Resilient philanthropy
Communities all across the world are increasingly challenged by natural disasters—from tornados to floods (and currently, of course, global pandemics). And when disaster strikes, communities must come together to work together to figure out how to respond immediately, and recover long-term.
“Long before the historic flood of 2019, or the global pandemic we continue to be in, the Quad Cities Community Foundation was preparing to support our community in times of disaster,” said Kelly Thompson, vice president of grantmaking and community initiatives.
In 2014, the Community Foundation was invited to participate in PPREP (Philanthropic Preparedness, Resiliency, and Emergency Partnership) through The Funders Network. “As we began learning and connecting with our peer Midwestern community foundations, we imagined, but didn’t truly know how valuable this preparedness would actually be for the Community Foundation, and the community,” she added.
Last month, Thompson joined community foundation colleagues from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Springfield, Missouri for a virtual conversation about resilient philanthropy—and specifically, how the past year has impacted each organization’s direction, focus, and future disaster preparedness. Hosted by Foundant Technologies, the conversation on Resilient Philanthropy is available on-demand for free here.
“The very idea of resilience for a community means it has the resources and relationships to withstand difficult times,” Thompson said. “It doesn’t mean we can do it all ourselves, but it does mean that we can come together to do the best we can until other people or resources join us as well.”
Philanthropy, she adds, is also focused on relationships and deploying those resources to be most effective. “And if we’ve been reminded of anything over the past couple of years, it is that philanthropy isn’t just there for the good and happy times—it is also conscious of, and prepared for, the difficult times. Having preparation and relationships is critical when we are in a crisis.”
Following the PPREP training, the Community Foundation began the Quad Cities Disaster Recovery Fund in 2016, and the Community Foundation’s board of directors committed an initial $10,000 to seed the fund. “We are a placed-based organization, focused on the long-term. While often the immediate response of support comes from organizations like the American Red Cross and Salvation Army, their work does have a sunset. We will be here forever—because that’s who we are. That’s why we started the fund and made a commitment to this work.”
The preparations paid off in 2019 with the historic flood in the Quad Cities region and the levee break in downtown Davenport, which impacted homes, businesses, and nonprofits. “We were able to activate the Disaster Recovery Fund right away, and leverage our relationships with organizations like the United Way of the Quad Cities, Quad Cities Chamber, and local and state governments, to raise money and grant money to priorities and solutions identified through Disaster Ready Quad Cities,” Thompson said.
The same was true in March 2020, when the Disaster Recovery Fund was activated yet again to support the community during the global pandemic. More than $1.8 million has been donated and granted back out to support COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
The relationships, Thompson noted, are critical to the inevitable shifting of capacity that happens during a disaster.
“There is just more to do during a disaster, and we’ve been reminded of two big things over the past couple of years. First, we have seen such success as funders to ask for support from other funders, and work together to align how we address needs. We all love this community, we’re all in this together, and we are stronger when we work together,” said Thompson.
“Second, we also have tremendous success when we ask for support from our community. To recover from the long-term impacts of disaster, we need the financial support of donors who are willing to donate—in times of disaster and times of calm—to help us all prepare for whatever will be thrown our way next. I’m grateful donors have joined us in such a caring relationship that contributes to our ability to be resilient as a community.”
In addition to the webinar on Resilient Philanthropy, The Funders Network recently published a report of learnings from PPREP participants—including the Quad Cities Community Foundation. You can download the report here. To learn how you can support the Community Foundation’s disaster recovery work, contact Anne Calder at (563) 326-2840.