Major Changes in Federal Disaster Response: What Funders Need to Know

Join us for a webinar briefing, Major Changes in Federal Disaster Response: What Funders Need to Know, Thursday, May 29, 2025, 1-2:15pm ET. Please RSVP no later than noon ET, Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

As extreme weather events become more prevalent, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies must play an increasingly crucial role in keeping communities across the country safe, helping them prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Yet, the federal government’s role and resources for disaster-related efforts are in flux, even as we enter hurricane season.

Join this funder briefing to understand the current state of play, implications for philanthropy and state and local governments, and what’s at stake for climate-impacted communities across the country. Gain insight into how the shifting policy landscape will impact work at the nexus of climate, disaster resilience, migration, and democracy. And discuss opportunities for philanthropic interventions in the immediate, intermediate, and long term––as well as come away with concrete funding recommendations to ensure that the federal government continues to play a strong role to support disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

Speakers include:

- Pete Gaynor, Former FEMA Administrator

- Sarah Labowitz, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, author of Adaptation Through Shock, and creator of the Disaster Dollar Database

- Amanda Devecka-Rinear, Executive Director of the New Jersey Organizing Project/New Jersey Resource Project and Senior Fellow at Organizing Resilience

- Chrishelle Palay, Fellow - Organizing Resilience

*Briefing cosponsors include Unbound Philanthropy, Philanthropy New York, Philanthropy CA, and Democracy Fund.