FNC | Feedback

Disabilities and Disasters

We were pleased to see your timely editorial and articles, "Philanthropy's Tsunami Response" and "Principles of Disaster Grantmaking," in the January/February 2005 issue. These pieces confirm the important role of grantmakers in addressing the needs of people and communities during and after emergencies and disasters, such as the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia.

We would like to further educate funders by highlighting people with disabilities who face multiple barriers to safety and survival during disasters, yet are often overlooked by rescue and recovery efforts. Our international disability networks provided numerous distressing examples of people with disabilities who were unable to leave their homes and schools during the tsunami because they lacked accessible paths of egress or needed equipment and assistance. Sadly, many also were unable to obtain needed food, medication, shelter and support in its aftermath.

To raise funders' awareness about the importance of including the disability community in their disaster preparation, rescue and recovery efforts, the Disability Funders Network launched Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities: What Grantmakers Need to Know. This projectfunded by The New York Community Trust, the Milbank Foundation for Rehabilitation, Citigroup Foundation, Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation and Archstone Foundationis designed to give foundations and corporate giving programs tools and information so they can include people with disabilities in their disaster-related giving. It will produce a set of guidelines for inclusive giving, as well as a list of relevant resources and examples. These materials will be available in both web-based form and hard copy.

We invite grantmakers to join us in implementing this project and hope they will consider including people with disabilities and older adults in their disaster grantmaking. Even asking potential grantees about whether and how the needs of people with disabilities will be addressed can promote inclusion. In addition, we invite funders to review the draft materials already available on our website at www.disabilityfunders.org. Feedback about how to make these materials as user-friendly as possible would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again for your concern about the topic of disaster grantmaking.

Jeanne Argoff
Executive Director, Disability Funders Network
Falls Church, VA [via e-mail]

Armed for Battle

I am in the middle of reading Helen Monroe's "Board Communication 101" in the March/April 2005 issue and I wanted to extend my sincere thanks for the article.

I imagine you don't always hear from the front-line folks your publication affects, so I wanted to provide some positive feedback. I was a policy advisor at The California Endowmentthe state's largest healthcare foundationbefore moving to my new role as executive director of a new foundation focusing its resources on the behavioral health of kids via after school programs.

Due to the family foundation-like origins of the organization, none of the current board members have prior board or philanthropic experience, so you can imagine that the management of expectations and teaching of good grantmaking have been keeping me busy. Plus, as this is my first executive director position, figuring out communication with my board has been interesting. Nonetheless, I find them receptive to articles and learning. Therefore, you can imagine how pleased I was just as I was about to throw away most of my Council on Foundations conference materials from San Diego that I took the time to page through your magazine.

In summary, thank you for helping out a little guy who often feels like it's an uphill battle.

David O. Washington, Ph.D.
Executive Director, The Promises Foundation
Los Angeles [via e-mail]

& Your Commentary

Your ideas, comments and experiences are welcome here. Send them by e-mail to clyda@cof.org; by fax to 202/785-3926; or on paper to Feedback, Foundation News & Commentary, 1828 L Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036.