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Philanthropy Southeast is closely monitoring ways members can support communities affected by Hurricane Helene. This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

Last week, Hurricane Helene swept through the Southeast, making landfall as a Category 4 storm and bringing catastrophic winds and flooding to parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The storm caused dozens of deaths and has left communities throughout the region, particularly in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, facing months of rebuilding and recovery.

Our team is ready to support members who have been directly affected by the storm by connecting them with resources and other sources of support. Please call us at (404) 524-0911 if you need to speak with anyone on our staff. You can also email Jaci Bertrand, vice president of member engagement, at jaci@philanthropysoutheast.org.

The North Carolina Network of Grantmakers is also collecting resources for philanthropic organizations supporting relief and recovery in that state.

Immediate Relief & Volunteer Opportunities

To help support immediate relief efforts, you can donate to the Red Cross here.

World Central Kitchen has sent teams to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee to provide meals where needed. You can donate to support their work here.

Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization, has established full response operations in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, route clearance teams in Georgia and Tennessee, and reconnaisance teams in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. You can donate to support their work here. Volunteer sign-up is available here.

Those who live in and around Boone, North Carolina, can sign up with Samaritan’s Purse to assist with debris removal and clean-up between now and November 2.

In North Carolina, Volunteer NC is seeking volunteers here. North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster has a round-up of volunteer opportunities on its website.

If you know of other volunteer opportunities, please let us know.

Hurricane Ida made landfall on August 29 as the second-most intense hurricane to strike Louisiana, behind only Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm has caused multiple deaths, left millions without power and caused at least $15 billion in damage in Louisiana alone.

A number of SECF members have responded by either establishing relief funds that are accepting donations or making grants of their own. Follow the links below to learn more.

Relief Funds

• Greater New Orleans Foundation: Hurricane Ida Disaster Fund
• Foundation for Louisiana: Hurricane Ida Relief Fund

SECF Members Supporting Relief & Recovery

• Regions Bank and Regions Foundation Launch Comprehensive Hurricane Ida Response
• The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Pledges $1 Million to Hurricane Ida Relief Efforts
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation Commits $5 Million to Hurricane Ida Relief

SECF co-sponsored a webinar for funders earlier today hosted by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. A recording of the webinar will be posted here when it is available.

At least six people are dead following the devastation of Hurricane Laura, which made landfall early Thursday near Lake Charles, Louisiana, as a powerful Category 4 storm.

Officials on the ground are just beginning to assess damage from the storm, which, while weakened, has also brought significant rainfall to the rest of Louisiana and Arkansas. According to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, “areas hit by Laura include regions of the continental U.S. that have some of the counties/parishes with the lowest median income in the country. These areas are highly dependent on subsistence work, manufacturing, oil and gas, and other industries that can be deeply affected by hurricane-related disruptions. They also have some of the lowest road and public transportation densities in the U.S.”

Philanthropy has a critical role to play in natural disaster recovery, particularly once initial relief efforts by government and organizations like the Red Cross have run their course. Two community foundations in the area have set up funds that are taking donations – money raised for these funds will go toward long-term relief and recovery:

• Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana
• Community Foundation of Acadiana

Other community foundations in areas affected by the storm include: 

• Foundation for Southeast Texas
• Central Louisiana Community Foundation
• Community Foundation of North Louisiana
• Baton Rouge Area Foundation
• Greater New Orleans Foundation
• Foundation for Louisiana
• Arkansas Community Foundation

Finally, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy has an Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund that has been created to help focus on the greatest areas of need for the recovery process.