Confidentiality is vital. Clients should provide signed releases to authorize case manager to talk with specific agencies, businesses, or individuals about them.
          Clients should understand that information about them will not be shared with others -- nor can information about other families be shared with them. They should also understand that information will be divulged to other helping agencies involved in assisting them.
          If a case worker or case worker's family is affected by the disaster, the case should be transferred to another case manager. Case managers should not impose their morals or standards on survivors. They should not become overly involved with clients or attempt to "do it all" for them.

CASE WORK BY THE FAITH COMMUNITY

          Case work conducted by the inter-religious community is unique in focusing on vulnerable population groups -- older persons, the economically disadvantaged, persons for whom English is their second language, minority people, women, and children, among others with special needs.
          Faith community case workers face many tough issues around the capacity of families to recover from disasters - including their internal solidarity, resources, kinship bonds, and variables such as age, education, and ethnicity:

          Minority and elderly families, in general, require more aid. Elderly persons have a longer psychological and financial recovery time. Disasters affect low-income persons, the elderly, and the young most negatively. Minority families are more dependent on kinship networks.
          In its unique kind of case work, the religious community often can play an important role in helping both disaster- affected people and other caregivers understand what "family" is -- namely, the most basic of people relationships, the basic social structure in which an individual recovers from the disaster.
          The word "family" in describing a program will cause some people -- widows and single parents, for example -- to exclude themselves from seeking assistance to which they are entitled.
          At the same time, recovery agencies may not fully recognize as families all the "families" they are expected to serve. Because disasters affect the poor and elderly to a greater extent than other people, faith community caregivers will often deal more with non-traditional families in need. Further, "traditional" 1950-style families are shrinking as a proportion of the general population. A family could well be an elderly widow and her cat.

THE FAMILY ADVOCATE

          Religious community disaster case workers have sometimes been called "family advocates." Their work is similar to case managers in secular agencies, but often includes an added "helping" dimension.

A family advocate:

• Develops a sound knowledge of various relief programs
• Conducts door-to-door canvassing to identify needy survivors and makes return visits if necessary to encourage them to seek assistance
• Assesses individual needs
• Provides reassurance and emotional support to disaster survivors
• Determines the best resources for meeting needs of people
• Identifies individuals with needs exceeding the scope of existing programs and seeks ways to address those needs
• Provides for on-going support and assistance in returning people to normalcy
• Helps obtain disaster services at Disaster Recovery Centers
• Assists individuals in completing forms, negotiations, and appeals
• Obtains and helps provide interagency and public information
• Continues to conduct outreach efforts after Disaster Application Centers close
• Seeks to identify persons who have moved out of the disaster area so they can be notified of the opportunity to apply for services
• Escorts people to services and on housing searches
• Searches neighborhoods to find isolated or "hidden" survivors who need assistance
• Follows up on lists of affected persons received from other providers and agencies to assure needy persons receive services

The family advocate should have:

• Enthusiasm and real interest in the job
• Commitment to help survivors receive maximum disaster assistance
• Ability to identify needs of survivors and match available services to the needs
• Ability to act as a third-party to deal with service providers
• Capacity to relate to people with warmth and concern

          Disaster advocates do not merely respond to survivor needs on demand, but take the lead in helping survivors explore their full range of possible needs. With training and resources to bridge gaps between various service providers, they help meet survivor needs in a comprehensive manner.

ORGANIZING THE FAITH COMMUNITY FOR SPIRITUAL/MENTAL HEALTH CASE WORK BEFORE DISASTER STRIKES

• Identify and establish relationships with community agencies that will be key to successful outreach efforts
• Pre-designate an outreach team
• Include multi-cultural, multi-language capability to reflect the makeup of the community
• Include special population workers (children, older adults)
• Train the team in disaster mental health out reach techniques and disaster resources
• Provide the team with identification cards recognized by emergency management and law enforcement officials
• Prepare and distribute resource directory
• Prepare brochures and fliers on common disaster reactions, ways to cope, and where to call for help (may leave blank space for disaster hotline numbers); in multiple languages, if needed
• Obtain pens, paper, necessary forms, clipboard
• Assemble needed supplies and equipment for immediate use by team (distribute to team in advance or keep in accessible location)
• Prepare sample data collection forms to track services delivered, funds expended, and to collect needs assessment data for crisis counseling grant
• Prepare sample public service announcements (PSAs), news articles, and sample interviews for radio and television

WHEN A DISASTER STRIKES

• Identify sites where groups of survivors are likely to congregate (shelters, food kitchens, community centers, hospitals, casualty collection points, the morgue, in lines at road blocks, etc.)
• Connect with agencies providing direct services survivors (emergency medical services, law enforcement, fire department, public health department, etc.)
• Designate a public information officer. Provide information to the media about reactions to disaster, ways to cope, where to call for help. Distribute brochures
• Deploy outreach team to appropriate sites with identification and needed supplies & equipment
• Meet person in charge at site & clarify role & responsibility
• Tour site & assess needs particularly related to mental health and pastoral care
• Consult person in charge at site about needs related to mental health & pastoral care - particular individuals requiring assistance, disaster worker stress management
• Use formal and informal "key informants" to obtain information about needs of individuals and special population groups
• Use "aggressive hanging out" and "over a cup of coffee" methods in informal assessments of needs & intervention with survivors & disaster workers
• Support & assist survivors with specific, tangible problems - locating family members, child care, transportation, medical care, temporary housing, etc.
• Refer people in acute psychiatric distress - those with extreme emotional responses or exacerbations of prior problems - to clinical mental health staff
• Use established chain of command within mental health to communicate in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) about field conditions & resource needs
• Complete data collection forms for fiscal tracking & needs assessment for grant application

CONTINUING RECOVERY CARE

• Identify individual survivors by using damage reports & lists of people who applied for assistance
• Contact survivors via letters, phone calls, or door- to-door visits to conduct informal assessments & provide education, support & resources
• Establish & maintain contact with agencies, caregivers, key community members, and businesses used by survivors
• Conduct a public education program geared to community at large on common reactions to a disaster, coping strategies, where to obtain assistance
• Use print & electronic media for articles, interviews, public service announcements, paid advertising, call-in radio shows
• Provide public speakers for civic groups, PTAs, churches, etc.
• Attend community gatherings, meetings, fairs,other events to circulate & talk with survivors to assess needs and provide education, support, resources
• Hang posters on bulletin boards, buses, at bus stops, in waiting rooms & other public places
• Distribute brochures & fliers door-to-door, in shopping bags, on literature racks, in church bulletins, and via community groups
• Develop activity books or coloring books for children
• Train & educate community professionals, caregivers survivor support groups in mental health recovery & survivor assistance
• Consult with community professionals and caregivers to facilitate their work with survivors
• Help community organizations and informal resource groups in their efforts with survivors
• Advocate on behalf of clients or population groups in appropriate situations where mental health issues or needs are involved

STEWARDSHIP AS CASE WORK STANDARD

          Religious community case work in disasters takes stewardship seriously. Assistance must go to disaster survivors according to need. Good case work means working with clients to develop recovery plans that assume only limited resources are available and need to be stretched to assure that unmet needs are addressed as thoroughly as possible throughout the disaster-affected community. The faith-based recovery organization board should set standards that assure wise use of funds:

1. Limit all forms of assistance to
   • Survivors who live within the defined service area of the recovery group
   • Survivors who cannot provide for them selves
   • Disaster-related losses
   • Survivors who have applied to FEMA and America Red Cross
   • Survivors who can provide documentation of their other assistance
   • What cannot be done by others
2. Limit material distribution to:
   • Survivors who have a source of labor to employ materials
   • Survivors who have had an impartial assessment
   • Volunteer work teams assigned to approved projects
   • Survivors who have signed a voucher or work order
3. Limit repairs and rebuilding to:
   • Homeowners - no landlords
   • Condition prior to the disaster
   • Prioritized work orders from family advocacy casework

          Lutheran Disaster Response suggests a point formula for prioritizing assistance to disaster survivors. The case with the greatest number of points gets top priority:

A. Family Status
Single, no dependent	1
Married, no dependents	2
Single, with dependents	4
Married, with dependents	3
Adult dependents	3
Number of children dependents	___
Retired	2
B. Income Status
No Income	10
$1 - 10,000	9
$10,001-15,000	8
$15001-20,000	7

OUTREACH

          The disaster advocate's job starts with finding survivors who are not seeking assistance.
          A major reason for reluctance to seek assistance: the stigma society attaches to "welfare." The advocate must often explain that disaster assistance is not welfare, but rather a way government uses tax dollars to provide important services to a broad segment of the population.
          Grief over losses of property or deaths of friends and loved ones also immobilize's people. The disaster advocate must take seriously even what seems like the most insignificant losses of grieving persons and demonstrate care and understanding for them so they will overcome the inertia of grief and seek help. To find needy people who are not seeking assistance, disaster family advocacy programs employ a variety of tactics:

1. Making contacts with:
   • Social service agencies that work with vulnerable population groups in the areas affected by the disaster
   • Persons outside the disaster area who may know survivors
   • Local politicians who have names of needy people on file
   • Mail carriers who know people on their routes
   • Local government officials who administer programs dealing with vulnerable population groups
   • Law enforcement officers who know people in their neighborhoods
   • Public and private transportation services that often have contact with vulnerable people
   • Churches and ministers
   • Clubs and social organizations which vulnerable people join
2. Visiting the disaster area and making personal contact with survivors
3. Sound trucks that broadcast messages in neighborhoods

          On initial contact with a survivor, the advocate should have official identification and be prepared with a brief introductory speech. An effective introduction:

Hello. My name is _____________________________.
I am a disaster recovery advocate for _____________________________.

          It is my job to help persons utilize a number of services that may be useful to you in recovering from this disaster. I would like to take a few minutes of your time to explain the process.

          I can help you in getting help if you have suffered damage to your home or some other loss. It is my job to help you get all the help you can so you can get your life back to normal.

          Although some people will be happy to see them, disaster advocates may have to return four or five times before survivors are comfortable with them and believe they are really interested in assisting them. Although advocates need to persuade survivors to seek assistance, they are often more effective when they do more listening than talking, allowing persons affected by the disaster to release stress by "talking out" their problems.
          The outreach component of advocacy should move as rapidly possible so agencies can plan disaster aid more efficiently and the people affected don't become prey for exploiters - i.e. -- unscrupulous contractors who do shoddy repair work at outrageous prices.

LIFE INTERVENTION

          How an advocate intervenes in the lives of survivors makes a difference in how quickly they recover - or even if they successfully recover.
          On one hand, advocates must work to achieve a reasonable balance between their jobs and desires to respond to needs some survivors have for friendship. The advocate must learn to distinguish between problems related to the disaster and those that already existed. Advocates must also be alert to attempts by some persons to establish dependency and other kinds of relationships with them.
          At the same time, an advocate must discern problems of individual survivors that can hamper their recovery and take appropriate intervention measures. Among these problems:

• Communication deficits - the capacity to hear or see well - may make a disaster more threatening and harder for the advocate to develop a relationship with the survivor.
• Learning impairments may make it difficult for the survivor to understand the meaning or intent of the advocate's questions and explanations.
• Problem-solving deficiencies require the advocate to exercise more patience in explaining alternative strategies for solving problems vs. the old ways the survivor might utilize.
• Slow memory function means it may take more time for the survivor to remember things that were lost in the disaster.
• Limited formal education places a greater burden on the advocate to explain why programs exist, how they work, and what they mean to the survivor.
• Psychological depression - evidenced by sadness, lack of interest, pessimism, and difficulty in making decisions - should suggest need for spiritual and mental health care that goes beyond the economic and physical assistance.
• Values - independence and self-reliance - may give the survivor doubts about the appropriateness of participating in government disaster programs.
• The welfare stigma may be the biggest challenge for an advocate to overcome in assuring that survivors seek and accept assistance. Advocates should not force disaster programs on survivors, but rather demonstrate interest and concern for them while employing strategies that address the varied problems that keep them from seeking assistance.

          In working with survivors, advocates should be wary of giving advice except when they have the expertise to provide guidance. The job of the advocate is not to know all the answers, but to know where to obtain reliable information for survivors. Nor is it the job of the advocate to be all things to all people. Rather, the advocate facilitates, assuring resources at the proper time.

COORDINATING VOLUNTEERS TO DO THE JOB

          The nature and quality of the work taken on by the faith-based recovery group, in the final analysis, will depend on volunteers. You can draw on volunteers for all kinds of tasks:

Advocacy	Go-fors	Computer work
Caring	Telephoning	Bookkeeping
Heavy lifting	Listening	Carpentry
Washing dishes	Cooking	Medical assistance
Filling out forms	Typing lists	Sitting & talking
Writing to people	Legal assistance	Advertising & public relations
Leading work groups	Plumbing Roofing	Electrical
Counseling	Driving	Warehousing
Heavy equipment	Babysitting	Leaders for children/youth camps

          A volunteer can often serve as construction coordinator. Office volunteers can answer phones, do typing and bookkeeping and handle calls and walk-ins. You can use volunteers to do family advocacy. Volunteers can unload, sort, discard, prepare and distribute materials at the warehouse. Volunteer work groups can do cleanup and repairs.

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

          In deploying volunteers, coordination and management present challenges. Five management keys:

• Job descriptions. They do not need to be highly detailed, but should provide a brief description of tasks along with the optimum and minimum amounts of time needed to accomplish them.
• Matching volunteer qualifications and background to job needs and people with whom they will work. Develop a list of volunteer needs by service providers involved in the recovery program, job description, skill, and location. Keep this needs list current. Refer only child care volunteers who work with children professionally on a regular basis. Assign bilingual volunteers to non-English speaking population groups. There is nothing more frustrating than to discover you've had an electrician shoveling mud and a handyman wiring a house.
• Establishing and communicating policies for volunteers, work groups, and service providers who will use the volunteers. Volunteers need information, protection, a sense of order, and a clear sense of purpose if they are to be effective in disaster recovery. Specify responsibilities for housing (if volunteers come from outside the disaster area), meals, transportation, insurance coverage. State sizes of work groups and leadership requirements. Detail clothing, financial, and other needs. Spell out special rules.
• Seminars and workshops. Volunteer builder, family advocates, and spiritual caregivers will need special training. Orientation about (1) the history of the area and its population and (2) the disaster and its effects on survivors provides valuable background for volunteers from other areas.
• Work commitments. Remind volunteers they have to do jobs that need to be done, not necessarily the jobs they want to do. Ask outside volunteers to make a covenant with you and the community to work and live effectively with you.

          The key principle in utilizing volunteers is flexibility.

THE TASK OF COORDINATION

          Working with volunteers is the ultimate test of a manager's ability to delegate responsibilities. Untrained, random volunteers appear to be a perfect justification for doing it all yourself. However, volunteers can be used successfully by continually breaking down tasks into workable blocks, determining people's abilities, and assigning responsibilities.
          The volunteer coordinator evaluates resources to determine where they should be best applied. Depending on the nature and scope of the disaster, one person may be able to do the job or tasks may have to be assigned to several persons. These tasks include:

1. Work site management. A manager must oversee work sites, assuming multiple roles as a construction foremen, building/repair teacher, and sometimes referee between homeowners and volunteers. As volunteers are channeled to sites, there are also details to be worked out about:
   • Who will supply equipment & tools
   • Who will provide building supplies
   • Transportation required to haul equipment & supplies
   • Communication equipment (cellular phones, pagers)
   The work site director will:
   • Schedule houses for repair and rebuilding after homeowners settle insurance claims and receive FEMA monies
   • Secure liability waivers from homeowners and volunteers on behalf of the recovery group
   • Assess skill needs and plan daily work schedules
   • Inspect work and assure repairs and building conform to building codes
2. Hospitality. Both the disaster-affected community and volunteers benefit from well-organized arrival and departure of work groups - including matching volunteers to work sites, providing information for trip planning,orientations and debriefings. Hospitality functions include:
   • Assistance in resolving attitudinal problems -- withdrawal, snubbing, hostility.
   • Orientation and debriefing
   • Special events involving work teams in community life
   • Providing ready information on emergency medical care
   • Connecting work teams with community groups that want to interact with work teams
   • Proper appreciation and recognition
3. Accommodations. Productive volunteers who stay overnight require decent housing, kitchen facilities, bathrooms/ showers, laundry facilities. In coordinating accommodations, the recovery group needs to develop in-depth knowledge of volunteer housing available in its community:
   • Types of housing - church or community buildings, motels, private homes, etc.
   • Number of persons each facility can accommodate
   • Rooms available - and off limits -- in each facilities
   • How facilities are equipped - air conditioning/heating systems, carpeting, cots/beds
   • Will keys be given to group? How many and to whom?
   • Names/addresses/telephones of facility contact persons
   • Proximity of facilities to work site (should be no more than a 30-minute drive)
   • Building security - locks, place to store valuables
   • Kitchen availability and kinds of supplies and equipment they have
   • Availability of bathrooms/showers
   • Access to laundry facilities

          The forms and other tools that follow can help you effectively coordinate and manage volunteers.

III. The Board of Directors: The Leadership Foundation

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE BOARD

          If members of the religious community agree a coordinated faith-based response makes sense based on disaster needs and analysis of resources, an organizing task force of judicatory representatives or their designees should focus immediately on putting an effective board of directors in place.
          Strong organizations have strong leadership. An effective board of directors makes the important decisions on program and staff, assures adequate resources for the organization, establishes the controls that demonstrate organizational accountability, and does the necessary planning to keep the organization on course. In the case of an incorporated recovery organization, it has special fiduciary responsibilities.
          The board should represent a broad cross-section of the religious community and reflect interests and preferences of the recovery organization's constituency including those affected by the disaster, the community at large, donors, judicatories, and Church World Service, if applicable, as the coordinating agency of 35 member communions and their affiliated agencies. People from the entire religious community in the affected area -- even those who have not previously participated in existing ecumenical or interfaith groups - help assure the diversity required.
          In addition to people who represent the major organizations setting up the recovery organization (clergy or laity from churches, church groups, ministerial associations, etc.), a healthy board of directors also will include:

• People drawn from the community at large who bring wider input to the recovery group.
• An attorney. Any group planning to incorporate should ask a local attorney to sit on the board of directors. This person advises about the need to consult an attorney about issues, but does provide free legal service. If the board needs legal counsel, it should hire a good attorney for a fee.
• A certified public accountant (CPA). There should be accountancy support any time a group is dealing with large sums of money. As in the case of the attorney, this person advises on need for accounting/ financial service, but should not be asked or expected to provide free work.
• Government representatives to provide guidance on any interaction the recovery organization has with local, state, or federal government agencies. They answer the question: "Is there anyone in government whom we need to contact about this issue?"

          If the need for expertise threatens to create a board of unwieldy size, the recovery organization might appoint a separate community advisory council that meets less frequently. Advisory councils are great tools for expanding the contacts of a faith-based recovery group without complicating the fiduciary, management, and oversight responsibilities of a board of directors.
          A community advisory council assists the board with specific concerns and brings the recovery organization into close relationship with not only members of the community, but persons with special expertise in the kinds of work it is doing. If the recovery organization is doing construction, for example, it would be helpful to have representatives from local building trades unions and the local contractors association on an advisory board
          If the recovery organization expects to operate for more than year, board members should have specified terms of office.
          Board members should be prepared to explain programs of the recovery organization, refer appropriate clients, and assist in recruiting volunteers and in fundraising.
          The recovery organization's committee structure may include:

1. An executive committee which acts in place of the full board to provide direction, management, guidance, and set goals required by staff to achieve the purposes of the organization.
             The executive committee coordinates work of the standing committees, appoints ad hoc committees as needed, and assumes responsibility for all decisions of the recovery group - including all major committee recommendations. It also provides regular statistical and descriptive reports about work of the recovery organization to the board and membership and directs/supervises/supports the executive director of the recovery group. The full board reviews and approves official actions of the executive committee.
2. A finance/fundraising Committee to assure the financial integrity of the organization, through budget, control, and reporting on income contributions and disbursements. It should provide monthly financial reports to the executive committee and board and develop a fund raising strategy.
3. A program committee to plan and supervise service delivery, make recommendations to the executive committee and board related to:
   • Needs of target populations
   • Priorities of target populations
   • Policies & programs designed to address needs
   • Changes & improvements in services as needed
   • Appropriate & acceptable costs of services
   The committee is also responsible for reporting program results.
4. A public relations committee responsible for:
   • Public communication goals, programs & services
   • Guidelines on consistency and who speaks for the organization
   • Supporting the executive director in preparing press materials and maintaining media contacts
   The committee also works closely with the finance committee to develop a fund raising strategy.
5. A personnel committee on staffing needs and concerns, including:
   • Personnel standards
   • Training & educational needs of board and staff
   • Personnel appeals procedure
   • Recruiting, screening, interviewing candidates for staff positions
   • Performance evaluations
   • Staff morale
6. A volunteer committee that provides support and assistance to a field coordinator and oversees volunteer recruitment, training, supervision, and maintenance.

DECISION-MAKING GUIDES

          An effective board of directors requires a structure for decision-making and action that includes:

• Bylaws
• A mission statement that guides the recovery organization
• A practices and policies framework

          Bylaws describe the organizational structure and mechanics of decision-making. The mission statement in a few simple sentences offers the major criteria for decision-making by the board and provides a basis of board cohesiveness in giving members a common sense of purpose.
          Good bylaws include sections on:

• Membership - composition, how/when membership meetings occur, what notice is required for meetings, criteria/process for calling special meetings, voting
• Board of Directors - number, election process, meetings, length of term
• Fiscal management - fiscal year, committee/officer responsbilitiy
• Amendments - procedure of changing

          A mission statement describes how the organization plans to make a difference in the community. It should describe the kinds of groups that will participate in the recovery organization. It may also include the organization's primary objective and a program overview. Writing the mission statement could well be the first item on the agenda of an organizing meeting after the decision to launch a recovery program.
          A possible mission statement:

• To provide coordinated management of the long-term recovery to the disaster
• To provide additional long-term assistance to individuals affected the disaster
• To advocate for ongoing preparedness within the faith community and cooperation with governmental and voluntary agencies active in disaster

Another example:           We provide spiritual, emotional, and physical resources to those affected by the disasters regardless of race, creed, color, sex, handicap, or religious preference. We seek to respond to needs not met by relief systems such as FEMA, Red Cross, and Small Business Administration.

THE POLICIES & PRACTICES FRAMEWORK

          The board of directors at its first meeting can save the recovery organization a host of problems by passing three simple resolutions:

• Resolved: That the Executive Director shall not allow nor cause any unethical or illegal activity to take place in this organization.
• Resolved: That any person working in the organization, be they paid staff or volunteers, shall be understood to be doing so under the direction of and authority of the Executive Director.
• Resolved: That all financial reports, minutes, and reports of the organization are considered to be public documents, and shall be provided to any person upon request. The only exception shall be the names of anonymous donors of money, goods, or services, but the amounts of these gifts shall be reported.

          The "keep it straight," the "one boss," and "open books" principles of organization have saved many groups from unfortunate actions of board, staff, or volunteers. They make clear:

• The organization will not allow shoddy or sloppy work of any sort, bending the rules, or even failure to monitor financial transactions.
• Even members of the board work under authority of the Executive Director.
• The organization operates under community trust with everything open to scrutiny. Such organizations are rarely challenged. Organizations with inaccessible records are always under suspicion.

          Other sound board policies to consider:

1. Administrative. Resolved that the Board of Directors:
   • Shall elect a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer
   • Shall appoint a Personnel Committee
   • Hire ___________ as Director
2. Financial. Resolved that:
   • The Board of Directors engage ____________ ____________ as Certified Public Accountant to supervise and audit financial records
   • On all accounts, two signatures of officers are required
   • All payment of direct assistance to individuals be made payable to the client and provider of services or goods
   • The Director shall obtain three bids for Officer and Director Insurance, General Liability, a Fidelity Bond for all persons handling money
   • The Director shall prepare and present to the Board a financial budget every six months
   • The Director shall prepare and present to the Board monthly financial reports (Balance Sheet, Income & Expense Statement)
   Other financial resolutions will relate to criteria for distribution of funds.
3. Programmatic. Resolved that the Director:
   • Shall prepare and present to the Board a programmatic plan
   • Shall prepare and present to the Board monthly programmatic reports
             Other programmatic resolutions will relate to releases of client confidentiality, various liability releases for clients, property, and volunteers.
4. Human resources. Resolved that a Personnel Committee:
   • Shall Prepare and regularly review the personnel policies
   • Shall serve as the grievance committee when employees believe they have not received supervisory satisfaction
             With bylaws, a mission statement, and policies/practices framework in place, a board of directors representative of the recovery organization's constituents with proven leadership skills can make critical decisions. Among some of the board's early concerns will be:
   • Laying a fundraising foundation
   • Hiring a director
   • Facilities & equipment
   • Insurance coverage

1. LAYING THE FUNDRAISING FOUNDATION
             A new recovery organization must turn its attention to fundraising immediately. Organizers and board members should lay the groundwork by formulating a mission statement and developing:
   • Criteria for providing services
   • A projected program
   • Estimated budget

             Based on assessment of funding potential and American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency needs analysis, they can begin to shape a realistic program and budget.
             Organizers and board members of the recovery organization should commit themselves to presenting the program to denominations and other organizations they represent and to seek funding from them. The longer program development and budget-building is delayed, the more difficult it will be to raise funds. As needs continue to crystallize, the program can be adjusted and budgets revised upward or downward.
             Another important fundraising consideration: 501c(3) status so donors can deduct their contributions to the organizations from their taxable income. The recovery organization can acquire tax exempt status either under a fiscal agent (an existing organization that has 501c(3) tax exemption) or as an entirely new group that seeks non-profit corporation status.
             Operating as a subcommittee of an existing group is easiest and often best. This not only provides the tax exemption, but supplies a built-in system for receiving contributions, a way to account for funds, and association with an organization that has a history.
             When the disaster affects one community, the best choice may be a ministerial organization or other inter-religious structure willing to take on responsibility for the recovery program. When the disaster affects multiple counties, the best choice may be a state-wide or regional ecumenical council willing to actively function as the umbrella organization for several faith-based recovery groups meeting needs in different areas.
             A recovery organization that plans to continue operations after it completes disaster work or a recovery organization facing church-state issues related to charitable giving should seek its own 501(c)3 non-profit incorporation status. Board members should consult a local attorney familiar with the law of nonprofit and tax exempt organizations. State requirements differ.
   

2. SELECTING THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
             Since neither those who pull together the faith-based recovery organization nor its board members will have time to devote to every day needs of program, selection of a director is a critical early task.
             The board should look for a person who will have empathy for disaster survivors, knowledge of the religious community, and is qualified in financial and program development, administration and public relations.
             Moreover, the board should seek someone with excellent supervisory skills. Other staff - volunteers or paid - will also be needed in critical positions important to program success. The program director must have skills in identifying their strengths and weaknesses and help them grow in their jobs - to develop their skills and potentials.
             The program director should be able to relate well to other people, provide feedback to staff about their work, and cultivate teamwork.           If a disaster affects hundreds of people, a recovery organization should seriously consider hiring a director for a year or more.
             An existing organization with employees may divert some staff time to the recovery program. However, no person can or should assume the role of director and continue full time work in another position. This will do serious harm to both the person and the program.

3. FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT
             There are potentially three major facility needs: an office, a warehouse, volunteer housing.

1. The offices will house administrative and support staff and be a communications link between the people of the community and available resources. It should be in a central, visible location with good parking. A church, other religious organization, or community group might be willing to donate space. Office equipment should inlcude:
   • A telephone answering machine for night use and controlling daytime calls
   • Bulletin boards for messages to and between survivors, volunteers, and the administrative staff
   • A large map mounted on the wall that shows the entire area served by the recovery group with locations of its office, materials sources, key work sites
   • Copies of map sections highlighting streets for attachment to work orders
   • Copier or access to one
   • Computer - particularly if the recovery group is working with 100 or more survivors
2. The warehouse could be a church sanctuary, gymnasium, fellowship hall, fire hall, community center, or actual warehouse facility - any space where supplies can be unloaded, housed, handled, and distributed. It should offer adequate space for the quantity of materials handled, accessibility to the community, protection from the elements, protection from theft, accessibility for unloading tractor trailers.
3. Volunteer housing may be provided by schools, churches, and campgrounds. Kitchen and bath facilities are essential as well as space for sleeping.

4. INSURANCE COVERAGE
             Purchasing insurance - with its complexities, industry jargon, and intricate legalities - isn't exactly a task most people relish. But the recovery organization's participants, donors, staff, and volunteers, and the disaster survivors it serves need to be assured of varied kinds of protection.           The board needs to look at three general types of insurance:
   • Property for protection against physical damage or loss such as theft and fire, covering cost of repairs or replacement goods
   • Liability for protection from claims brought by third parties, covering legal defense and financial compensation
   • Workers compensation - a specialized kind of liability insurance for protection against claims from job-related injuries or illnesses
             The trick is walking that fine line between too much and too little coverage. Your insurance should be sufficient to cover potential losses, but not so great as to exceed the actual value of property.           In general, you can keep your insurance cost low by:
   • Purchasing a comprehensive insurance package bundling property and liability coverage
   • Increasing your deductible and paying for the small claims that represent a relatively large proportion of insurance payout
   • Protecting yourself by installing burglar alarms, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, fire doors, and sprinkler systems
             A recovery organization which relies heavily on volunteers may well want to explore special volunteer policies that are unconnected to general liability coverage.           Almost always, the broker is the person who stands between you and the insurance company. Brokers make a living out of matching needs with the appropriate insurance. Finding the right broker - one who looks for low premiums as well as fully understands risks your organization faces - is a bit of a challenge, but well worth the time spent to make sure you have the proper type and scope of policies.

Applying for 501c(3) Status

1. Check for availability of the proposed name of the organization.
2. Write and file Articles of Incorporation. A Secretary of State Office will usually provide a form on request. Typical Format for Articles of Incorporation
   • Article I: Name & Address of Registered Office (must be street address)
   • Article II: Purpose. Use language that qualifies organization as public benefit, charitable, tax exempt
   • Article III: Exemption requirements - a.) "not pursuant of substantial monetary gain" b.) "no substantial influence on political or legislative issues" c.) "no intention to instate other nonexempt activities"
   • Article IV: Duration - continuing forever or limited
   • Article V: Membership/Board of Directors (list initial directors; membership organization must have three directors -- otherwise, one)
   • Article VI: Personal liability - statement not required , but good idea to have in writing particularly for advocacy organizations
   • Article VII: Dissolution - statement of process in event of termination of organizations
   • Article VIII: Incorporators - names & addresses - minimum of three is generally required
3. Write bylaws. See section on bylaws in this manual.
4. Obtain tax exempt status from Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
   • For the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) to recognize an organization's exemption, the organization must be organized as a trust, a corporation, or an association with an exempt purpose.
   • Complete and file Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption, with a conformed copy of your group's organizing document - that is, a copy that agrees with the original and all amendments to it. If the original document required a signature, the copy should either be signed by a principal officer or, if not signed, be accompanied by a written declaration signed by an authorized officer of the organization. With either option, the officer must certify that the document is a complete and accurate copy of the original.
   • New organizations must give financial statements for the current year and proposed budgets for the next two years, including a detailed breakdown of revenue and expenses.
   • Complete Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, if an attorney or agent will represent your organization.
   • Attach Form 8718, User Fee for Exempt Organization Determination Letter Request along with the appropriate user fee in check money order made payable to the Internal Revenue Service.
   • Send application and documents to Internal Revenue Service, Covington, KY.
   Average processing time of Form 1023 is 100 days. Processing for EIN takes about 10 days.
5. When Federal tax exempt status is received, file appropriate forms with your state for certification of exempt status and other needs.

IV. Planning: Cornerstone of Capacity

• Program objectives and goals
• Budgets

          Organizational planning can be formal or informal, involving many people or only a few. It may produce a fat planning document or just a few notes in the date books of organizational personnel.
          In general, large organizations need elaborate, expensive, formal planning. In small organizations, people can talk to each other - face-to-face or by phone. If four different staff people describe the same organizational goals after the program director has outlined his or her thinking to them in a 15-minute meeting, planning has occurred. In larger organizations where people cannot talk to each other regularly, planning obviously requires considerably more effort.
          In faith-based recovery organizations which place a high value on involvement of wide-ranging groups -- a board, volunteers, staff, congregations and other care-giving agencies, planning must be fairly formal - but that is not to say complicated.
          For faith-based recovery organizations, moreover, the demands of fundraising require formal planning. As a basis for their funding decisions, prospective donors want to see written plans and budgets.

THE EARLY PLANNING PROCESS

          Early on, a recovery organization in its formative stages develops a written plan and budget by:

1. Assessing and projecting needs. It identifies unmet needs that the American Red Cross, other private care-givers, or government agencies aren't addressing -- particularly among vulnerable people (older persons, children, people with disabilities).           The recovery organization must project funds required to meet these needs, being prepared to adjust them upwards or downwards as more information becomes available.

   BUDGET PLANNING GUIDELINES

   • 10 to 15 per cent of FEMA applicants will have remaining unmet needs
   • For building & repair costs, figure:
     • Floods -- $5000 per unit
     • Tornadoes -- $15,000 per unit
     • Fires -- $35,000 per frame house; $25,000 per mobile home
   • Budget for 50 per cash donations & 50 per cent in-kind (insulation, paint, building materials)
   • Value volunteer labor at $10-$15 per hour
2. Projecting anticipated funds. The recovery organization must also project total receipts anticipated from fund raising, identifying all current and potential sources of revenue and likely contributions from these sources -- including local congregations, national denominations, local businesses, regional and national foundations, etc.           The objective is a flexible, realistic budget that can be adjusted as required and reflecting all projected funds and the value of in-kind contributions and volunteer time. It's not based on hoped or prayed for contributions or what the organizations needs. It's based on what you can reasonably expect from donors.
             If projected receipts match projected need, you have a working budget. If there's a mismatch, you have to do some rethinking. Could an aggressive fundraising program generate more cash than you have estimated? Or do you need to scale back your program to something that is more do-able?
3. Establishing program objectives and goals. Based on income projections, the recovery organization develops program goals and objectives that demonstrate reasoned priorities reflecting anticipated funding. Taking those most in need as the population to be served, it establishes parameters for assistance and limits aid to be disbursed.

FORMAT: RECOVERY ORGANIZATION PROGRAM PLAN

1. NATURE OF DISASTER
2. TARGET AREA
3. ACTION TAKEN BY RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY PURPOSE (List goals & objectives)
4. ORGANIZATION
   1. Outline operation structure
   2. List leadership by title, name, addresses
   3. List participating churches, parishes, etc., and representatives names & addresses
5. FUNDING (see projected budget attached)
   Anticipated period of operation: From _______________ To _______________
   Amount of funding requested $ ________________________________
6. REPORTING We will submit quarterly reports of program activity and quarterly financial statements to CWS for distribution to the national denominations.

ONGOING PLANNING & EVALUATION

          Once a recovery program starts, an evaluation process should drive ongoing planning. Is the organization getting the results it wants?
          Very early on as a basic evaluation component, the board should establish a tentative date to end the recovery program and achievement benchmarks.
          It should set measurable long-term goals and short-term objectives for program as a basis for evaluating accomplishments and staff performance. In addition, it should establish firm dates to:

• Regularly review activities
• Decide to continue in the same way or with changes for a defined period into the future
• Consider new program areas that logically grow out of the disaster recovery work or whether to end work altogether

• Measure its effectiveness
• Change course as needed
• Recognize and celebrate its accomplishments
• Launch new work grounded in its experience

SAMPLE PLANNING DOCUMENT

          Over the next two years, ABC Disaster Recovery Organization will identify and work to meet unmet disaster-caused needs of vulnerable populations, develop resources to sustain this activity, and initiate process to determine future of organization when recovery program closes.

Service Goals:

• Identify all disaster survivors who will require assistance in long-term recovery
• Implement a case management program to assist clients with unmet needs
• Coordinate repair and rebuilding of homes owned by families without sufficient insurance coverage or government assistance

• Identify all potential donors & amount of contributions
• Establish cost of addressing unmet needs
• Conduct fundraising campaign to sustain program

• Conduct board-staff evaluations of work every six months
• Identify mitigation issues associated with disaster
• Conduct complete organizational assessment two years after start of recovery program & look at options for continuing work in disaster preparedness and/or community development

          A program that does not know what it wants to achieve or anticipate an end will simply whither away as its staff and volunteers leave for lack of a purpose and its funders divert their money elsewhere. In its program review process, the board will ask:

• Did we get the results we wanted?
• How much did it cost to get the results?
• Are the results what we really wanted? Did we get unintended results - and do we like them?
• Can we get the same results more quickly or more cheaply with different strategies?
• Did we get the results in ways that respect our ethical, professional, and organizational standards?
• Are conditions such that we need to achieve the same results or better results in the next period?

• What things were done well?
• What things might be done differently in future disasters?
• What might be done to make us better prepared for future disasters

Calendar

Deadline	Activity
April 1	(Date of Disaster)
April 30	Conduct needs survey in disaster-affected communities
June 30	Recruit/train three case managers
July 15	Recruit Construction Supervisor & Site Coordinators
July 30	Schedule 10 volunteer workgroups for repair/rebuilding
September 30	Conduct 6-month evaulation

PLANNING FOR THE NEXT DISASTER

          As the recovery organization wraps up work, its planning and evaluation process may lead it into another kind of planning: preparing for a future disaster. Drawing on lessons from the disaster recovery, a faith-based recovery organization is well-equipped to start developing a disaster plan for the religious community in mitigation/prevention, response, and recovery.           The board of the recovery organization may choose to meet periodically to create and continually update such a plan. The planning process involves research in four important areas:

• Continuing disaster risks facing the community and the vulnerable population groups.
• Varied programs provided by recovery organization participants in mitigation, prevention, response, and recovery with details on eligibility, location, scope, operation, and responsible persons.
• Lead, primary, and supportive roles each participant can play in disaster mitigation, prevention, response, and recovery.
• Mechanisms for activating services as needed in each phase of the Holistic Disaster Cycle.

The plan sets this information down in writing in an organized way. It includes nine sections:

• An introduction that cites audience andexpected results, summarizes the plan, describes the planning process, and credits contributors, analyzes hazards facing the community, and provides instructions on use of plan.
• Purpose that states goals of the plan.
• Situation and assumptions that details a hypothetical emergency situation and how varied organizations will respond.
• Concept of operations that describes each organization's tasks and how they are coordinated in all phases of emergency management - mitigation, response, recovery.
• Assignment of responsibilities that outlines roles played by each organization.
• Administration and logistics that addresses resource management, general support requirements, and availability of services.
• Plan development and maintenance that describes development of the current plan and how it will be updated.
• Authority that cites authorization for implementation of the plan.
• Definitions that provides meanings of terms used in the plan.

          Through an organization willing to take on responsibility for developing and maintaining a disaster preparedness plan, the religious community can play an important role in helping its community move swiftly to recover from a disaster when it occurs. The forms that follow allow you to set down and sort out program information about disaster responders so you can create a preparedness plan:

• On the Resource Information Sheet, you list all data about an organization that will participate in the disaster response
• On the Service and Resource and Tally Sheet, you accumulate information from the Resource Information Sheets
• On the Responsibility Matrix Sheet, you set down services provided by each organization

Instructions:

1. Resource Information Sheet
   • List contact persons with home & work telephone numbers
   • List every program relevant to disaster assistance
   • Describe program services (supplies, financial, support)
   • Provide name & address of location where services are available
   • Delineate service limitations - time, quantity, restrictions
   • Quantify length of waiting time between application & delivery of service
   • Note service startup date. Is it an existing service available now or is it available only after a disaster occurs
   • Categorize program by type of service
2. Service & Resource Tally Sheet
   • Regroup organizational information from Resource Sheet
3. Responsibility Matrix Sheet
   • List service providers across top of sheet & major service providers on left side
   • Designate each service provider as "P" (primary) or "S" (supportive) for each service category

TRANSITION TO DEVELOPMENT

          The evaluation/planning process could also lead a recovery organization to community development activities.
          Experience in grappling with mitigation issues during the recovery process will teach participants in the organization that vulnerability to disasters relates to jobs, justice, education, housing, and gender issues that can be addressed through community development programs. Recovery organization participants will also acquire skills in social resource mapping, volunteer management, and resource development applicable to community groups and programs. One disaster recovery effort spawned more than 38 new community agencies, groups, and programs.
          Development, although related to disaster recovery, differs in requiring greater long-range planning. Unlike an emergency situation which demands quick funding decisions, development funders deliberate on proposals before awarding grants. Some funders want pay-back. So income-generation becomes a consideration. Still development is a logical transition after disaster recovery ends.

COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

          An important vehicle for development is the Community Development Corporation (CDC), a nonprofit neighborhood based organization controlled by residents and created to provide direct benefits to them.
          CDCs seek to provide opportunities for capital investment in areas where traditional development financing is limited. Typical CDC activities include:

• Housing rehabilitation, development, and assistance
• Initiation & review of neighborhood planning
• Provision of health & support services
• Start-up & management of community credit unions
• Creation & retention of commercial & industrial jobs
• Provision of skills training for local residents

          Through such activities, CDCs - oriented to producing benefits for a neighborhood rather than shareowners -- empower people, build community, revitalize economic and physical infrastructure in economically depressed areas. Housing rehabilitation and job creation activities are especially important.
          Housing rehabilitation counteracts neighborhood deterioration, stabilizes property values, and can prevent real estate speculation that displaces local residents. Commercial and industrial activities encourage investment that keeps jobs in the community and creates new job opportunities.
          Local residents and representatives of other established community groups determine the CDC's goals and activities as its members and directors. CDCs are defined by the geographical area in which they operate. Normally, the population of the area will not exceed 115,000. Membership of the CDC must be representative of this community.
          Funding for CDC activities come from the religious community, government, neighborhood businesses and individuals, foundations, the private sector, banks, housing trust funds, low-income housing tax credits, development fees.

V. Developing Resources to Fuel the Program

The faith-based disaster recovery program requires three primary resources beyond its paid staff:

• Money
• In-kind material contributions
• Volunteer labor

          Effective fundraising, sourcing of in-kind material donations, and volunteer recruiting depend on the organization's:

• Self-knowledge - understanding of its mission, the disaster it's addressing, the populations it's serving and how it's assisting them compared to other caregivers
• Ability to present itself compellingly

FINDING DOLLARS

          The recovery organization must start seeking cash and in-kind donations immediately. Timeliness is essential. You will find it very difficult to generate donations six months after a disaster.
          Cash should be your priority in your quest for donations. Cash donations afford the surest guarantee of getting appropriate aid to a disaster area in the shortest time.
STEP 1: The recovery organization must develop a fundraising package - including its program plan and budget - that answers key donor questions:

• Is this the best way to meet needs of the target group?
• Is this the best way to use funds for constituency recognition and affirmation and fulfilling expectations of original funding sources?
• Is the budget realistic in terms of families affected and their needs?
• Does the planned response program meet its priorities?
• Have any of its representatives participated in preparing the budget and how do they feel about the proposal?
• Who else is contributing? Is significant funding coming from churches in the general disaster area?
• How much money is allocated to program vs administration?

          An unrealistic, inflated funding request does not reflect favorably on an organization. A high percentage of monies going to administration does not engender the confidence of prospective donors.
          In developing fundraising package, put yourself into the shoes of prospective donors. As you do so, you will just naturally find them more receptive to funding requests.
STEP 2: Develop a plan for getting the word out to potential donors. Get the word out quickly about the recovery program and keep people informed -- religious leaders, media, and the general public in the disaster-affected area, Church World Service and its member denominations. Funding depends on credibility that grows out of regular forthright reporting to supporters and people served.
A fundraising plan isn't a list of goals, but rather detailed activities with people assigned to them and deadlines for completing them:

• Letters to be sent
• Articles to be written
• Newsletter publicity
• Calls to people
• Personal visits to people

          Assign responsibilities for each fundraising task to staff and board members. Involvement and commitment of board members who can help pull in money from the denominations, communions, and other organizations from which they come is critical.
          Participants in the recovery organization -- board members particularly -- must communicate personally with their denominational and organizational people about needs.
          Fundraising is not glamorous or magical. It is 95 per cent hard work - researching potential donors, identifying why they give and who makes their decisions on giving, deciding how to communicate with particular donors, making lists, writing copy, calling and visiting people and asking them for funds, keeping track of their contributions, thanking donors.
          It is not enough to send out letters or newsletters reporting on your needs and successes. You must ask people personally, individually, passionately to support your ministry. When you ask, tell stories about people you serve - what are their needs and experiences and how did the recovery organization assist them. A good story will raise more money for the organization than volumes of statistics, praises of your work, or pleading about your needs.

WHERE TO GO FOR FUNDS

Ask all denominations/communions and congregations involved in the recovery program to project anticipated receipts from local, regional, and national sources. Think also about other cash sources from the community, region, and around the nation:

• Local agencies/clubs - i.e., United Way, Lions
• Local business - Home Depot, Lumber Yards, Banks, etc.
• Foundations
• State and federal government programs - rent subsidies, repair funds, SBA loans, HUD

          Church World Service (CWS) as an institution is usually not a major funding source. It is not a foundation or a last resort miracle source of funding when all other sources of money have been exhausted.
          Normally it provides only small seed grants in amounts of $1,000 to $5,000 to enable a recovery program to get up and running while its awaiting funds from other donors. CWS may have additional funds when donations from the general public are great after a disaster receives wide media attention. This however is the exception.
          Denominational funds come (1) directly to the recovery organization (2) through judicatories (conferences, dioceses, synods) and/or (3) through Church World Service. Although national denominations and communions sometimes channel funds through CWS for disaster recovery programs, they usually direct their money through their local judicatories. Each denomination decides on its own what it will contribute to a recovery program and routes it in one of these three ways. Church World Service (CWS) and the denominations are not separate and distinct sources of funding.
          CWS receives its funds from its member and affiliated denominations/members and cannot fund a program apart from the denominations/communions except for small one-time emergency grants which are also available through contributions of its members.

1. Appeal immediately to local churches, judicatories, and dioceses since they will provide the largest percentage of funds.
2. Forward the inter-religious program and budget to Church World Service to publicize among its member denominations
3. Encourage local denominational representatives to contact national officials in their churches about funding.

GOING TO NATIONAL DENOMINATIONS FOR FUNDING

1. Prepare a funding request packet, including summary letter, program work plan, financial budget, list of board of directors, minutes from recovery program meetings, newspaper articles describing disaster needs and work of the recovery organization, list of staff with contact information.
2. Ask local congregations and/or judicatories participating in the recovery organization to send funding request packet to their appropriate denominational offices with a cover letter endorsing the work of the group.

THE IMPORTANCE OF IN-KIND DONATIONS

In-kind support includes:

• Volunteers who can bring necessary experience and backgrounds to key positions in the organization. For example, you may find a retired person willing to serve as office manager.
• Office space & equipment. People and organizations may donate telephone service, computers, furnishings, even space.
• Material assistance for survivors. People, businesses, and religious organizations may donate household items, building materials special cleanup and construction equipment. At the request of recovery groups, Church World Service can ship a variety of "Gifts of the Heart" kits including personal health care, bedding, sewing, and cleanup items, medicines, food staples, and school supplies to meet needs of disaster survivors.

An in-kind donations program stretches dollars - and can even help in generating cash donations.

• You can conserve cash to quickly direct to critical unmet needs in the community.
• If you assign dollar values to expected in-kind goods and services and incorporate them into your budget, cash donors will recognize you as a good financial steward who seeks to use donations most effectively and efficiently.
• In-kind donors may well become cash donors as they learn about the work of the recovery group.

But nothing in life is free:

• You will probably have to settle for less - a bargain basement or used product, older model equipment.
• You may not get delivery when you expect it. You may have to lay out some out-of-pocket expenses associate with deliveries - freight cost, gasoline for truckers - sometimes unexpectedly.
• You may have to accept some donations you don't need to get what you really want now or in the future.
• You need facilities for sorting and packaging, warehousing and distribution.
• You aren't a volunteer's first priority.

MANAGING IN-KIND DONATIONS

Here are keys to maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs:

1. Based on the program you want to launch, draw up a list of specific material or volunteer donations you would like and approach both religious and secular organizations about assistance. Some common in-kind donations available to disaster responders:
   • Volunteers for the board of directors, program administration, needs assessments, case work, mud-out, repair and rebuilding
   • Room and board for volunteers
   • Professional services (legal, accounting, public relations, advertising and promotion, printing)
   • Travel and transportation services
   • Office space
   • Office supplies (paper, envelops, pencils and pens, staples, paper clips, etc.)
   • Office equipment or use of it in a shared facility (copying machines, computers)
   • Emergency shelter supplies (personal care items, blankets)
   • Cleaning supplies (water hoses, mops, buckets, brushes and wash rags, bleach, soaps)
   • School supplies (notebooks, pens and pencils)
   • Baby items
   • Portable generators, building materials and supplies (2 x 4s, wallboard, insulation paneling, paint)
   • Building tools (hammers, nails, shovels, wheelbarrows, work gloves, power saws)
   • Home furnishing, appliances, carpeting

   Know exactly what you want and ask for it. Keep on top of donation sources in your community as well as what is available elsewhere.

2. Normally, you will want to discourage clothing and food donations, although non-perishable food items may sometimes be desirable. An appeal for such donations will generate far more than you need - creating a different disaster!
3. Base your appeal on donor motivations -- good feelings, tax write-offs, making room in warehouses.
4. Ask donors to take responsibility for appropriate packing, labeling, palletizing, and transportation.
5. Arrange for appropriate, secure, weather-protected, transportation-accessible storage space or know where to refer goods.
6. Educate donors about the advantages of cash contributions.
7. In the emergency and relief phases of a disaster, plug into your state's donations management system through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Liaison or local government.

          Increasingly, local and state emergency management are turning over donations management to a Donations Coordinating Team (DCT) including representatives of voluntary agencies. These DCTs track donation offers and needs and accept, reject, or refer the donations based on needs.

RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS

          Recruiting volunteers requires more than just "putting the word out," tacking up an announcement, or writing something for the newsletter. You need to:

• Understand tasks to be performed
• Know what kind of people you want to perform these tasks
• Know where to find the people you need
• Understand how best to recruit within your networks

You need to offer prospective volunteers concrete incentives, even though they are not paid. They want to do good and help others, learn and develop new skills, express their religious commitment, interact with people of similar interests. Provide:

• Opportunities for skills development
• Coverage of travel & other expenses
• On-the-job insurance coverage
• Recognition

          Do not expect or demand too much of volunteers. They have other commitments and limited time and energy. They may not be aware of their own abilities to do the job and need support and encouragement.
          Members of the religious community participating in the local recovery group can help recruit volunteers through denominational publications, church bulletin inserts, local congregations, and regional events where you can offer seminars or establish a display booth.
Important keys to effective volunteer recruitment:

• Personally invite persons to volunteer
• Share your experiences on the disaster project
• Let people know how important their gifts and skills can be
• Make sure volunteers receive personal thankyous for their efforts