Disability Funders Network Disability Funders Network

The Social Justice Movement of the 21st Century...

Building a Bridge Between Disability and Community Philanthropy

Did you know...

Disability Inclusive Grantmaking is the mission of DFN: inclusion of disability in grantmaking programs and inclusion of people with disabilities in grantmaking organizations.

girl on wheelchair

Hurricane Katrina and Disability

In late August and into September 2005, many of us in the funding community were deeply disturbed and distressed by the widespread ravage and destruction caused first by Hurricane Katrina, then by Hurricane Rita, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to become refugees in their own country. As the evidence mounted, it became increasingly clear that Katrina and Rita did not affect everyone in their path equally. Those with the fewest resources and the greatest barriers to evacuation experienced the greatest losses. Among those who paid the highest price were people with disabilities. Many lacked the resources and/or accessible transportation to leave before the hurricanes struck. Once stranded, they faced difficulties making their need for rescue known. For those who were rescued, disaster services were often ill-prepared to meet their needs.

Having learned some painful lessons from the experiences of people with disabilities during and after the tragic events of 9/11, many government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private funders involved with disability issues responded to the challenges created by the 2005 hurricanes by rapidly organizing creative collaborations to address the needs of people with disabilities.

The Disability Funders Network was an active participant in many of these organizing activities, building on a project it began soon after 9/11 designed to educate funders about the emergency preparedness and disaster relief issues not only of people with disabilities but also older adults, recognizing the overlapping issues in these two groups.

The materials in this section of the DFN Web site are designed to provide an overview of the issues facing people with disabilities and older adults as the result of Katrina, Rita and other disasters, and to offer funders a variety of ways they can assist organizations helping people with disabilities by these disasters.

How to Help

Note: Clicking on any of the links below will take you to a description of the organization’s efforts to assist people with disabilities and a link to its Web site. Although a few focus on specific needs, most of the organizations listed provide comprehensive relief services that cross many grantmaking categories.

Cross-Disability

Blindness/Visual Impairments

Deafness/Hearing Impairments

Developmental Disabilities

Mental Illness

Physical Disabilities
(including, but not limited to, neurological, neuromuscular, mobility, chronic health conditions)