Disaster Relief & Refugees

For a century, communities in the Western U.S. have worked hard to prevent and extinguish wildfires. But residents may have to learn to get along with a certain amount of fire. A few funders are navigating this tricky territory.

The war in Ukraine offers scope for funders to draw on their strengths to assist the embattled nation. For the Simons Foundation, that means helping Ukraine's physicists, biologists and other scientists continue their work.

Another update from America’s most exciting mega-donor shows an ever-evolving set of focus areas, which now include charter schools and lots of global giving. One question we still have: How does it all fit together?

Puerto Rico is reeling from Hurricane Fiona, and too often ignored by U.S. foundations until there’s a disaster. Guest authors from the Puerto Rico Women’s Foundation and the Women's Funding Network offer a better way.

In this guest piece, Milica Petrovic of the European Programme for Integration and Migration discusses what philanthropy should keep in mind about emergency funding, drawing on lessons learned since Russia’s invasion.

The WES Mariam Assefa Fund supports efforts in the U.S. and Canada to give immigrants and refugees a leg up — and a decent paycheck.

Ongoing crises and political developments have challenged nonprofits serving immigrants and refugees, but sometimes also pose fundraising opportunities. Unsurprisingly, well-established operations tend to have a leg up.

Education Cannot Wait is a U.N.-created fund with a mission to support children’s learning during times of crisis. Director Yasmin Sharif details how the organization works, and its plans for future philanthropic fundraising.

To mark World Refugee Day, we look at how a nimble philanthropist swung into action to meet the sanitation needs of a group of severely disabled refugees who heroically escaped from war-torn Ukraine and found shelter in Poland.

An initial wave of support for Ukraine focused largely on humanitarian aid. With the war entering its third month, organizations are channeling funds to help more than 5 million who have fled the country.

A raft of national and global crises have led to surges in giving to humanitarian relief organizations. We spoke to fundraisers at four charities about how they’re navigating an evolving landscape.

MacKenzie Scott’s latest round of grants gave unprecedented, unrestricted resources to regranters working with marginalized communities confronting climate change globally. “It’s seismic,” said one grantee.

At long last, our two-time winner for Philanthropist of the Year has dropped another Medium post—this time with the names of grantees included. Here are some key takeaways.

The crisis in Ukraine has prompted hundreds of millions in philanthropic commitments. In this guest post, Rachel Thomas of the Human Rights Funders Network calls for a more explicit focus on funding for human rights.

Women and girls in Ukraine will face the brunt of the war’s consequences. In this guest post, leaders from two women’s funding networks encourage donors to provide powerful support through women’s funds.

The conflict in Ukraine has sparked a humanitarian crisis at a scale the region hasn’t seen since World War II. Here are some of the ways philanthropic funders have stepped up for refugees and people staying in country.

The pop star’s Clara Lionel Foundation got started mainly funding disaster relief, then moved into climate resilience. Her latest round of grants puts the focus squarely on root causes of the climate emergency. Get the details.

The International Community Foundation channels support to communities in Latin America to help them grow into “ecosystems of change.” We hear about its goals from Marisa Aurora Quiroz, its new president and CEO.

Iconic rapper Cardi B is building a philanthropic track record, including stepping up during the pandemic and supporting victims of the Bronx fire earlier this year. Here’s what we know and what to expect going forward.

Hispanics in Philanthropy acts as an affinity group, a donor network, a grantmaker, a crowdfunding platform, and more, and a big portion of its work serves communities in Latin America. Here’s how this work is evolving.

The UPS Foundation has the advantage of drawing on UPS’s extensive global capacity in its grantmaking. Under new leadership and following a strategy update, here’s how it’s moving money and aid in the pandemic era.

COVID-19 was a wake-up call to the world that we are insufficiently prepared to identify and stop emerging diseases. It’s a niche cause in philanthropy, but here are a few funders backing early warning systems.

Jeff Skoll was one of only a handful of philanthropists backing pandemic prevention before COVID-19. That helped the Skoll Foundation hit the ground running on a global response last year, but vastly more resources are needed.

The world is a different place than it was the last time Haiti suffered a major earthquake, with the pandemic and other disasters taking up donor attention. Who has stayed the course, and which new players are coming to Haiti’s aid?

Haiti is in need of support, and the stakes are too high to repeat the mistakes of the past. In this guest post, a donor and a nonprofit leader encourage philanthropy to support Haitian-led, long-term recovery and reconstruction.

The developing situation in Afghanistan has prompted new calls for humanitarian aid to the country’s beleaguered citizens. We look at two initiatives to help the people of Afghanistan as the danger level blinks red.

MacKenzie Scott’s global giving has ebbed and flowed, with initial commitments abroad followed by a U.S.-focused round in December. Her latest round promises continued global giving, especially to support women and girls.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s $100 million response to the pandemic played out in more than 200 grants that backed communities around the globe. We take a close look at where the money went and why.

The Mastercard Foundation recently announced one of the largest private pandemic response donations, a $1.3 billion partnership with Africa CDC. We unpack the program, and how this huge global funder works.

Maureen and Jim Hackett support mental health and other issues in the Lone Star State, with one big gift responding to trauma caused by Hurricane Harvey. We talk to Maureen Hackett about how the family engages in philanthropy.