A record number of tornadoes struck U.S. communities in the first three months of this year, prompting the Center for Disaster Philanthropy to establish a Tornado Recovery Fund.
Sally Ray, director of domestic funds for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, said local and federal governments are prepared to help with immediate needs such as food and shelter. But those in small towns or rural areas, where tornadoes are common, typically do not have the funds to rebuild infrastructure quickly and equitably.
“We will be engaged in understanding what’s going on now,” Ray explained. “But as soon as those communities begin to move into the recovery phase, that’s when we’ll be supporting some local nonprofit organizations that are there to help make sure that people have access to resources they need for that recovery.”
At least 410 tornadoes struck the U.S. in January, February and March, according to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration’s Storm Prediction Center, topping the previous record for the same period of 398 set in 2017. The agency said many of the tornadoes were in the South and Midwest.
Ray pointed out the Center’s funds go toward mid- to long-term recovery from domestic disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and even snowstorms. Tornadoes used to hit during particular seasons in the country or in what was called “tornado alley” in the central U.S., But Ray said they are less predictable now, which means people need to be prepared.
“There’s not really a season anymore, there’s not really an alley,” Ray stressed. “It’s not that you didn’t ever have a tornado in December or January, just they were a lot less frequent, and they seem to be more common now, and part of that is because of climate change.”
Texas, the most tornado-prone state in the U.S., averages roughly 136 tornadoes each year. In 2022, the Lone Star State saw a total of 160 tornadoes, with the most significant activity taking place in the months of April and May.
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During the pandemic, nonprofits in Los Angeles took on the monumental task of helping feed, house and vaccinate millions of Californians suddenly thrown out of work. Now, a new report calls on the city to overhaul the way it works with the nonprofit sector.
The Committee for Greater LA found nonprofits are struggling, for example, to get paid on time for services rendered.
Efrain Escobedo, president and CEO of the Southern California Center for Nonprofit Management, said the relationship between the city and nonprofits needs attention.
“While nonprofits have been playing this critical role, the way government contracts and treats nonprofits in these contracts is not strengthening that sector,” Escobedo explained. “It’s not helping them be better. It’s not helping them reach more people. It’s simply more of an extractive type of relationship that really overburdened a sector that has gone above and beyond.”
The report called on the new Mayor, Karen Bass, to reset the relationship with the nonprofit sector, which provides 23% of jobs in the city. The authors asked the city to start paying its bills on time, cut bureaucratic red tape, and consider funding projects up-front rather than asking nonprofits to provide services and then be reimbursed.
Escobedo noted the Committee for Greater LA was formed to tackle crises flaring up during the pandemic, such as hunger, homelessness, poverty and unequal access to affordable high-speed internet.
“The inequities that we were seeing right up in front, in our faces, during the pandemic, are solvable,” Escobedo contended. “We did not want to just recover to the same state of affairs that we were in going into the pandemic.”
Mayor Bass, in a statement, said the city will not be successful if nonprofits are burdened by unnecessary costs, red tape and delays, and vowed to work to improve the city’s relationship with the sector.
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As Americans make end-of-year donations to their favorite causes, those that help children with cancer and their families say these households need support in difficult situations. A Minnesota-based group says inflation underscores the need.
The Pinky Swear Foundation has grown into a national philanthropic organization that will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary. The group’s marketing manager, Jake Leif, said it’s important that people also support cancer research and medical-debt initiatives, but groups such as his fill in the gaps in areas that might not receive as much attention when a family goes through this type of journey.
“When the child has cancer, life carries on,” he said, “and so [there’s] a lot of gas and grocery bills, rent, mortgages, car payments.”
Leif said it makes it harder when a parent has to pause working, and the total cost of a child’s cancer journey can exceed $800,000. He added that inflation has affected everyone’s wallets this year, and these families are no exception. Support from the foundation, including individual donations, is designed to remove the pressure of those daily expenses.
While platforms such as GoFundMe are another good tool, Leif said they can only do so much when a situation quickly overwhelms a family’s finances.
“We hear from families all the time that they had a beautiful nest egg, they had a healthy, healthy savings account,” he said, “and childhood cancer came through and just blew it down.”
The organization also will observe national Pinky Swear Day on Sunday. That proclamation originated from action in 2014 by then-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. It reflects how the group was inspired when a 9-year-old boy named Mitch, who was diagnosed with cancer, gave his savings to families on the pediatric oncology floor where he was receiving treatment. Before his death, he asked his father to promise to carry out this mission moving forward.
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Economic uncertainly created by the pandemic did not stop Americans from boosting charitable donations to record numbers in 2020 and overall giving in 2021.
But with inflation, it is unclear if it will continue. About 20% of charitable giving occurs between today and New Year’s Eve.
Thomas Tighe, president and CEO of the nonprofit Direct Relief, a humanitarian organization providing emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the U.S. and internationally, said choosing a charity you believe in is the first step to feeling good about making a contribution.
“Once you decide what it is that you care about, it’s worth doing your homework to find a group that’s going to do right with your money; going to make you feel proud,” Tighe explained. “They’re meeting these transparency standards. And that’s a good thing to do, just to make sure that the cause speaks to you. Is your money going to serve the cause?”
Despite inflation, online Black Friday sales in the U.S. topped a record-breaking $9 billion this year, according to Adobe Analytics.
Tighe believes civic engagement is ingrained in American culture, evidenced by the existence of 1.5 million charities nationwide. According to Kindness Financial Planning, individuals accounted for almost three-quarters or $324 billion of charitable giving in 2020.
“For groups that rely on charitable support, it’s a time of ‘cross your fingers and hope you did everything well and that people are in a position to give,’ and that’s the big unknown, what the effects of inflation are,” Tighe noted.
Among Baby Boomers, 72% give to charity, compared with 60% of millennials and 59% of Gen-Xers. Tighe added younger people often give smaller amounts to groups or causes not associated with corporate workplace campaigns.
“There’s no sense that people who are younger care any less, I think they may engage differently in the type of giving that they do or engagement,” Tighe explained.
To make sure your contribution goes as far as possible, consumer-guidance services such as Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau rate charities for a variety of trust factors.
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