As Atlantic hurricane season begins, Florida community foundations prepare permanent disaster funds

After the collapse of a condominium tower in North Miami in June 2021, Rebecca Fishman Lipsey realized her organization needed to overhaul how it responded to disasters.

As CEO of the Miami Foundation, the city’s primary community foundation, Fishman Lipsey got to work coalescing support for victims of the tragedy that killed 98 people and destroyed the 136-unit building. Funders were eager to help, but there was a problem.

She remembers corporate partners calling her saying, “We are in, we are with you. Just fill out this application and the money will be there in six weeks.”

Those who lost homes and loved ones couldn’t wait that long. As Fishman Lipsey and her team scrambled to raise and disperse funds, she imagined the next crisis.

“It’s not going to be one building in an isolated neighborhood,” she said. “It is going to be a climate disaster, and I’m not going to have internet to fill out an application. I cannot wait six weeks for the check to clear. I need everybody’s ACH information already. I need to know what supplies people need, before the disaster.”