email discussion groups.
