Disaster Relief | Greater Houston Community Foundation

Greater Houston Community Foundation proudly serves as a resource and collaborative partner during great hardship, helping donors provide immediate and long-term disaster relief to Houstonians in need. Together, we can work toward effective recovery and increased resiliency in the communities we serve.

In partnership with United Way of Greater Houston, Greater Houston Community Foundation launched the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance to strengthen year-round disaster preparedness and ensure that our region has the social services network and systems in place to respond rapidly, equitably, and effectively in times of disaster.

Making a Difference Together.

“Working with United Way of Greater Houston and the Greater Houston Community Foundation in response to the winter storm allowed us one of the quickest responses to a major disaster that The Restoration Team has participated in. As an emerging organization in disaster recovery, knowing that these organizations had our backs allowed us to continue to help people recover from the storm using a grant from the HHC-WSRF. With this support, The Restoration Team will double our impact in 2021!”

Trevor Barnett (The Restoration Team - Director)

“Here in Harris County, when we get knocked down, we get back up, dust ourselves off and get to work right away to help our neighbors. I’m pleased to partner with Mayor Turner, the Greater Houston Community Foundation, and the United Way to provide another source of support for our community. This fund will lean on groups with deep experience providing recovery support to help as many people as we can.”

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo

“The Winter Storm was hard on many families but was especially hard on low-income families. Thanks to the rapid response of the [Greater Houston Community Foundation] Fund, we were able to connect needy families with home repair organizations in record time. The Fund’s support of a coordinated, human-centered response focused on the strengths of each organization which meant that more families got help more quickly than in any other previous local disaster response.”

Elena White (Executive Director, Connective)

Strengthening Disaster Preparedness Year-Round

Greater Houston Disaster Alliance

Greater Houston Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Houston launched the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance to strengthen year-round disaster preparedness and ensure that our region has the social services network and systems in place to respond rapidly, equitably, and effectively in times of disaster.

This new initiative brings together a combined 35 years of experience in philanthropic disaster response efforts. Leveraging our shared experience, this critical partnership intends to significantly enhance our region’s ability to cope with disasters, enable better allocation of time and resources during times of disaster, and ultimately, increase the speed and quality of recovery for our most vulnerable neighbors.

Greater Houston Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Houston have distributed over $250 million in disaster relief support since 2005. It is critical we invest in the systems and processes that allow us to effectively raise and distribute these resources quickly following a disaster, outside of when we are actively responding to a disaster.

The launch of the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance is made possible by a combined $1.5 million investment from Enbridge and Phillips 66. The Disaster Alliance is focused on maintaining and strengthening year-round disaster preparedness and recovery.

Learn More About the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance

How Greater Houston Community Foundation Has Supported the Houston Area

As one of Houston’s leading grantmakers, Greater Houston Community Foundation is well-positioned to identify needs and invest in a validated network of agency partners throughout the Greater Houston region. We have strong partnerships with the City of Houston, Harris County, United Way of Greater Houston, nonprofit organizations, local governments, and donors that help us respond quickly and efficiently during disaster response efforts.

In addition to partnering with nonprofits, we partner with businesses looking to provide financial assistance to employees who have experienced losses from federally qualified disasters. Our experience with employee disaster relief funds makes it possible to establish a disaster response fund quickly, working to relieve affected employees as fast as possible. We help with everything from establishing eligibility requirements to managing the grant application process and distributing grant payments in accordance with IRS guidelines.

Although previous years brought many hardships for the greater Houston region, including Hurricane Harvey, COVID-19, and the 2021 Winter Storm, it also allowed us to work collaboratively with those around us to create a long-lasting impact. No matter what happens, we are here, ready to serve the community we call home.

Disaster Funds We’ve Administered

COVID-19 Recovery Funds

During a time of unexpected hardship, Greater Houston Community Foundation was honored to administer the $17 million Greater Houston COVID-19 Recovery Fund with the United Way of Greater Houston. Together we invested in trusted nonprofit partners who could help 278,207 individuals living across Fort Bend, Harris, Montgomery, and Waller counties.

We also joined forces with Harris County to establish the $30 million Harris County COVID-19 Relief Fund (Fund). This Fund provided short-term emergency economic relief directly to our vulnerable neighbors struggling financially due to the pandemic. This initiative considered the diversity within our communities, allowing families to apply or call for assistance in Arabic, Chinese, English, Filipino, French, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

The Winter Storm Relief Fund

In response to the Winter Storm of 2021, Greater Houston Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Houston established the Houston Harris County Winter Storm Relief Fund in partnership with the City of Houston and Harris County. The Fund has helped meet the need of local families who need help with plumbing and home repairs, temporary housing, and financial assistance.

Imelda Assistance Fund

Tropical Storm Imelda left many Houstonians with damaged or destroyed homes and in need of emergency assistance. Alongside Greater Houston Community Foundation, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo established the Imelda Assistance Fund, which raised over $500,000 in 2019 alone for the survivors of Imelda.

Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund

When Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, Greater Houston Community Foundation partnered with Mayor Sylvester Turner and former County Judge Ed Emmett to create the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. Since then, we have continued our efforts to maintain the programs that aid those affected by this natural disaster. The Fund disbursed $114 million to 126 nonprofits serving Houston residents affected by this historic storm.

Additional Funds:

Tax Day Flood 2016
Memorial Day Flood 2015
Hurricane Ike 2008
Hurricane Katrina 2005
Tropical Storm Allison 2001

Disaster Relief.