Vermont Disaster Relief Fund has $1M, but is waiting to dole it out

MONTPELIER – The Vermont Disaster Relief Fund, which will be run by a board of gubernatorial appointees and aid agencies, has raked in over $1 million in donations to help Vermonters affected by Tropical Storm Irene.
But the fund is still getting off the ground, so money is not yet being sent to struggling residents.
“It’s hard to say to people this isn’t ready yet,” said MaryEllen Mendl, the director of Vermont 211, one of the agencies that will administer the fund.
The fund’s bank account was set up just days before Irene struck the state on Aug. 28. The May flooding was the impetus for the fund, which was originally created by the United Ways of Vermont, the executive board of the Vermont Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, and Vermont Emergency Management, said Mendl. Because it was months after the flooding in May that the fund was even loosely established, Mendl said, it became clear it was going to be most effective for future disasters.
“We were really building it for the future,” she said. “We just never realized how quickly the future was going to come.”
The money is one of several pots of donations compiled from across the country to help Vermonters recover from the historic damage the Aug. 28 flooding left behind.
It is also one of the largest funds and is closely affiliated with state government.
The donations have come from individuals and corporations. Vermont Public Radio raised more than $600,000 for the fund, said Mendl, the largest single chunk of money.
A surprising number of donations – and accompanying messages – have come from Louisiana, a state that received a flood of donations after Hurricane Katrina, said Mendl.
“It’s heartwarming to read these notes,” she said.
Though about $1 million has been pledged to the fund, not all the money has hit the bank account yet, said Mendl. Funds likely won’t be available until after Oct. 31, which is the deadline to register for FEMA, she said.
This money is designed to meet needs left unfulfilled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, insurance companies and other groups, she said, and it is focused on individual Vermonters rather than businesses, nonprofits or people with damaged second homes.