In a move that hopefully signifies a change in
how foundations and donors view funding disaster initiatives, the Rockefeller
Foundation is blazing a path forward with the creation of a $100 Million Dollar
Global Disaster Preparedness Fund. At the center of the fund is the "100
Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge," a global grant program that
essentially works to incentivize the integration of resilience into urban and
disaster planning. Those who win a grant award will receive funding for a
"Chief Resilience Officer," an individual who will be responsible for
oversight and implementation of the city's master recovery plan.
Beyond the initial PR splash, there are few
details on the application / nomination process at this time, but will be
something I watch for updates on given the questions an initiative of this
nature raises. Since many cities already have robust preparedness plans in
place, seeing how this position will integrate with those existing plans and
where the position will sit within the Emergency Management hierarchy could be
telling of how effective it will be. Will this position create
another layer of planning and procedural bureaucracy that cities have to wade
through, or will the Resilience Officer have the authority to begin to make
sweeping changes to how cities define and enact resilience in the face of
disasters? While much of the authority will most likely be derived from how and
where the dollars are to be spent, it will be interesting to learn how the
position is to be integrated in with the existing HR frameworks.
While I imagine cities are excited at the
prospect of supplemental dollars in their preparedness coffers in light of dwindling federal money to support their efforts,
non-profits should be equally excited or at the very least encouraged by this
move. The quest for consistent funding for disaster-focused non-profits
is all consuming and the results are often weak given the reluctance of
foundations (public and private) to fund response activities...let alone
general ops to keep the doors open.
The reason the creation of this fund with Rockefeller backing is so important, is because of the momentum and acceptance it will
hopefully generate throughout the donor community when approached with
opportunities to fund disaster initiatives. For the same reasons no one likes
to go first for anything are the same reasons no one wants to be the first to
fund something new.
I'm hopeful that with the creation of this $100
million fund and the coverage it will generate, that mindsets
will shift and the foundation world will recognize the importance of funding
non-profit disaster-related initiatives associated with preparedness/response/recovery.
Shifts in mindsets move at a glacial pace when
dollars aren't involved and a move of the type I would like to see happen would
entail a lot of money, as a result, I don't see any radical changes happening
anytime soon…but the creation of this fund is the first step in the right
direction.
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