b'An organization located in South Africa, shared that:The biggest learning has been to ensure that we prioritise planningfor our readiness to respond to disaster and crisis relief.[W]e havehad to change from reactive response to proactive readiness asthe time to deploy relief is critical, especially medical suppliesas these [have] li[f]e or death implications.The ability of an organization to continue operations when a crisis hits is a measure of its resilience. Many survey respondents touched on the theme of resilience, both from an organizational and a financial perspective. Ann organization responding from Argentina, shared its multi-pronged recommendations for weathering future crises:Have a reserve fund to face moments of crisis. Maintain closeand fluent communication with teachers and directors of ruralschools. Strengthen relations with the public sector.The need for this type of planning is evident: in May, a CAF America report found that almost half (46.49%) of the 570 charities responding did not have a risk mitigation strategy in place. 52.73% of charities in that survey indicated that support or advice for strategic planning would help them improve.CAF International and CAF ResilienceWithin CAF Americas global network, the CAF Resilience Fund stands as an excellent example of how we are building capacity in the charity sector. While this 5-year project originally started as an experiment to assist small charities in the UK, the COVID-19 pandemic offered the 10 participating charities a real-life test of the lessons they were learning through the program. Through its 5-year journey, CAF Resilience identified six core characteristics of resilience that were evident in the charities that were the most successful:A clearly articulated and widely understood charity mission and purposeEffective leadership from both the board and senior staffAwareness of the external environment in which they operateNetworks and partnerships that support the charitys mission and purposeFinances and operations that are fit for purposeAn ability to capture and communicate their theory of change and charity impact.Through the program, the charities participating observed the following benefits of their increased resilience:Being better placed to analyse options and make well-informed decisionsFeeling optimistic and in control of their charitys futureCulturally more cohesive and motivated as a whole staff teamConfident in how they want funders to work with them as a partner 1 Original response: Poseer un fondo de reserva para hacer frente a momentos de crisis. Mantener una comunicacin cercana y fluida con docente y directivos de las escuelas rurales. Fortalecer las relaciones con el sector publico. CAF AmericaSurvey, Volume 8 | Lessons in Disaster Philanthropy| cafamerica.org PAGE13'