How to Help Those Impacted by Hurricane Melissa

Read time: 3 min

👋🏾 Hey! I’m Sid and this is The Philanthropy Futurist, a weekly advice column preparing you for the future of the nonprofit sector. Each Friday, I tackle reader questions about measuring impact, driving growth, and managing your nonprofit.

This Week’s Newsletter at a glance:

• How to Help Those Impacted by Hurricane Melissa

• Philanthropy News From This Week

• Sid’s Book Recommendation

How to Help Those Impacted by Hurricane Melissa

As many of you know, Hurricane Melissa hit the Caribbean this week.

It impacted Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas… all facing life-threatening winds, floods and mass evacuations.

But now comes the harder part… rebuilding with intention, and not simply reacting to the disaster.

Here’s a quick playbook for folks who want to support and make a real difference:

1. Fund Local Partners, First

Before sending supplies, send cash. Local NGOs, churches, and municipal teams already know where the gaps are… fuel, food, communications, shelter etc. Quick cash transfers get resources where they’re needed faster than any cargo plane can.

2. Start With Survival, Plan For Resilience

Immediate needs are clear: shelter, clean water, power, and medical aid. But look beyond the first 72-96 hours… support farmers who lost crops, reopen schools, and rebuild clinics etc. Recovery isn’t just about repair, it’s also about preventing long-term setbacks.

3. Lead With Transparency

Publish where the money goes and who it helps. A simple google sheet or live dashboard showing funds disbursed builds trust and attracts more donors. Visibility will create more momentum, and that will only lead to more generosity.

4. Center Dignity In Every Story

Avoid “before-and-after” poverty photos. Instead, share the voices of survivors, first responders, and local leaders. Authentic storytelling inspires empathy without exploiting pain. The key takeaway here is be authentic.

5. Think Beyond This Storm

Hurricane Melissa is a snapshot of what climate volatility looks like in the Caribbean. Support initiatives that protect coastlines, elevate shelters, and train communities for faster response next time.

Rebuilding isn’t just about what we give… it’s about how we give.

Let’s help our global communities recover, and rise even stronger than before.

Until next week y’all! ✌🏾

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Philanthropy News From This Week

• Caribbean islands get hit hard by Hurricane Melissa

• Big-Donor Giving Slows; What It Means for Year-End Campaigns

• Stop Writing Vision Statements, Do This Instead

• Bill Gates calls for “strategic pivot” in global climate fight

Sid’s Book Recommendation

Each week, I recommend a book or film that has impacted my life in a positive way. My recommendation this week is:

Systems Thinking For Social Change by David Peter Stroh

This book is a guide to solving complex social problems by applying systems thinking, a method that focuses on understanding the interconnectedness and feedback loops within social systems, rather than isolated, linear solutions. Learn more.

How You Can Help