Roles and Tools for Funders

Introduction

Need for and history of project. What to expect and how to navigate the website. Note that this is primarily disability- and elder-specific. Add a short-list of general foundation reports that stress “how-to.”

Roles and Tools for Funders to Promote Inclusion of People with Disabilities and Older Adults

Grantmaking

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1. Create an inclusive disaster response policy containing guidelines for disaster-relief funding and/or flexible procedures for grant authorization and disbursement.
   Policy Example 1: Corporate Foundation Focusing on Disability
   Policy Example 2: Private Foundation in a Hurricane Area with an Emphasis on Including Older Adults
   • In many cases, when foundation boards choose not to create specific policies, staff-driven disaster-response practices can connect the foundation’s mission to disaster-related needs by incorporating an added degree of flexibility:
   • Just prior to or in the immediate aftermath of an emergency, contact your grantees in disaster areas to determine their disaster-related needs, and be prepared to make grants that require a flexible interpretation of your program areas
     Flexible Practices Example 1: Private Foundation Covering a National Geographical Area
   • Once a grant is made, allow grantees the flexibility to use funds to meet unforeseen needs:
     Flexible Practices Example 2: Community Foundation
2. Fund projects that include or have a history of collaboration between mainstream organizations and disability and/or aging groups.
   • DFN note: private funders can assist in building these collaborations by hosting and/or funding convenings to build networks, supporting the participation of disability and aging organizations and individuals, and using their social capital and their role as community leaders to encourage government agencies to work with a variety of nonprofit organizations, including those serving people with disabilities and older adults.
     Collaboration Example 1: From “Saving Lives”
     Collaboration Example 2: New York Community Trust 9/11 Grants to CIDNY
     Collaboration Example 3: Quantum Legal Aid Grant
3. Ensure that the organizations you fund for emergency preparedness and disaster relief and recovery efforts include disabled and older people by asking specific questions about inclusion of these groups.
   • Use proposal screening tools developed by disability and aging funding organizations when evaluating proposals for provision of emergency preparedness and disaster relief services
     Inclusion Example 1: DFN Screening Tool
     Inclusion Example 2: National Council on Disability (NCD) “Saving Lives” Report: “Disability-Specific Indicators”
   • Fund efforts to identify people with disabilities and older adults likely to need assistance in an emergency, making sure that project operators are informed about and respect privacy and security considerations.
   • Support the inclusion of people with disabilities and older adults in services provided by nonprofits serving general populations.
     Inclusion Example 3: Mainstream Organization — DFN Rapid Response Fund Grant to Habitat for Humanity of Walton County, FL
   • Fund/encourage the inclusion of seniors and people with disabilities and the organizations that serve them in local, state and national planning recovery and relief efforts; emphasize the need for such participants to have the necessary experience in emergency and disaster activities.
     Inclusion Example 4: Including People with Disabilities in City Disaster Planning — City of Houston
     Inclusion Example 5: Including Disability Organizations in Leadership Roles in County Emergency Planning — INclusion Network, Hamilton County, OH
     Inclusion Example 6: Including Seniors in Disaster Planning and Response: AARP
     Inclusion Example 7: Including Representatives of Aging/Disabled Organizations in County Planning — Quantum
   • Monitor and evaluate grants to ensure that the needs of disabled and older people are adequately addressed in funded disaster activities.
4. Fund disability- and aging-specific needs and organizations that are often overlooked by general emergency preparedness and disaster-relief efforts.
   • Support small or underfunded disability and aging organizations that have strong roots in their local communities as well as some experience in disaster relief and emergency planning.
     Small Agency Funding Example 1: New York Community Trust Grant to Center for Independence of the Disabled New York (CIDNY)
     Small Agency Funding Example 2: DFN Rapid Response Grant to Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities in Jackson, MS
     • Offer funding to cover the cost of their full participation in general community planning and relief efforts.
       Small Agency Funding Example 3: Supporting Participation — CIDNY
       Small Agency Funding Example 4: Funder Comment — Kathy Whelply of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
   • Provide grants for specialized supplies such as accessible evacuation equipment; disaster supply kits that address disability and age-related needs; and medication, equipment, aids and assistive technology to be used before, during or after a disaster.
     Equipment and Supplies Example 1: Equipment and Supplies Requested by Organizations Serving People with Disabilities and Older Adults
     Equipment and Supplies Example 2: DFN Rapid Response Fund Grant to Lutheran Social Services of the South, Inc.
     Equipment and Supplies Example 3: Online Medication and Medical Record Tracking — Markle Foundation
   • Support efforts to address the needs of seniors and people with disabilities to safely and efficiently evacuate buildings and localities. This entails support of accessible transportation options.
     Evacuation and Transportation Example 1: Hurricane Fund for the Elderly (HFE) Grants
     Evacuation and Transportation Example 2: John A. Hartford Foundation Grant to the Florida Health Care Association
     Evacuation and Transportation Example 3: Notes on Need for Accessible Transportation in Evacuation Planning and Procedures
     Evacuation and Transportation Example 4: City of Houston
   • Shelter, Housing and Self-Care
     • Fund organizations working to overcome barriers to accessible shelters, emergency housing, and rebuilding of housing stock.
       DFN Note: Remember that people with disabilities and older people live in a variety of settings, including assisted living facilities, nursing homes, group homes, apartments and private homes.
       Shelter and Housing Example 1: Notes on Sheltering — National Organization on Disability’s SNAKE (Special Needs Assessment for Katrina Evacuees) Report
       Shelter and Housing Example 2: Quantum Foundation
       Shelter and Housing Example 3: COMBINE JUNE AND ELIZ—FUNDING FOR ASSESSMENT POOL][MAYBE ADD NOTES FROM JUNE TO SHELTER NOTES]
       Shelter and Housing Example 4: Notes on Housing Needs — National Organization on Disability’s SNAKE (Special Needs Assessment for Katrina Evacuees) Report
       Shelter and Housing Example 5: DFN Rapid Response (RRF) Grants
       Shelter and Housing Example 6: GIA Hurricane Fund for the Elderly (HFE) Grants
   • Get expert assistance (quote NOD p 10 re DFN) + Martin Lehfeldt re local.
5. Support emergency preparedness, disaster relief training and technical assistance for people with disabilities, older adults and their advocates and service providers, plus cross-training for teams made up of disaster personnel together with disability and aging experts.
   Training Notes and Examples 1: Notes on Training Needs by Disability and Aging Experts
   Training Notes and Examples 2: Hurricane Fund for the Elderly Grants
   Training Notes and Examples 3: DFN Rapid Response Fund Grant to Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities
   Training Notes and Examples 4: Center for Disability and Special Needs Preparedness
   Training Notes and Examples 5: EAD Associates
   Training Notes and Examples 6: John A. Hartford Foundation Grant to the Florida Health Care Association
6. Support rebuilding of disrupted services and capacity-building for improved service and information infrastructure. [service coordination]
   • Rebuilding Service Delivery System Example 1: John A. Hartford Foundation Grant to Rebuild Geriatric Medicine and Training Infrastructure in New Orleans
7. Fund advocacy for accessible infrastructure before and emergency occurs as well as advocacy and legal services during and after a disaster strikes.
   • Advocacy and Legal Services Example 1: DFN Rapid Response Fund Grant to Advocacy, Inc.
   • Advocacy and Legal Services Example 2: GIA Hurricane Fund for the Elderly (HFE) Grant
8. Provide funding to enhance communication to seniors and people with disabilities before, during and after disasters as well as communication and coordination among the community based organizations that serve and represent them.
   • Fund efforts to communicate to older and disabled individuals in the need to develop their own personal support network, disaster self-assessment, personal disaster plan for home and work, and disaster supply kit.
     Disability-Specific Communications Example 1: Personal Preparedness Kits
   • Provide funding and information for disability-specific communication needs.
     Disability-Specific Communications Example 2: Needs
     Disability-Specific Communications Example 3: Interpreter Services for Gulf Hurricane Survivors
     Disability-Specific Communications Example 4: Augmentative and Alternative Equipment and Services for Hurricane Survivors
     Disability-Specific Communications Example 5: Accessible Information in Alternate Formats Before, During and After Disasters
     Disability-Specific Communications Example 6: Accessible Web Sites
   • Support communication and information sharing among disability and aging organizations within communities as well as between these organizations and other community agencies/organizations dealing with emergency preparation and disaster relief.
     Interagency Communication and Information-Sharing Example 1: Hurricane Fund for the Elderly Grants
     Interagency Communication and Information-Sharing Example 2: DFN Rapid Relief Fund

Public Awareness

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1. Help disseminate resources on emergency/disaster issues to the disability, aging and emergency communities and the media; include information on disabled and older people in print and electronic resources and press releases on disaster/emergency issues.
   • Specifically mention people with disabilities and older adults in press releases, Web sites and other public material to heighten awareness.
     Dissemination Example 1: NEC Foundation Grant to DFN for Katrina Release
     Dissemination Example 2: New York Community Trust
   • Facilitate meetings among the media and the disability, aging and emergency responder communities to ensure that the media adequately address disability and aging issues and provide critical information in accessible formats.
     Dissemination Example 3: Resources for Working with Media on Disability Preparedness
   • Disseminate your grantees’ materials to other funders and nonprofits.
     Dissemination Example 4: Hartford Foundation
2. Work with the media to encourage inclusion of disability and aging issues in their disaster reporting.
   • Inclusion in Media Reporting Example 1: NEC Foundation and Newsweek On Air
   • Inclusion in Media Reporting Example 2: DFN Article in Foundation News & Commentary
3. Help ensure that resources, information, press releases, etc., on disaster/emergency issues are available in accessible formats.
   • Media Accessibility Example 1: DFN Information for Funders (alternative formats and Web site accessibility information)
   • Media Accessibility Example 2: Accessible Format Resources for Emergency Information — NM, FCC, NOD

Community Leadership

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1. Ensure that all communitywide convenings on disaster preparedness and relief include disabled and older people as equal partners among other representative groups.
   • When holding convenings for grantmakers, include disability and aging issues, as well as funders with expertise in those issues.
   • Hold convenings in accessible facilities; make sure that the programs themselves are accessible and that all materials are available in alternative formats such as audio tapes, computer disks and Braille; provide interpreter services and/or listening devices for deaf and hard-of- hearing people.
2. Use your leadership position in the community to build connections and relationships between disability and aging organizations, emergency response groups and agencies/individuals who can help to integrate their needs in communitywide solutions.
   • Facilitate meetings between the disability and aging communities to identify similarities and build bridges around disaster issues.
3. Bring the organizations you support “to the public trough.”
4. Build awareness among grantmakers by disseminating the results/products of projects you fund and by bringing disability and aging issues to meetings of funders and other community leaders.