The Foundant Disaster Response Guide Series helps community foundations prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters using CommunitySuite and Grant Lifecycle Manager (GLM)/Scholarship Lifecycle Manager (SLM).
The series consists of three guides: Before, During, and After. Each guide covers organizational operations, community coordination, CommunitySuite and GLM/SLM configuration, and grantmaking.
The guides are designed to work together as a comprehensive resource. Decisions made and documented in the Before guide are referenced throughout the During and After guides, building on what your organization has already decided rather than starting from scratch in the midst of a disaster.
After each event, update all three guides based on what you learned and review them annually.
For questions about system configuration items covered in these guides, contact Foundant Support at support@foundant.com. When reaching out during an active event, use the subject line: Emergency Disaster Support.
Who: Leadership, administrative staff, finance and accounting teams, grant program staff, donor relations and communications teams involved in disaster response planning and grantmaking.
Foundant Disaster Response Guide: Before
Work through the Before guide during normal operations, not when a disaster is imminent. Each planning item includes a space to record your answer, so the completed guide becomes a reference document your whole team can access when a real event occurs.
Operations topics:
- Essential staff designation
- Fund setup, gift acceptance, and grant request policies
- Communication plans and fraud protocols
- Trusted partners, banking partners, and volunteer resources
- Regional and peer foundation coordination
System configuration topics:
- Disaster fund template setup
- Tax receipts, donation settings, and payment configuration
- Portal and Giving Hub settings
- Profile deduplication settings
- Emergency grant process, application forms, and eligibility criteria
Download the Before Guide
Foundant Disaster Response Guide: Before
Foundant Disaster Response Guide: During
The During guide covers the active response phase. The guide is structured as a checklist that picks up where the Before guide leaves off, referencing the decisions your organization already made and walking through the steps to implement them.
Operations topics:
- Staff mobilization and communications launch
- Peer foundation and agency coordination
- Fund holder support
- Fraud monitoring
- 72-hour operational checkpoint
System configuration topics:
- Disaster fund creation
- Portal and Giving Hub configuration
- Donation processing and tax receipts
- Emergency grant process activation and application launch
- Grant payment processing
Download the During Guide
Foundant Disaster Response Guide: During
Foundant Disaster Response Guide: After
Begin the After guide only after the active emergency phase has wound down, not on a fixed timeline.
Operations topics:
- Staff and board debriefs
- Policy and procedure restoration
- Communications and volunteer wind down
- Fund holder follow-up
System configuration topics:
- Financial reconciliation
- Data cleanup
- Tax receipt completion
- Reporting
- Grantee follow-up and grant process closeout
Download the After Guide
Foundant Disaster Response Guide: After
Additional Disaster Response Resources
The resources below are external guides and references that may be useful context for organizations planning or managing a disaster response. These are not Foundant-specific resources; they cover broader community foundation practice, long-term recovery frameworks, and Canadian-specific considerations.
US Resources
- Community and Economic Recovery — Center for Disaster Philanthropy
- Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan — Council on Foundations
- Rural Community Recovery after an Emergency or Disaster — Rural Health Information Hub
Canadian Resources
- When Disaster Strikes: A Guide for Community Foundations — Community Foundations of Canada
- When Disaster Strikes: Video — Community Foundations of Canada
Bulk Donation Entry with Volunteers
The resources below support the bulk donation entry process if you will have volunteers helping with donation entry. The collection includes a process guide covering the full workflow from intake to import, tracking tools for managing packets and batches across staff and volunteers, and the import templates and instructions needed to enter donation data into CommunitySuite. Refer to the process guide first for an overview of how the pieces fit together before working with the individual files.
Donation Check Processing Guide
An end-to-end walkthrough of the donation check processing workflow, from intake to import. Use this as the primary reference for understanding how the full process fits together.
PDF and Import File Tracker
A tracking tool for managing donation packets and batches throughout processing. Records the volunteer assigned to each packet, so staff can maintain visibility across the full workload.
Bulk Donation Import Template
The working Excel template used to enter donation data for import into CommunitySuite. Completed and submitted for each batch of donations processed.
Donation Import Template Example
A sample version of the import template with example data filled in. Volunteers can use this as a reference when filling out the bulk donation import template.
Import Template Instructions Generic
Step-by-step instructions for completing the import template. This can be customized to fit your organization's specific processes. Distribute to volunteers before data entry begins.