The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently ensured its place in the annals of headline caution when it ran with the following lede: “Some Big Charities Favor Cash Handouts to Aid Pakistanis.” For years, non-profits have been urging charitably minded individuals and companies to send cash, as opposed to product donations. 

But attitudes within the corporate community are rapidly evolving away from cash and toward contributions that showcase unique competencies.

BCLC has directly experienced this sea-change. Lockheed Martin hosted and ran our annual disaster exercise at its Center for Innovation in Suffolk.  This contribution was priced at a value of over $250,000, and Commonwealth of Virginia representatives told us that the exercise directly contributed to their preparedness for this upcoming hurricane season (potentially starting with Earl this week). 

Deloitte arranged for the California Endowment to host our West Coast resilience workshop.  FedEx is helping us map charitable logistics challenges in Haiti, while Microsoft is working on software to make the whole process of coordination more transparent.  While there might be cash components in some of these cases, the real value is being driven by their unique competencies, connections, and experience. 

What are the factors contributing to these changes? 

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In acknowledgement of the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, BCLC Executive Director Stephen Jordan said the following:

“For the past five years, the Gulf Coast, and by extension, the entire United States, has been laboring to get out from under the shadow of Katrina. The storm marked a turning point in the way the country views disaster response. The business community stepped up in an unprecedented way.

“Corporate citizens contributed well over $1.5 billion to support the region’s recovery, investing in everything from schools and hospitals to cultural improvements and environmental remediation. We have seen signs of vast progress.

“The responses to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike were dramatically different, and Louisiana was actually one of the states least affected by last year’s economic hard times. However, as the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill still linger, we know that much more needs to be done to continue to promote the sustainable development of the region.

“This is why BCLC and the U.S. Chamber have joined together with local chambers throughout the region to promote investment in environmental R&D and exploration technology, job creation and small business capacity building, and other strategies to ensure that what happened after Katrina never happens again with such devastating impact. The fact that disasters happen won’t change, but our ability to cope with them can.

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By Stephen Jordan and Gerald McSwiggan

The last few weeks, BCLC has fielded inquiries about what different companies are doing to help the Gulf Coast recover from the most recent crisis. Corporate citizenship managers report that employees want to help the region recover from the oil spill. 

However, there has been some reticence on the part of management to get involved, in part because companies don’t want to get in the way of BP’s efforts and also because they are not sure exactly who is doing what, in terms of the different government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other volunteer groups. 

On the other hand, local chambers from across the region are concerned about the confluence of large, complicated issues. The St. Tammany West Chamber, Greater New Orleans Inc., and the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber organized a series of meetings to put information out there to help companies better understand the situation.  The following is a brief report on what the chambers presented.

The Situation

If there is one take away from the region, it is that the Deepwater Horizon spill itself is not the main issue. 

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The last two weeks have been illuminating in terms of the challenges companies face when dealing with community development and disaster recovery. Both of these buckets are diffuse, abstract, and not easy to grasp.

We need to get our arms around different community support functions like education, health care, housing, and small business cultivation.  Then, we need to figure out how they relate to each other and how businesses can make the most difference.

Two weeks ago in Suffolk, Virginia, the U.S. Chamber BCLC convened 80 experts to look at how disaster response leaders hand off their tasks to community recovery leaders.  The answer is: not very well.

BCLC convened 80 experts to look at how disaster response leaders hand off their tasks to community recovery leaders.  The answer is: not very well. 

Most states and the federal government have 15 to 18 emergency support functions.  These emergency support functions are represented at FEMA’s field headquarters or the state’s headquarters in order to improve coordination.  For example, when someone has an issue getting emergency medical aid somewhere because the roads are down, they can report the issue to their health care coordinator in headquarters who can then relay the message to the transportation emergency support function to fix it. 

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Today BCLC announced an exciting collaboration with FedEx and InterAction. We’ve launched an initiative to build an online mapping platform for Haiti recovery projects, designed to bring transparency and accountability to these efforts. Check out the Haiti Mapping Initiative prototype here.

We want to hear from you – how do you think this web portal will contribute to recovery efforts in Haiti?

Good information is usually lacking during the relief and long-term recovery stages of disasters. There is often confusion about where assistance is needed and which areas of response are already being addressed. The Haiti Mapping Initiative will share critical data about resource allocation, programmatic activities deployed in Haiti and unmet needs. 

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By Lauren Gray, International Rescue Committee

Melissa Winkler/The IRC

While the crisis in Haiti no longer dominates the headlines, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is still on the ground providing critical aid to help Haitians recover in the aftermath of January’s earthquake. Our work now is no less urgent than it was six months ago.

On Thursday, July 22nd, the IRC’s Photos from the Field live webcast will feature powerful images of the IRC’s work in Haiti and the people they have been privileged to help. During the event, you will hear the stories behind the photos, told by the two photographers who took them, IRC’s Gerry Martone and Melissa Winkler.

Both Gerry and Melissa are IRC veterans who have covered our emergency response work around the world, in Myanmar, Congo, Iraq, Sudan, and Thailand, to name a few.

Sarah O’Hagan, IRC Board Co-Chair, will moderate the event while Gerry and Melissa offer their unique, on-the-ground perspective of the IRC’s expertise leading families from harm to home. During the webcast, participants will have the opportunity to submit questions for Gerry and Melissa. Register now.

See all Haiti posts.

A grim anniversary for Haiti … hat’s off to Chile … cautious optimism in the Gulf … determination to improve public-private partnerships …

Haiti.  If you are in the disaster recovery or community development business, watching Anderson Cooper isn’t just depressing, it’s masochistic.  He is in Haiti right now, marking the six-month anniversary of the January 12 earthquake, shining his spotlight on the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps and the lack of progress, and asking important questions about the flow of aid.  

Apparently, only 2% of the pledged aid has actually been disbursed.  The hard truth is that the lack of real governance, coordination, and direction are acting as powerful deterrents.  Many companies are begging us to do something about the customs situation, but the Haitian government doesn’t have full control over their own people.  We are waiting for the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission to start having real teeth. 

In the interim, BCLC is working with Executives without Borders, CHF International and a number of companies to develop four projects where we think we can move the needle.  For more info, contact Taryn Bird.

Chile.  This is a country that was rocked by an earthquake 500 times more forceful than the Haiti quake. 

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Yesterday a good friend of mine, Lauren Petty, posted a few photos from BCLC’s recent delegation trip to Haiti.  (See also: Firsthand Look at Haiti Five Months After the Earthquake by Shane O’Connor, FedEx.) Lauren is incredibly creative and entitled the entry “Good Will Hunting.” Her choice in words got me thinking about the movie and the parallel with the youth population in Haiti.

On the trip, we had the chance to visit some of the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, which you find all over the city. One of the overwhelming characteristics about these camps is the massive amounts of children you find inside each of them. I had the opportunity to speak with some of kids and was amazed at their ability to communicate and the amount of children who spoke multiple languages. The majority of them spoke Creole and French (which I do not) however many of them also spoke Spanish and/ or some English. I found this to be incredible considering they are bi- or tri-lingual with little to no formal education structure in place.

We all remember of the story of Will Hunting and his journey from a frustrated, delinquent janitor at MIT to unleashing his sheer brilliance as a mathematician. Along the way he is accompanied on this journey by professions who guided him and rationalized, his otherwise chaotic and diluted life.

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We have said many times after disasters that you have to give people a reason to return to the area and reinvest.  This includes appropriate housing and job opportunities, and the systems structure of schools, hospitals, roads, police, etc. that keep a community functioning normally. 

In Haiti, we need to give people a reason to invest in the first place. 

Some of BCLC’s staf just returned from Port au Prince, where we led a business delegation to the country in partnership with CHF International and Executives without Borders.  (See also: Firsthand Look at Haiti Five Months After the Earthquake by Shane O’Connor, FedEx.)During the trip, we saw first-hand the incredible devastation that the earthquake caused, the countless tents where internally displaced persons (IDPs) are now living, and the poverty that far too many people face daily. 

But even before the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.  According to the CIA World Factbook, Haiti’s per-capita GDP (purchasing power parity) was $1,300 in 2009.  Neighboring Dominican Republic had a per-capita GDP (PPP) of $8,300 in 2009. Before the earthquake, Haiti needed investment and opportunity.   After the earthquake, Haiti is even more desperate for investment and wealth creation.

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The U.S. Chamber BCLC has fielded numerous inquiries from corporate citizens regarding what companies can do to help out in response to the current Gulf Coast disaster. Local chambers across the region, as well as small and medium-sized local businesses, have sent individual requests for assistance. We continue to troubleshoot those on a case-by-case basis, but here are some broad themes for your consideration:

(1) Advice. If you have been through a similar situation and can share lessons learned, please do it by commenting here. We greatly appreciate the help that our friends in Alaska have already provided and many folks welcome the assistance, support, and good wishes.

(2) Small Business Bridge Loans and Grants. Some small businesses in the Gulf Coast region are very dependent on seasonal business. Just as the Manhattan Chamber and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry set up support funds after 9/11 and Katrina, several chambers are interested in exploring this approach as well.

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