The Justice Fund for Disaster Relief and Renewal (JFDRR, or the ‘disaster fund’) was formed to heal the devastation following hurricanes Katrina and Rita and has continued funding similar relief efforts with each subsequent calamity. The COVID-19 Pandemic, in addition to the increasing barrage of hurricanes, twisters, and mass-flooding events, further demonstrates the importance of being able to provide rapid disaster relief to affected grantees and other grassroots organizations that meet SPF’s funding criteria. However, in the case of disaster grants (unlike the rest of SPF’s grantmaking), organizations can be rural or urban based.

SPF’s disaster fund grantees already make up a vital part of emergency management systems in SPF’s 12-state region. They have compiled community profile data that includes names and ages of each household member, their doctors, medicines, medical conditions, nearest relatives, important phone numbers, transportation needs, and other pertinent information that will help facilitate wholeness after a disaster.