Ford Foundation provides $1.5M in emergency funding to Puerto Rico
The Ford Foundation announced it will provide $1.5 million in emergency funding to Puerto Rico to support recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Fiona.
In partnership with local nonprofit and community organizations, the foundation is supporting philanthropic and advocacy efforts for those impacted by the storm.
This contribution brings Ford’s total commitment to long-term recovery in Puerto Rico to over $22 million since 2017, the nonprofit stated.
“While the present crisis was created by Hurricane Fiona, the magnitude of the damage is directly linked to the slow and ineffective response to previous disasters,” it added.
“We have seen in previous natural disasters that underlying structural inequalities have a direct impact on relief and recovery efforts, and the stark inequities become even more exacerbated without intentional and meaningful intervention,” said José García, program director for Future of Work(ers) at the Ford Foundation.
“For over three million inhabitants of Puerto Rico to not only survive from this disaster but recover with dignity, we need coordinated leadership and rapid investments across all sectors, and to listen to the needs of the most acutely impacted communities. There is no time to waste,” he said.
Relief efforts will focus on four areas of greatest need: power, water, flooding, and infrastructure damage.
“Since María, Ford has promoted bolder funding initiatives to support immediate response after disasters and long-term advocacy and transformation processes. After five years of continuous support, and now in the face of the systemic challenges Fiona highlights for Puerto Rico, we feel accompanied by this Foundation,” said Ariadna Michelle Godreau, executive director of Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico.
“We encourage other foundations to look at this juncture as a chance to step up and reimagine how to support survivors. While basic needs are by definition crucial, we also need resources to think and implement a strategy that looks towards the future conditions and possibilities of communities eager to enjoy their right to stay and return to their homes and lands, while ensuring dignified living conditions,” she said.
Through this emergency funding, the foundation aims to spur additional investment toward a long-term, equitable recovery in Puerto Rico, it stated.
