The Downingtown Resilience Fund is organized to aid and relieve human suffering caused by a natural or civil disaster.
The Fund had been created as a tax-deductible public charity and seeks to benefit the residents of Caln Township, Downingtown Borough and East Caln Township. These residents constitute the Fund's charitable class, the group of individuals who can properly receive assistance. The community benefits when a charity assists.
The Fund has established a cash grant program that benefits those affected by the disaster. Disaster assistance may be provided to individuals and businesses to achieve the following charitable purposes:
The potential beneficiaries cannot be individually designated by the donor, as providing benefits to this group benefits the entire community.
Aid is not distributed to individuals merely because they are disaster victims. Therefore, the Fund's decision about how its funds will be distributed is based on an objective evaluation of the victims' needs when the grant is made. The scope of the assessment required to support the need for assistance may vary depending on the circumstances. Nevertheless, services are provided to the distressed in the immediate aftermath of a disaster regardless of the financial condition of the recipients.
A disaster or emergency hardship victim has no automatic right to assistance from the Fund. The Fund provides disaster relief and does not have to make an individual whole. This issue is especially relevant when the volume of applications received in response to appeals exceeds the cash donated. The Fund is responsible for considering the charitable purposes for which it was formed, the public benefit of its activities, and each victim's specific needs and resources when using its discretion to distribute its funds.
The Fund has an active fundraising program and receives a substantial part of its support through contributions from publicly supported organizations, foundations, other public charities, government units and the general public.