Since the launch of our Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund immediately following the 2017 storm that took the lives of at least 68 people and altered life for millions more in Texas and along the Gulf Coast, you have made a difference.

In response to one of the costliest storms in United States history, you and 31,000 people and companies joined together to prove the power of generosity and our ability to make a positive impact in the world. Tragically, Hurricane Harvey was just one on a long list of devastating hurricanes to strike the U.S. recently as the climate crisis drives more extreme, more frequent weather events. But after more than three years, we have collectively raised $5.3 million to fuel immediate relief, long-term recovery, and resilience in Texas.

Thank you for making that possible and supporting our close partnerships with community leaders and trusted nonprofit partners based in Texas. More than 35 local, vetted nonprofit organizations have received grants from the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund to continue serving families grappling with the impacts of Hurricane Harvey that remain to this day.

As we now close our Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, I’d like to share five incredible highlights that are a direct result of your generosity: 

1. Within 10 days of Hurricane Harvey, we issued emergency grants totaling nearly $400,000 to 10 partner organizations on the front lines of response in impacted communities in Houston and along the coast. The grants resulted in much-needed emergency relief, including food and water distribution, debris clean up and removal, replacement of damaged and destroyed equipment, the provision of fuel for evacuees and first responders, and emergency diaper kits for families with young children.
   
   
2. GlobalGiving deepened relationships with our nonprofit partners in the Houston area by listening to and learning from incredible leaders in our community like Shondra at S.H.A.P.E. Community Center and Renee at the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. When future disasters strike Texas, these relationships will be the critical foundation for GlobalGiving to quickly get help to those who need it most. For example, during the winter freeze across Texas in February, GlobalGiving was able to swiftly issue emergency grants to eight nonprofit partners with a long track record of serving Hurricane Harvey-impacted communities.
   
   
3. The storm’s impacts did not fall evenly across the Houston landscape. Black and Latinx communities bore the brunt of the most devastating impacts and continue to face systemic inequities in the recovery process. Our partners at West Street Recovery continue to emphasize that the people most affected by Hurricane Harvey are the ones who best understand what can protect them in the future. For more than three years, West Street Recovery worked hand in hand with the Harvey Forgotten Survivors Caucus and the Northeast Action Collective to repair dozens of homes by hiring storm survivors to do the work, complete a participatory community evaluation of disaster recovery, and organize other survivors to demand a more just recovery process.
   
   
4. Hurricane Harvey demonstrated the vital need to invest in long-term environmental resilience, especially in areas prone to flooding. With funding from GlobalGiving, our partners at Bayou City Waterkeeper, the Katy Prairie Conservancy, and the Houston Advanced Research Center are each advancing nature-based, evidence-based solutions that will create an equitable future where all Texans can benefit from the promise of a healthy environment.
   
   
5. The COVID-19 crisis disproportionately impacts communities of color, and that reality is even more pronounced in Houston and other areas that were severely affected by large-scale disasters like Hurricane Harvey. When the pandemic began, our nonprofit partners in Texas rose to the challenge—like the team at Urban Harvest who, through great challenges, maintained their Saturday farmers market to provide fresh food to Houstonians in need and vital support to hard-hit local farmers. 

Though we are closing this fund, our nonprofit partners in Texas remain hard at work. They need your support to continue the long journey to full recovery, especially given the compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are able, please consider supporting a local organization in Houston like the S.H.A.P.E. Community Center, Urban Harvest, or Target Hunger.

From everyone at GlobalGiving, thank you for supporting our partners’ important efforts for the past three years. Your generosity has been critical to community-led disaster recovery in Texas.

With immense gratitude, 

Chase + the GlobalGiving Team

Dear Project of the Month Club Member,

In 2021 alone, your generosity has traveled from Colombia to Kenya—and beyond. This month, your impact will cross the Atlantic to land in Wandsworth, London. 

In this southwestern borough, more than 20% of children under the age of 16 live below the poverty line. In addition to the many trials of COVID-19, these kids face a higher-than-average risk of mental health issues and limited access to growth opportunities, such as extracurricular activities and after-school programs. 

Our May Project of the Month World Heartbeat Music Academy is working to change that. 

Their project Music tuition for 70 disadvantaged children in London provides free music education, and instruments to 70 disadvantaged and socially isolated young people, ranging from 5 to 19 years old. The music tuition not only provides participants the opportunity to develop new skills and build community but also fosters their leadership potential and encourages sustainable careers in the creative sector. 

When she learned that World Heart Beat Music Academy was chosen as the May Project of the Month, Founder and Artistic DirectorSahana Gero sent this message:

“Gifts through being Project of the Month will make a huge difference, enabling us to provide free music tuition and instruments to children and young people who would otherwise not have been able to take part. For these students, participating gives them a sense of purpose and achievement, and opens up a whole world of opportunities for them.”

To learn more about how World Heart Beat Music Academy is helping children continue their education, check out their most recent report. 

Thank you so much for your compassion and commitment. Wishing you and your loved ones a happy spring!  

Warmly,  

Alix Guerrier 

GlobalGiving CEO

Last November, communities in Central America were tasked with responding to dramatic flooding and mudslides caused by back-to-back hurricanes as they also battled economic crises sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme climate events.

Your donation made it into the hands of local, vetted nonprofits responding to Hurricane Iota and Hurricane Eta across Central America. Here's a brief glimpse of where your donations made a difference:

• Cruz Roja Nicaragüense has been providing emergency relief after disasters for years in Nicaragua. When Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota struck, their team immediately began providing primary health care, food delivery, hygiene kits, and building materials. The organization has now shifted its focus to providing water, sanitation, hygiene, psychosocial support to impacted individuals.

• Fabretto Children’s Foundation has been a GlobalGiving partner since 2009 and has an extensive track record of serving low-income communities across Nicaragua. In the immediate aftermath of both Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota, the organization delivered more than 100,000 pounds of food, hygiene items, and household goods to nearly 2,000 families. The nonprofit is now focused on supporting farming families that have seen their entire season of crops destroyed.

• EcoViva NFP is supplying food and basic necessities in Honduras with its local partner, Red COMAL. Through this partnership, impacted families in the areas of Santa Bárbara, Intibucá, La Paz, and Comayagua received food packs and hygiene kits. You can watch this short video to learn more.

• Banco de Alimentos de Honduras uses its deep network and community connections to provide food access across Honduras. The team is dedicated to driving resources to the states and areas most impacted by Eta and Iota to improve food security in the wake of the storms.

• Grace Honduras' mission is to provide holistic support, with a specific focus on education, to families who live and work in the garbage dumps of Honduras. In San Pedro Sula, the organization jumped into action to achieve five major goals: rebuild four storm-damaged homes, repair 10 roofs, provide direct financial support to 10 families, and provide psychosocial services to families who completely lost their homes, and ensure reliable transportation to medical services.

• Agua Pura Para El Pueblo is closely connected with a partner organization, Proyecto Aldea Global, to repair and rebuild damaged water systems in rural and remote communities in western and central Honduras (Ocotepeque, Lempira, Santa Bárbara, and Comayagua) that were hit hard by Eta and Iota.

• Un Techo para mi Pais Colombia is driving awareness about the impacts of the storms on the Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia (off the coast of Nicaragua). Each island was severely affected by the storms, with a vast majority of infrastructure on both islands sustaining damage. The organization continues to provide emergency food kits and housing support to communities on the islands.

In a region continuously affected by disasters, your support of GlobalGiving’s Hurricane Iota Relief Fund has helped us raise more than $187,000 for grassroots organizations. While GlobalGiving is now closing the Hurricane Iota Relief Fund, the need in the region remains high and we encourage you to consider supporting our partners’ ongoing projects related to the storms.

Thank you for standing in solidarity with GlobalGiving’s trusted nonprofit partners.

With gratitude,
Mikaela + the GlobalGiving Team