Charitable Needs Evolve After Disasters

Red Cross shelter manager Irene Gray prepares the Burton Coliseum for evacuees from Hurricane Harvey in Lake Charles, La. Photo: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

After a disaster like Hurricane Harvey, determining what people need and when they need it is a key part of effective philanthropy, charitable-giving experts say. In fact, the wrong donation at the wrong time may do more harm than good.

Here is what disaster victims likely need now, a month and a year from now.

What do people need when a disaster first hits?

Survivors often need basic necessities most urgently, but that doesn’t mean you should send clothes or cases of water, says Eileen Heisman, chief executive of National Philanthropic Trust.

Charities that are already operating in the affected areas provide those items efficiently and more cost-effectively than if you sent them, she says. In-kind donations are often referred to as “the second disaster” because they pile up and take attention and resources away from survivors. If you want to help, send monetary donations, volunteer or donate blood, she says.

What do people need a month after?

Ms. Heisman still recommends cash because it allows survivors or on-the-ground charities to buy items in the community and boost the local economy.

You can also see if local organizations, particularly those providing shelter, have any “wish lists.” Many charities are leveraging online resources, like Amazon Wish Lists, to fulfill victims’ needs, she says.

Some organizations have also established separate funds that are designed to address the medium-term and longer-term recovery of affected areas, says Deborah Segal, vice president of Fidelity Charitable, a donor-advised fund that was founded by Fidelity Investments. For example, she says, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy has a Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund that is expected to put its resources toward rebuilding as well as meeting the needs of young children, supporting mental health and boosting damaged agricultural sectors. (CDP’s disaster philanthropy hotline: 202-595-1026.)

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett have co-founded a Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund that is being administered by the Greater Houston Community Foundation (which is at 713-333-2200.)

What do people need after a year?

“Unfortunately, in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, attention moves away from the disaster and its victims fairly quickly, and the community feels forgotten,” Ms. Heisman says. Committing to the long-term recovery effort is essential to rebuilding a community.

Some ways to help when others have moved on: Make monthly or weekly donations or, if you’re local or able to travel easily, volunteer on a regular basis.

Ms. Dagher is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New York. Email her at veronica.dagher@wsj.com.

Appeared in the September 5, 2017, print edition as 'Charitable Needs Tend to Evolve After Disasters.'