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Developing and Maintaining Effective VOADs
Potential
Members of a State VOAD
Potential Members of a Local VOAD
Starting or Revitalizing a VOAD
Potential Members of a State VOAD
The state VOAD is generally comprised of the same organizations at the state level as participate at the national level. This of course will vary from state to state.
In addition, other organizations that respond during disasters within the state are encouraged to become members of the state VOAD, as long as they meet the appropriate requirements and guidelines for membership used by NVOAD. (For example, a member agency must have a constitution and support an organized disaster response program, and the services and resources that are provided by the organization must be available to all disaster victims.) So, any volunteer organizations that have disaster response capabilities and are supported by a constitution are encouraged to become members. A state VOAD also may offer associate and affiliate memberships to organizations that do not meet the requirements for full membership.
Potential Members of a Local VOAD
The organizations that may participate in a regional, county, or metro-area VOAD are similar to those at the national and state levels. They may be the regional units of a national or state organization, or they may be other groups with a disaster response capability that subscribe to the mission of the VOAD movement, such as community-based organizations, local religious organizations, or social service agencies.
Starting or Revitalizing a VOAD
Once potential members have been identified, a local leader or representative of one of the organizations should contact them and see if they want to participate. This could be accomplished by holding an information session open to all potential members at which a representative of NVOAD or the state VOAD could present the vision and goals of the VOAD movement.
When a group decides to form a VOAD, the members have several tasks at hand. They need to decide on their mission. They should create a constitution and by-laws, name leaders, decide how frequently to meet (quarterly works well for most groups), and communicate and affiliate with NVOAD (if forming a state VOAD) or the state VOAD (if forming a local VOAD). The NVOAD executive secretary helps groups form VOADs; see the section "NVOAD's Resources" near the end of this document for more information. Also, NVOAD maintains a file of sample constitutions and by-laws that new VOADs may wish to consult.
The main activities of a VOAD fall into four categories:
Planning. VOADs should have a plan that identifies the primary resources of their member organizations and the roles members will fill in time of disaster. For example, "Group A will handle all clothing donations, Groups B-D will provide emergency food and shelter, Group E will supply volunteers for clean-up but cannot purchase any materials, and Group F will donate cash assistance." The plan should also specify the role of the VOAD in time of disaster.
Training. VOADs may sponsor or facilitate the training of members and their organizations for effective activity in all phases of disaster response.
Convening. When a disaster occurs in their area, VOADs usually convene their members to share information concerning the disaster and their plans for response. State and local VOADs should work together on larger disasters.
Partnering. VOADs should enter partnerships with government emergency management agencies to facilitate communication and coordination.