Empowering Vulnerable Communities During a Pandemic

Social inequities are never more present than in times of crisis. In turn, there is no more important time for advocates to help marginalized communities navigate the disproportionate and often permanent impact that crises have. Philanthropy and the nonprofit sector can play an out-sized role during these moments by starting with the these steps:

Connecting Advocates with Crises Navigators

It’s crucial for advocates to master the intricacies of each system that mitigates natural and man-made disasters. Who controls aid at the national, state, and local levels? How and when in the process does that aid get determined? What are the main access points for food, utilities, and shelter?

Each crisis has a story to tell about the long-term and disproportionate impacts of disaster.

Who are all the agencies involved? How do race, gender, disability and other demographics impact how these systems work? These are all questions that a dialogue between communities and emergency management professionals can answer and the type of information that advocates must have to be effective. Philanthropy can play a much-needed role by facilitating information sessions between these groups to better empower traditionally marginalized communities.

Uplifting Community Voices

Philanthropy has the resources to amplify community voices. It can support journalism that uplifts the stories of disenfranchised groups and the role that structural discrimination plays in the recovery process. It can do this by funding research that identifies the characteristics of our most vulnerable communities and underwriting community outreach with traditionally marginalized groups. Foundations and their partners can then use this data to work with policymakers to craft more effective responses for marginalized communities.

Learning from the Past

Each crisis has a story to tell about the long-term and disproportionate impacts of disaster.* They also provide a roadmap for how to respond to present events more effectively. Philanthropy can analyze, update, and disseminate lessons learned from past pandemics to help advocates more effectively empower communities in the present.

Perhaps most important in these times is to act aggressively, proactively, and with the type of practical support that donating much-needed social networking infrastructure, streamlined grantmaking, and unrestricted funding provides.

*Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America is an excellent read that explores the long-term impact of race, class, and government inaction during times of crisis.

Originally published March 25, 2020 on LinkedIn.

Leslie Gross is a former litigator, U.S. Senate Chief Counsel, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during the Obama Administration. As a founding Partner of Advantage Insights, she provides strategic counseling to organizations and individuals globally, in both the public and private sector. You can learn more about her work at www.lesliemgross.com and follow her on Twitter @LeslieGrossJr.