About NVOAD

Purpose
NVOAD Organization
Principles of Organizational Structure
Principles and Conditions of NVOAD Membership

Purpose

NVOAD coordinates planning efforts by many voluntary organizations responding to disaster. Member organizations provide more effective and less duplication in service by getting together before disasters strike. Once disasters occur, NVOAD or an affiliated state VOAD encourages members and other voluntary agencies to convene on site. This cooperative effort has proven to be the most effective way for a wide variety of volunteers and organizations to work together in a crisis.

NVOAD serves member organizations through:

• Communication - disseminating information through electronic mechanisms, its Newsletter, the directory, research and demonstration, case studies, and critique.
• Cooperation - creating a climate for cooperation at all levels (including grass roots) and providing information.
• Coordination - coordinating policy among member organizations and serving as a liaison, advocate, and national voice.
• Education - providing training and increasing awareness and preparedness in each organization.
• Leadership Development - giving volunteer leaders training and support so as to build effective state VOAD organizations.
• Mitigation - supporting the efforts of federal, state, and local agencies and governments and supporting appropriate legislation.
• Convening Mechanisms - putting on seminars, meetings, board meetings, regional conferences, training programs, and local conferences.
• Outreach - encouraging the formation of and giving guidance to state and regional voluntary organizations active in disaster relief.

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NVOAD Organization

A thirteen-member board of directors meets at least four times each year to provide guidance for the achievement of NVOAD goals. The board includes representatives of the membership and three representatives from state or U.S. Territory VOADs. The current members of the board include:

• President, Cheryl Tyiska of National Organization for Victim Assistance
  
• Vice-President, Jane Morgan of the American Red Cross
  
• Treasurer, Tom Smucker of Mennonite Disaster Service
  

• Mickey Caison of the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board
  
• Carol Clegg of the Points of Light Foundation
  
• David Dalberg of The Salvation Army
  
• Bill Feist of Minnesota VOAD
  
• Tom Hazelwood of the United Methodist Committee on Relief
  
• Chris Rebstock of America’s Second Harvest
  
• Linda Reed-Brown of Church World Service
  
• Dee Shukert of Kansas VOAD
  
• Mary Sutton of Louisiana VOAD

NVOAD is not itself a service delivery organization. Instead, it upholds the privilege of its members to independently provide relief and recovery services, while expecting them to do so cooperatively.

NVOAD is committed to the idea that the best time to train, prepare, and become acquainted with each other is prior to the actual disaster response.

Organizations and agencies that wish to become NVOAD members go through an application process and need to demonstrate their capability to work within the parameters agreed to by the members of NVOAD.

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Principles of Organizational Structure

Leadership

• President (one-year term) - Function: Presides at meetings, acts as spokesperson and representative, delegates tasks, convenes the annual meetings, and provides leadership. The President and other (Vice-President and Secretary) officers of the board of directors are elected by the board.
• Executive Secretary - Function: Fulfills a staffing role, keeping the membership at the national, state and substate levels in communication and involved with the organization; serves, ex officio, as member of the Executive Committee. The executive secretary is a staff position appointed by the board
• Board of Directors (elected by the membership) - Function: confirms policy and overall direction.

Membership

• The membership is composed of one designated voting representative from each national member organization. However, broader participation is encouraged at annual meetings.
• The membership meets up to three times a year at the call of the chairperson, the Board of Directors, or two-thirds of the membership. The annual meeting is generally hed in March of each year.
• Each organization shall have one vote and unlimited representation at each meeting.

Executive Committee

• The Board of Directors consists of nine persons elected from the membership by the membership for three-year terms; one-third of the committee is elected annually. The Board of Directors shall have the power to fill vacancies that may occur between annual meetings.
• The Board of Directors elects a president and/or other officers from its own roster to preside at meetings of the board and of NVOAD, and appoints an Executive Secretary.

Staff Services and Resources

• As necessary, member organizations offer services and resources to enable necessary staff-related tasks to be accomplished.

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Principles and Conditions of NVOAD Membership

Principles of Membership

• National: Organizations national in scope and purpose
• Voluntary Organizations: Those with voluntary memberships and constituencies and not-for-profit structure, that is, those qualified under Internal Revenue Service regulation 501(c)(3)
• Active in Disaster: Organizations with a stated policy of commitment of resources, i.e., personnel, funds, and equipment, to meet the needs of people affected by disaster, without discrimination as to race, creed, gender, or age

Conditions for Membership

• Compliance with the requirements of Principles of Membership and agreement with the purpose and program of NVOAD
• Willingness to participate in committing resources to carry out the functions of NVOAD
• Representation at the annual meetings by a designated representative
• Representation at other meetings called by the organization. All members are expected to participate in at least one standing committee.

Associate Membership

Associate membership may be granted to chartered state Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOADs). Substate VOADs are members by virtue of their membership in their State VOAD.

Affiliate Membership

Affiliate Membership may be granted to any organization with disaster planning and operations responsibilities or capabilities which does not meet the requirements for membership in other classes.

Membership Termination

Membership shall terminate on submission of a letter of separation, or by action of the Executive Committee following failure of an organization to participate in NVOAD activities, i.e., annual or regional meetings, for two consecutive years.

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