As 2017 comes to a close, the United States is a long way from closing the book on the devastating effects of three hurricanes. The strain that Harvey, Irma and Maria put on the nation’s emergency-response resources was massive, and the communities affected by the storms will be years in recovering.
In fact, the challenges are so large that the mainland Gulf Coast communities affected, as well as Puerto Rico, will require more than public and corporate efforts to rebuild homes and businesses and restore power and water supplies. Our fellow citizens need us, a reality that challenges not just our financial resources but our emotional capacity as well.
It’s not as if the needs of those recovering from the storms exist in a vacuum. There is a consistent, and in some cases persistent, need for philanthropic support of institutions that provide social services, from creating permanent housing for the homeless to fighting food insecurity. A logical question is, will the extraordinary needs of the storm-recovery efforts hurt the regular and much-needed fundraising that goes on at home, and especially during the holidays, when so many organizations count on the generosity of the season to recharge their coffers?
Only time will supply the answer to that question, but it is one that we all should ask ourselves during the coming time of celebration and rejuvenation.
Philanthropy is not just about volume, of course. Like so much of modern society, the communications revolution has changed how nonprofits connect and affect their communities. From a new online donation tool employed by the United Way of Rhode Island to the retooled Innovation Fellowships of the Rhode Island Foundation, change is not only happening, it’s being embraced. As Rhode Island Foundation CEO and President Neil D. Steinberg said, the foundation is taking steps to “innovate the innovation program.” That’s an attitude we could all internalize.
Mark S. Murphy
Editor