In our ninth annual research report, Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy 2022: Data to Drive Decisions, developed in partnership with Candid, we dive into how philanthropy and other funders supported natural hazards and severe weather events and complex humanitarian emergencies alongside the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

We examined nearly $121 billion in disaster giving, which went primarily toward COVID-19 response. Other key findings from our analysis of 2020 data include:

  • Of the $5.2 billion in giving from foundations and public charities, 96% went toward epidemics, mainly for COVID-19 while the remainder supported wildfires, storms and other disaster efforts.
  • The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) provided $36.4 billion in official development assistance. Non-DAC government funders and multilateral organizations contributed an additional $3.1 billion.
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency distributed $57.6 billion for U.S. disasters a $54 billion increase from 2019; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated $9 billion in recovery efforts in 2020, an $8 billion increase from 2019; and the U.S. Economic Development Administration invested approximately $1.2 billion in disaster-related projects. This is just a sampling of U.S. government contributions that make up the bulk of domestic disaster funds.
  • Regrettably, 90% of foundation dollars went toward response and relief efforts, perpetuating the underfunding of recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Read the full article about disaster philanthropy in 2022 by Regine A. Webster at The Center for Disaster Philanthropy.