Following the extraordinary response to the COVID-19 pandemic, disaster funding by the top 1,000 U.S. foundations plunged from $4.3 billion in 2020 to $1.7 billion in 2021, a report from Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) finds.

The 10th annual Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy report found that while disaster-related funding by the largest foundations declined by nearly 60 percent compared to 2020, their support in 2021 was still 7.7 times greater than in 2019, when those foundations distributed $218.9 million in related funding.

The report noted that of the $157.2 billion given by private and community foundations, corporations, and public charities for all causes in FY 2021, only 2 percent ($3 billion) went toward addressing disasters. Epidemics, primarily COVID-19, continued to attract most funding, accounting for 84 percent of disaster-related giving, while support related to natural disasters, such as storms, earthquakes, and wildfires, received just 6 percent of funding. Overall, just 10 percent of all disaster-related support was directed toward long-term planning, resilience, risk reduction, preparedness, reconstruction, and recovery.

“We are witnessing more devastation from humanitarian crises and natural hazards, including those fueled by climate change,” wrote CDP director of learning and partnerships Tanya Gulliver-Garcia in a blog post. “For many affected communities, especially for marginalized groups, the road to recovery is long and underresourced.”

Read the full article about disaster funding at Philanthropy News Digest.