HUD Hosts Caribbean Recovery Philanthropic Roundtable

HUD San Juan and the Office of International and Philanthropic Affairs hosted in August a Philanthropic Roundtable with 23 organizations from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to share the latest updates, challenges, best practices, and recovery strategies after the 2017 hurricanes Irma and María.

HUD's Leadership provided an overview and updates on funding for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The roundtable, the second hosted by the HUD team with philanthropic organizations after the 2017 storms, also included updates on how the Puerto Rico Department of Housing and the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority are using HUD's Community Planning and Development Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds.

Adrianne Todman, HUD Deputy Secretary, shared that she was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and emphasized how we should all continue to work on the ground with HUD's leadership to better align with local efforts. She agreed to share all the input from the roundtable with the newly reactivated White House task force for Puerto Rico in their next meeting.

Ben Winter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development, stressed how valuable the feedback of each foundation is as they are the bridge builders, innovators, and collaborators when a disaster occurs.

Michele Perez, HUD Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management's welcoming remarks included how HUD can help the foundations and nonprofits, and how the Department needs to listen, stand, and provide support with care and commitment.

Hispanic Federation, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Puerto Rico Community Foundation, St. Croix Foundation for Community Development, Community Foundation of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and St. John Community Foundation provided an overview of recovery efforts, program barriers, political impediments, renewable energy, and technical assistance for their grantees. A common appeal throughout the panels and discussions was the need to create collaborative alliances to put into action a collective plan that would translate into activities to fully recover from the impact of Hurricanes Irma and María.

Efraín Maldonado, HUD San Juan Field Office Director, invited the participant foundations to hold discussions with their nonprofit partners and share the information discussed at this roundtable to continue the discussions and integrate their work into recovery plans.

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