In an era marked by more frequent, intense, and costly disasters, corporate disaster-related giving is on the rise. From pandemics and geopolitical crises to climate-related hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, the growing scale and complexity of crises demand a reimagined approach to disaster response strategies. Many companies now recognize that disaster response cannot merely be a reactionary effort. To make a meaningful difference, companies are looking for ways to integrate disaster response into their broader social impact strategies and address everything from immediate relief to long-term preparedness.
We created this resource to help companies be more proactive and strategic in their own disaster response efforts. Our research included in-depth interviews with 13 companies across industries and a landscape analysis of existing literature, case studies, and industry reports. This brief offers resources to help companies prepare for the next disaster and highlights emerging best practices and real-life examples of ways that companies have structured their own disaster preparedness and response.
Top Takeaways
- Expectations—from consumers, employees, communities, as well as public and social sector partners—for how companies respond to these disasters are increasing. The frequency and intensity of disasters are anticipated to continue to rise in years to come, underlining the importance of strategic and impactful disaster response.
- Several choices can facilitate increased speed, innovation, equity, and impact of disaster response. In the report, we include three questions that can guide companies in how to structure and maximize the impact of their disaster strategies.
- Some companies are notably pushing the frontier and the field. We write about emerging best practices for corporate disaster response which focus on ways to connect disaster response to business strategy, center equity, and unlock innovation and collaboration.
On Tuesday, March 11 from 1:00-2:00PM ET, FSG will also be hosting a webinar to share learnings from the report and discuss how to prepare for the next disaster with leaders from PayPal, UPS, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, and Northern California Grantmakers.
Speakers:
- Alice Turner, Manager, Social Impact and the UPS Foundation, UPS
- Devin Mathias, Senior Director, Development, Center for Disaster Philanthropy
- Karen Little, Global Lead, Rapid Response & Strategic Partnerships, PayPal
- Kirin Kumar, Director for Climate and Disaster Resilience, Northern California Grantmakers
- Megan Linquiti, Senior Consultant, FSG
- Nikhil Bumb, Managing Director, FSG
