“Prediction, not narration, is the real test of our understanding of the world.” ― Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable We live in a time of uncertainty. Our world is undergoing a transformative journey in an era of technological advancements and global challenges. Disasters are constant, as is the harm they cause. Funders must understand that a better future is possible. In “The Black Swan,” Taleb challenges his readers not to look at past events, including disasters, to develop plans but to imagine what could be. As much as they may feel random at times ..read more

The impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which hit Florida two weeks apart, went well beyond the catastrophe from the storms. Communities along the Gulf Coast and southeastern U.S. felt the devastating impact of Helene and Milton and the so-called “secondary perils,” smaller events such as storm surge, tornadoes, heavy rain and flash flooding. As secondary perils begin to cause as much or more loss and destruction as the hurricanes themselves, and as disaster after disaster hits the same communities, funders need to adjust their disaster-giving strategies. During this webinar, our speakers ..read more

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) helps communities by “preventing new and reducing existing disaster risk and managing residual risk.” In recognition of October’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy hosted a webinar to educate funders about their role in helping communities build resilience by reducing risk. Disasters are not natural; therefore, philanthropy can take action to reduce disaster risk. And yet, only a small fraction of disaster giving goes to mitigation, resilience and preparedness efforts. By investing in DRR, philanthropy can save mon ..read more

Hurricane Helene was a monster storm, one of the biggest on record to hit the U.S. It made landfall as a Category 4 storm near Perry, Florida on Sept. 26, bringing devastating, widespread impacts across Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and beyond. Since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes have been bigger than Helene, which had a huge wind field covering much of the coast of Florida. When the impact is so widespread, it taps the resources of all affected municipalities and tribes, and even the states, so they can’t rely on each other for support. This means external support will be needed for reco ..read more

Women, girls and gender-diverse people are disproportionately affected by disasters, especially those who have preexisting vulnerabilities because of structural inequities. Women and children are 14 times more likely to die from a disaster than men. Transgender adults are twice as likely than cisgender adults to report being in poor health, which impedes full recovery after a disaster. Yet funding to support women, especially in larger complex humanitarian emergencies (CHEs) is insufficient and usually does not go to women-led organizations. A feminist humanitarian response to crises and clima ..read more

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