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The ELCA has received a $1.2 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative Hope After the Storm: Capacity Building for Faith-Based Disaster Relief Organizations. The grant will enable Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) to strengthen its capacity to support communities through sustained, long-term recovery.
LDR’s work—in both domestic and international settings—is focused on its commitment to accompany communities through the full recovery process, remaining long after a disaster occurs. Through this grant, LDR will strengthen its work in domestic settings by focusing on two areas that are essential to sustaining its long-term approach to disaster recovery: expanding its emotional and spiritual care capacity and strengthening sustainable donor engagement for long-term recovery needs.
“We are excited by the opportunity to strengthen LDR’s ability to accompany disaster-impacted communities that this grant from Lilly Endowment provides,” said Maryn Olson, director of LDR. “While LDR has provided emotional and spiritual care over the years, this grant offers us the time and resources to formalize this work and intentionally expand our disaster emotional and spiritual care across the ELCA with regionally based teams.
“We also know that people support LDR because they believe in this ministry and understand it as part of how God calls us to care for our neighbors,” Olson said. “This grant gives us occasion to explore more intentional story-sharing that centers and honors the experiences of survivors and our companions and partners and invites supporters to invest in the transformative work of LDR.”
The grant supporting LDR is one of 30 Lilly Endowment has awarded through Hope After the Storm, an initiative which aims to strengthen the capacity of faith-based organizations to provide aid to individuals and families affected by disasters in communities throughout the United States.
