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Using Your Donor Advised Fund for Disaster Relief Efforts

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The Signatry

May 24, 2019

Every year natural disasters affect thousands of people, from devastating storms and tornadoes to wildfires and earthquakes. Victims are often left in need of shelter, food, clean water, electricity, and medical care in addition to the months of clean-up and years it takes to rebuild a devastated community.

You can use the money in your donor advised fund to support disaster relief organizations such as Convoy of Hope, Samaritan’s Purse, American Red Cross, and many others who are constantly at the forefront of disaster relief efforts. These groups assist with immediate needs like food, water, shelter, and many other necessities for victims. Using your donor advised fund, you can recommend a grant to help with relief and recovery efforts.

How can I help?

Send funds instead of physical goods.

Financial contributions give relief organizations the flexibility to allocate the funds where they are most needed. While sending goods such as nonperishable foods or clothing are helpful, they may not meet the victims’ immediate needs. You can grant to an organization’s general disaster relief fund or designate your grant towards specific disaster relief efforts.

Continue to support past the first 90 days.

90% of all disaster relief donations flow to relief efforts within the first 90 days following a natural disaster. However, disaster relief and recovery efforts occur well beyond 90 days lasting months and often years after the initial disaster. You can continue to support relief efforts by giving manually or setting up a recurring grant to an organization of your choice.

Invest in mitigation and preparation initiatives.

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP)1 has identified four phases of the disaster giving lifecycle. These phases happen before, during, and after a devastating event:

  1. Mitigation: Anticipating risks and helping to minimize the physical and financial damage of a disaster.
  2. Preparation: Increasing the speed and effectiveness of the response to a disaster. $1 donated towards disaster preparedness saves approximately $4 in property damage and can significantly reduce the number of casualties.
  3. Response: Addressing the immediate disaster relief needs such as food, shelter, and medical care.
  4. Recovery: Addressing the long-term needs over time to assist in the rebuilding of communities which may last several months and even years.

We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to help those in need. By caring for these immediate needs, you lift the burdens so people can focus on the emotional and physical healing needed. With a donor advised fund you have the funds readily available to help when these unfortunate disasters occur.

Earlier this week, some of our family and friends of The Signatry community and beyond were affected by the tornadoes that devastated Jefferson City, Missouri, and the surrounding areas. We have set up a fund so anyone who would like can be part of supporting the long and short term relief efforts. It will provide shelter, food, emotional support, supplies, and general assistance to all those affected by the Jefferson City, MO, storm.

Join us in helping our neighbors and pray for Jefferson City as clean-up efforts begin and families start the long journey of picking up the pieces and rebuilding. To support the Jefferson City Disaster Relief Fund, click here to find out more and to set up your donation.

1 https://disasterphilanthropy.org/issue-insight/the-disaster-life-cycle/

About The Signatry

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The Signatry seeks to inspire and facilitate revolutionary biblical generosity across generations. Through donor advised funds and other innovative tools and resources, families are empowered to live generously, modeling biblical values for future generations and making a greater impact for causes that align with their passions. Since its founding in 2000, The Signatry has facilitated sending over $4 billion to organizations around the world that are dedicated to solving the world’s greatest problems.

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