When disaster strikes, our instinctive response is to make things better, not only as individuals but also as groups, organisations, communities and major institutions within society. With increasing climate-related disasters and the potential for future global pandemics, philanthropy will continue to play an essential role. Yet our knowledge of how philanthropic responses to disasters are motivated, organised and received is fragmented. This book is a step toward curating our existing knowledge in the emerging field of 'disaster philanthropy' and to building a robust base for future research, practice and public policy. The authors highlight unknowns and ambiguities, extensions and unexplored spaces, and challenges and paradoxes. Above all, they recognise that philanthropic responses to disasters are complex, conditional and subject to change.

Alexandra Williamson is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) in the Faculty of Business & Law at Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

Diana Leat is a board member for ArtSquat and the Blagrave Trust.

Susan D. Phillips is Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration, and Founder and Supervisor of the Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Graduate Program at Carleton University.

1. Introduction - Diana Leat, Susan D. Phillips and Alexandra Williamson

2. The Public's Philanthropic Response to Disaster: Plus Ca Change? - Diana Leat

3. Disaster Fundraising: Readiness Matters - Wendy Scaife

4. Roles of Philanthropic Foundations as Funders and Distribution Agents in Disaster Response - Alexandra Williamson and Diana Leat

5. The Private Sector and Disasters: From Reactive Response to Disaster Resilience - Michael Moran, Graham Dwyer and Krystian Seibert

6. Fundraising, Grant Making and Regulatory Issues: Regulating Good in Bad Times - Myles McGregor-Lowndes

7. Doing Good Better: Public Policy for Disaster Philanthropy - Susan D. Phillips and Kristen Pue

8. Philanthropy's Place in Community-Based Capacity Development for Disaster Resilience - Megan Conway

9. Nonprofit Collaboration and Coordination in Disaster Response: Lessons from the September 11th Recovery - Gregory R. Witkowski

10. The Promise and Reality of Philanthropy in Disasters - Jeffrey Schlegelmilch

11. Conclusions and Looking Forward - Alexandra Williamson, Diana Leat and Susan D. Phillips