Kris Smith

1 month ago | headwaterseconomics.org | Kris Smith

The Montana Community Foundation (MCF) is demonstrating how philanthropy can effectively reach rural and tribal communities. Guided by the Rural Capacity Index, a free online tool that identifies where investments in staffing and expertise are needed to support projects, MCF successfully directed funding to communities that are often overlooked in traditional grantmaking. Their approach offers a model for other foundations seeking to close geographic funding gaps.

Jul 30, 2024 | headwaterseconomics.org | Kris Smith |Patricia Hernandez

The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is the United States’ flagship pre-disaster grant program. Since 2020 BRIC has allocated more than $5 billion for investment in community projects that can alleviate human suffering and avoid economic losses from wildfire, floods, and other disasters.

Jan 16, 2024 | headwaterseconomics.org | Patricia Hernandez |Kris Smith

Mobile home parks are a critical source of affordable housing in the United States. They also tend to face higher flood risks than other types of housing. People who live in mobile homes are more likely to have social vulnerabilities that may make them less likely to be able to prepare for, respond to, or recover from a flood.

Nov 7, 2023 | headwaterseconomics.org | Patricia Hernandez |Bill Daigle |Tara Preston |Kris Smith

This post was created and written in partnership with Hispanic Access Foundation. We would like to thank the Latino community members who contributed their stories to this project. One in four of all Latinos in the United States live in a county that has experienced a federal disaster declaration for flooding in 2023, according to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In contrast, only one in 10 non-Latinos live in those same counties.

Oct 24, 2023 | headwaterseconomics.org | Patricia Hernandez |Bill Daigle |Tara Preston |Kris Smith

This post was created and written in partnership with Hispanic Access Foundation. We would like to thank the Latino community members who contributed their stories to this project. One in four of all Latinos in the United States live in a county that has experienced a federal disaster declaration for flooding in 2023, according to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In contrast, only one in 10 non-Latinos live in those same counties.