The Island Spirit Fund is dedicated to awakening the Island Spirit across the U.S., USVI, and where our partners live and work to ensure no one weathers a storm alone. It pursues this vision through relief efforts, helping rebuild and renew communities impacted by hurricanes. Grants are focused on awakening the Island Spirit on St. Croix in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and in other areas where our partners live and work, building resilience for future storms.
Challenge
Hurricane Maria was one of the worst Atlantic hurricanes on record. On the island of St. Croix, the storm caused severe damage to homes, communication networks, and the power grid. Despite these challenges, the resiliency of Crucians never wavered. Neighbors helped each other and renewed their island, inspiring the Island Spirit Fund to amplify and sustain those efforts. Beginning in 2018, we also began to spread the Island Spirit to areas in the U.S. impacted by hurricanes.
Solution
A hybrid model of direct aid and community investment is needed to support disaster recovery. Contributions to the Island Spirit Fund are granted to local organizations who are listening to what Crucians and U.S. residents truly need and who can provide the nourishment, supplies, equipment, and other resources required for short-term recovery and long-term stability. The Island Spirit Fund will apply these same principles when granting funds to other U.S. communities.
Long-Term Impact
By granting funds in direct response to local communities’ physical and emotional needs, the Island Spirit Fund aims to alleviate the isolation and hyper-individualization that leaves people frustrated, vulnerable, and helpless in the face of storms. Bringing people together is the first step to ensuring that no one weathers a storm alone. Further, the Island Spirit Fund addresses the need for the paradigm of disaster relief to change, fostering resiliency and empathy to face what’s to come.
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
Organization Information
GlobalGiving
Location: Washington, D.C. – USA
EIN: 30-0108263
Website: https://www.globalgiving.org
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @GlobalGiving
About GlobalGiving’s Disaster Response
When a disaster strikes, recovery efforts led by people who live and work in affected communities are often overlooked and underfunded. GlobalGiving is changing this reality. Since 2004, we’ve been shifting decision-making power to crises-affected communities through trust-based grantmaking and support.
We make it easy, quick, and safe to support people on the ground who understand needs in their communities better than anyone else.
They were there long before the news cameras arrived, and they’ll be there long after the cameras leave. They know how to make their communities more resilient to future disasters, and they’re already hard at work. GlobalGiving puts donations and grants directly into their hands. Because the status quo—which gives the vast majority of funding to a few large organizations—doesn’t make sense.
Questions about this project? Contact us