The Miami Foundation has announced the launch of a $20 million public-private disaster resilience fund that will support regional preparedness and long-term recovery efforts during the 2022 hurricane season.

Led by the foundation, the Miami Disaster Resilience Fund is a collaborative effort that includes local government, community foundations, nonprofits, and individual donors working to broaden community preparedness, plan for natural disasters, expand nonprofit operational capacity, reduce the cost of disaster relief by pooling resources, and accelerate the distribution of funds in the event of a disaster from two weeks to two days. Following a seed investment of $5 million by South Florida native Kenneth C. Griffin—with additional contributions from the Key Biscayne and Coral Gables community foundations, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, and Univision, among others—the fund has raised a total of $6.6 million.

According to the Miami Foundation, a total of $178,000 has been distributed so far to five organizations in support of a network of 18 nonprofits. Recipients include Global Empowerment Mission, Miami Climate Alliance, Dade County Street Response, the Smile Trust, and Axis Helps/Urban Impact Lab.

“The Miami Disaster Resilience Fund will help our community better prepare for escalating disasters like hurricanes and mitigate stresses, by increasing capacity and deepening coordination and collaboration across sectors,” said Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

“As a world-class city, we need a world-class, unified, proactive disaster strategy,” said Miami Foundation president and CEO Rebecca Fishman Lipsey. “This initiative and the network we are building allows our community to be prepared before a disaster hits.

(Photo credit: GettyImages/Pgiam)