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See the latest trend research to help inform your disaster relief giving. We have pulled out the highlights below, but open the full PDF for detailed insights.
Each year, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and Foundation Center analyze global disaster-related funding from foundations, bilateral and multilateral donors, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), corporations, and smaller donors who give through donor-advised funds and online platforms. We analyze this funding according to a taxonomy that classifies giving by type of disaster and disaster assistance strategy.
Key findings from our 2015 analysis:
- Drawing upon nine data sources, we documented $23 billion in disaster-related giving in 2015.
- Grants awarded by 1,000 of the largest U.S. foundations totaled $158.1 million. There were some considerable differences in the distribution of contributions in 2015 compared with previous years. It is too early to determine whether this represents a new approach to disaster-related giving or is an anomaly.
- Overall funding decreased from the previous year when disaster-related contributions totaled $225.7 million, due to large grants addressing the Ebola epidemic. However, more grants were distributed in 2015 by more funders.
- Funding for complex emergencies increased dramatically from previous years and represented a greater proportion of overall funding. Large U.S. foundations distributed $26.6 million for complex emergencies (17 percent of overall funding), compared with $7.7 million (3 percent) in 2014. As the Syrian war continued and millions of refugees fled to surrounding countries and Europe, foundations increased support for the humanitarian crisis.
- Epidemics were the highest-funded disaster type ($32.6 million), with foundations continuing the support they gave in 2014 following the Ebola outbreak. In addition, $16.9 million was distributed for earthquakes, which received the most number of grants (159 grants).
- Among disaster assistance strategies, response and relief efforts continued to receive the most funding (34 percent), though this proportion was far lower than in previous
Disasters and humanitarian crises affected millions of people globally in 2015. A massive earthquake struck Nepal in April, followed by aftershocks that hampered relief efforts and further increased the devastation. Floods inundated areas of India and Malawi. The number of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people rose to 65.3 million people. In the United States, deadly storms and flooding affected South Carolina, Texas, and Oklahoma. The drought continued in California, contributing to wildfires. The Flint water crisis became full-blown, with toxic levels of lead making tap water unsafe for residents.