Foundations funded millions in 2017

An annual research report shows the that 2017 was the costliest year of natural disaster on record.

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) report, Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy 2019: Data to Drive Decisions, draws from 12 data sources and documents $45 billion in private, public, corporate, and individual disaster-related giving to address major global disasters and humanitarian crises in 2017 that included Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and wildfires in California. Global disasters included two large earthquakes in Mexico, famines in Africa, and civil unrest in Syria and Yemen.

Key findings for 2017 funding reveal:

• $504 million in funding by foundations and public charities for disasters and humanitarian crises

• Natural disasters accounted for 65% of disaster funding

• Among disaster assistance strategies, 64% of dollars were for response and relief; 17% went toward reconstruction and recovery; and only 2% each went to resilience and preparedness efforts

• Disaster-related funding doubled from 2016, based on a year-over-year analysis of grantmaking by 1,000 of the largest U.S. foundations

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed $15.6 billion for U.S. disasters in 2017, an $11.9 billion increase from 2016

• Based on available data, corporate giving programs committed at least $275.4 million to disasters and humanitarian crises in both cash and in-kind donations