Regional Associations
Disaster Related Communications Checklist
Large-scale disaster grantmaking has taken on a new meaning the last 5 years – between
September 11, the Tsunami in Southeast Asia, and now Hurricane Katrina. The
grantmaking community has learned a great deal in the last 5 years as have Regional
Associations in terms of the coordination and communication role that we can play. In the
wake of Hurricane Katrina, many Regional Associations have been communicating with
members about the foundation sector’s response and are providing information and
resources on disaster grantmaking.
A next step in communicating is to serve as a regional hub or resource central on the overall
philanthropic response. This means reaching out not only to our members, but to the
general public, the media and government as well.
The information below is designed to serve as a checklist of a number of different
communication opportunities that Regional Associations have to quickly and effectively
serve as a valuable resource in our respective communities regarding the philanthropic
response during a disaster.
Regional Association Members:
 Track and provide information on member efforts regarding the disaster
 Establish an area on your website homepage to provide members with ongoing
information on the disaster
 Send eNews alerts with information on the disaster
 Provide information and resources on disaster grantmaking
 Provide information on disaster relief organizations
 Provide examples of foundation responses to the disaster from around the
country
 Bring members together to discuss possible collaborative relief efforts
The General Public:
 Establish an area on your website homepage to provide ongoing information on
the disaster
 Provide information on members who have established disaster relief funds and
promote their online giving section
 Provide information on local and national disaster relief organizations and
promote their online giving section
 Highlight local fundraising efforts – rally’s, drop-offs, vigils
 Provide information on national fundraising efforts – concerts, live auctions,
star-sponsored events
The Media:
 Establish an area on your website homepage specifically for the media - to
provide ongoing information on the disaster
 Provide ongoing information on members who have established disaster relief
funds
 Provide ongoing information on local disaster relief organizations
 Develop a press release highlighting the local/regional funding community’s
response to the disaster – provide statistics, a local story angle, quotes, pictures if
possible, the national context, and ways for the community to get involved.
 Meet with one reporter to provide all the information above as well as one of
your members with a local story angle.
 Develop a letter to the editor/op-ed piece highlighting local response efforts.
 Develop a “Community Philanthropic Response” fact sheet, highlighting the
local/regional funding community’s response to the disaster – provide statistics,
quotes, pictures if possible, the national context, and ways for the community to
get involved
 Develop a “Snapshot” of the region’s philanthropic response – a paragraph
description of what several member foundations are doing to address the
disaster, along with their direct contact information – indicating
photo/film/radio opportunities.
Policymakers:
 Establish an area on your website homepage to provide ongoing information on
the disaster
 Provide ongoing information on members who have established disaster relief
funds
 Provide specific information on local disaster relief organizations
 Develop a “Community Philanthropic Response” fact sheet to email, mail or fax
to policymakers - highlighting the local/regional funding community’s response
to the disaster – provide statistics, quotes, pictures if possible, the national
context, and ways for the community and legislators to get involved
 Meet with local legislators to provide all the information above in person, and
bring a member involved in disaster relief efforts.
 Make contact with the staff of elected officials, both in their districts and in DC,
for federal officials.
 Contact state officials – it is likely that governors at least would be interested in
such information and perhaps the state charity official.
Follow-up Activities for Regional Associations:
Putting out lots of information in a timely way is important. But the follow-up phase really
has to supplement that in order to have an impact.
The follow-up efforts below will help to make sure the steps you take are effective:
 If you put information up on your website, make sure emails are sent out to
direct people’s attention to these sites.
 If you offer lists of events like rallies or drop-offs or even funds the public can
contribute to monetarily, follow up with TV stations, newspapers, etc. to see if
they will be listing them.
 For media, it may be worth making contact with a metro or state editor to make
them aware of what information you can provide and to ask which reporters will
need that information. It’s a good and organized way to find out how the
newsroom will be organized to cover local angles. You might be able to offer to
help the paper find local angles on how the community is mobilizing to support
the hurricane victims – see what kind of information they’d like to have.
Specific Communications Advice for Grantmakers:
Excerpted from “DISASTER GRANTMAKING: A Practical Guide for Foundations and
Corporations”
 Make it a point to educate your boards, employees, donors and shareholders (in the
case of corporate grantmakers) about the disaster cycle and how your foundation or
corporate grantmaking program is applying a comprehensive disaster management
approach to your disaster grantmaking.
 Convene or support meetings of funders and grantees to exchange experience and
ideas with respect to disaster management issues.
 Work with the media to raise public awareness about disasters by encouraging
disaster coverage that goes beyond dramatic events and personal stories to include an
examination of root causes of disasters; the political, economic and social factors that
contribute to them; and the important role of disaster prevention.
 Consider making a grant to send a member of the media on a site visit to a disaster
area to publicize why the affected population was so vulnerable and what steps could
be taken to reduce their vulnerability in the future.
 Don’t be shy about communicating your disaster grantmaking activities and
experience with both internal and external audiences.
 Make use of the Internet and other mass communication tools to communicate your
disaster grantmaking and the lessons you have learned from it.
Example: After severe flooding on the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota in
1997, the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation set up a Web site so that grantseekers
could post their needs and grantmakers could choose what they wanted to fund.
 Consider making grants for disaster prevention education and programs to raise
awareness in disaster-prone areas or study trips for public officials and opinion
leaders.
Example: The Bangladesh Freedom Foundation provides funding for disaster
preparedness training and hazard mitigation strategies in the disaster-prone coastal
areas of Bangladesh. The main objective of the project is to harness and share local
expertise, knowledge and wisdom. A further aim is to advocate incorporating disaster
preparedness training into school curricula.