Ensure proper protocols when giving disaster aid directly to individuals, families

Following the back‐to‐back hurricanes that struck first Texas and then Florida and Puerto Rico in late August and September, many grantmakers were left scrambling to identify which disaster relief agencies to support first. With so much destruction and so many people impacted, the situation, for many foundations, called for extraordinary measures, including expanding their usual grant programs to include aid directly to those hit hardest by the storms—a move that can, in theory, speed up the process by bypassing the “middleman” relief agency.