Together on the Path to Recovery © 2018 Unidos Por Puerto Rico
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Together on the path to recovery © 2018 Unidos por Puerto Rico. All rights reserved. No reproduction of this publication may be made without prior written permission. For more information about the organization, or how to submit a grant application or donate, please visit www.unitedforpuertorico.com An unprecedented collaboration eort to rebuild Puerto Rico ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018 3 THE PATH OF HURRICANE MARÍA September 20, 2017 ATLANTIC OCEAN CARIBBEAN SEA OUR MISSION Provide assistance to individuals, communities, and small businesses devastated by Hurricanes Irma and María accelerating their recovery by helping to satisfy their needs of shelter, food and health to help rebuild their lives, communities and Puerto Rico. UPPR ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018 5 UPPR ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018 6 LETTER FROM BOARD AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR In September of 2017 Puerto Rico suered the eects of two major hurricanes Irma and María. Hurricane Maria cut a destructive path through Puerto Rico, forever aecting the lives of its people. There is no precedent in the island’s history or that of the continental United States for the extent of the damage Puerto Rico experienced. Some of the worst eects of the hurricane were the collapse of the telecommunication infrastructure, power grid and the lack of road accessibility after the storms. Many main roads flooded or were swept away while landslides abounded in the mountainous central part of the island cutting o dozens of communities. These conditions hindered the ability to assess damages and channel aid to where it was most needed to restore the livelihood of the island. Photograph courtesy of GFR Media. 7 First Lady Beatriz Rosselló announces initiative to raise funds for relief and recovery. In the early aftermath of the storms, the First Founding donors of Unidos, represented by Lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Rosselló, called on some of the largest corporations with the private sector to support Unidos Por presence in Puerto Rico, donated $2.4 million Puerto Rico (Unidos and in English United for and an additional $1.8 million in in-kind Puerto Rico), an initiative conceived to raise services to establish Unidos and provide for its funds for hurricane victims and support the on-going operation. The team worked recovery of Puerto Rico. Initially, the Board of expeditiously to obtain 5O1 (c) (3) certification, Unidos was composed of representatives from which combined with a very comprehensive the public and private sectors and then fundraising campaign across many traditional evolved to only private sector members and and more innovative electronic channels such one ex-ocio government representative. All as Paypal, Facebook and GoFundMe raised the Board members have worked tirelessly for the largest amount of funds for a disaster in past 15 months to support the eort strictly on Puerto Rico’s history. Fundraising eorts also a pro bono basis. included a telethon concert held on the Bacardi grounds in December of 2017 that featured scores of artists and musicians. The event attracted an enthusiastic crowd of more than 20,000 people. Thanks to the support of TV networks and major newspapers on the island, which streamed the event on their Facebook pages, the telethon raised $4.4 million. People in key cities in the continental UPPR ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018 8 U.S., with large concentrations of Puerto children, elderly, single mothers and the Ricans, were able to watch and generously disabled. Unidos distributed aid among five contributed to the eort. key areas: food and water, health services, social wellbeing, economic development and As a result of this extraordinary collaboration housing. between the public and private sectors, with ample support from the media, Unidos raised Since its inception, the organization a record amount of funds, $41.2 million, in implemented a collaborative model by addition to $5.5 million in donated goods for leveraging already established distribution. community-based nonprofit organizations in Puerto Rico that had the expertise, resources Donors ranged widely, more than 140,000 and understanding of community needs. individuals contributed on average $210 while Donations received from individuals, groups, nearly 600 corporations contributed on corporations and foundations were awarded to average $11,000 and 237 foundations or non-profit organizations, which in turn non-profit organizations donated on average provided help and services to those in need. $52,000 to the cause. Unidos is immensely grateful for the generosity of the donors which Work by Unidos included the evaluation of came from all parts of the World to support more than 406 grant requests submitted by Puerto Rico’s recovery. Their contributions community-based organizations in Puerto allowed the organization to work at a feverish Rico, foundations and other non-governmental pace to channel aid and resources to where organizations as well as nonprofit they were needed the most. organizations .This rigorous process, which had levels of scrutiny, led to the approval of 193 Throughout the past 15 months, Unidos’ eorts grants for a total of slightly more than $38 focused on those who lost their homes and million to fund relief and recovery eorts in all belongings and the most vulnerable segments 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico. Unidos’ aid of the Island’s population, the homeless, reached approximately 1.5 million people on 3M $41.2M $5.5M $2.4M 406 POUNDS OF GOODS FUNDS DONATED OPERATIONAL GRANT DISTRIBUTED DONATED PRODUCTS FUNDS DONATED REQUESTS LETTER FROM BOARD AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 9 the island, about 45% of the island’s bono basis as well as the management of the population. More importantly, Unidos made it website and the Facebook page. The website possible to feed thousands of people during provided updated information on the grants the relief phase, provide access to care and awarded, including a description of what the medication for the sick, address social funds would be used for. By April of 2018, wellbeing for youth, the elderly and mothers Unidos also launched a monthly newsletter for with young children, the disabled as well as the donors showcasing the work of the dierent homeless, foster economic development and organizations. In September of 2018, a year provide for housing repairs and more resilient after the hurricanes, the major newspapers, El housing. All in all, it was an unprecedented Nuevo Día, El Vocero, Primera Hora and Metro level of aid channeled through nearly 200 collaborated with the organization and nonprofit organizations. published as a public service a two-page spread of Unidos’ impact. A highly qualified and experienced team was recruited to evaluate these proposals. The In addition to monetary contributions, Unidos team often worked closely with the also received donations of goods and proponents to maximize the impact of the merchandise from companies, aid funds and frequently found ways to multiply organizations, churches, U.S. cities and states, the eect by forging alliances between and several countries. After Hurricane Maria hit organizations. This hands-on team was Puerto Rico, the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum supported by legal experts from Pietrantoni, of Puerto Rico (the "Coliseum") was Mendez y Alvarez LLC. as well as various designated by the government as the ocial accounting firms that also worked on a pro collection center for these supplies. The bono basis. They provided for a robust support of the Puerto Rican government was governance structure, as evidenced by the crucial for providing logistic support to receive, results of an independent audit of the grant warehouse and distribute much needed process. supplies that included water, food, medicine and basic staples. Unidos reached an Unidos’ Board valued the importance of agreement with the Government of Puerto providing donors and the public with access to Rico to handle the distribution of these goods the work being done. The organization created through November 2017. During that with one of its founding donors KOI IX, a full- two-month period, the government was service marketing & digital communications responsible for coordinating the distribution firm, a website and an active presence on and delivery of supplies directly to the areas in social media. This work was done on a pro need. UPPR ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018 10 Once the government operation at the A Legacy and Moving Forward Coliseum closed, Unidos contracted Lyft, Unidos demonstrated as an organization that it professionals with extensive experience and could quickly develop the capacity to establish expertise to identify, manage and coordinate and operate a disaster support operation that the distribution of the remaining supplies as was able to raise a record amount of funds well as additional aid received after November and channel it quickly to community-based of 2017 from dierent entities and countries. organizations. This was possible through a Overall more than $5.5 million of donated never-before seen level of cooperation supplies were distributed across Puerto Rico. between the government, donors, community-based organizations and other Also, as part of early on relief eorts Unidos nonprofit entities, as well as the commitment directly organized the purchase and of the members of the Board, which included distribution of more than 2,000 generators the top executives of a group of leading local with 7K generation capacity as well as an initial and multinational companies in Puerto Rico. diesel supply to small businesses in Puerto Rico’s central and eastern regions. These were As part of its legacy, Unidos contributed to the areas where it was known that power strengthening many of the local restoration would take the longest. This community-based organizations that were support was critical for the continual operation awarded grants. They gained the experience of these small businesses, ensuring their of providing critical services to the livelihood as well as provide goods to towns communities they serve under dicult and areas that were largely cut o from the circumstances.