Community Foundation for the CSRA (CFCSRA) is no stranger to playing an essential role in disaster relief and recovery in our community. We set up the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund to receive donations and support the day after the storm hit. Our program team and executive leadership have been on the phones daily talking directly to our nonprofit partners who are stepping up to provide critical supports to their neighbors. We will get financial support to those partners starting immediately.
In addition to mobilizing these donations, we can offer support in other ways by leveraging our experience and expertise to help organizations and civic leaders in all three stages of the post disaster environment:
- Immediate Relief: In the initial aftermath of this disaster, CFCSRA, local government agencies, nonprofit service providers and volunteers are rallying to provide food, housing/shelter, water, medical care, transportation, direct financial assistance and other essentials to the community. In addition to our proactive efforts to assist and strengthen our known nonprofit partners, through the Community Crisis Fund, we are prepared to receive direct requests to support them with funding. And, of course, we will keep our ear to the ground on the true and evolving needs in over 10 counties in Georgia and South Carolina.
- Short-term Recovery: As we all know, press coverage and donations peak during the immediate relief stage. However, just when public attention begins to wane, critical recovery work begins. Philanthropic investments will help provide continued health and social services, including provision of safe drinking water, temporary or transitional shelter, and other services for the community at large. CFCSRA is committed to partnering with our donor community to keep the communities’ needs at the forefront of philanthropic support in the coming weeks and months of recovery.
- Long-term Rebuilding: In many communities hit by disaster, it can take several years to rebuild physical infrastructure, restore the natural environment, and rehabilitate the lives of those who are among the hardest hit. In this stage, the CFCSRA’s annual Community Grants program and targeted philanthropy can play a key role in addressing chronic social and environmental challenges in the community.