from Piecemeal Assistance to Coordinated Response

NVOAD Principles and Structure
NVOAD Organization
NVOAD Incorporation and Nonprofit Status
Fund Raising Policy
NVOAD Relations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency

The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster came about quite naturally in one sense as a response to the challenges to meet the needs of persons overtaken by disaster. Numerous organizations, a few very large ones and many small ones, served disaster victims in various ways pretty much independent of one another. These included both governments at various levels and the private sector. Voluntary organizations took on tasks that their leaders saw as being needed and not being provided well, if at all. As a result help came to the disaster victim in a haphazard way as various organizations assisted in specific ways, proffering their specific services. Unnecessary duplication of effort often occurred while at the same time some needs were not being met. Persons desiring to volunteer to assist their neighbors who were affected by disaster were often frustrated by the variety of organizations in some areas of service and the total lack of opportunities to serve other needs. Further there was only limited availability of training for the would-be volunteer. Information sources on services during disasters was woefully inadequate. Likewise communication among voluntary disaster agencies was very limited, and coordination of services was negligible. In fact mechanisms for this were non-existent.

As voluntary agencies struggled with problems in responding to disasters, so also governments at various levels were concerned with problems of responding to disasters that were beyond the confines of the jurisdiction of the local or State government or beyond the financial capability of a government to assist its citizens.

Major disasters such as widespread floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, or earthquakes called for major, coordinated responses. Some farsighted leaders in disaster response saw the need for more effective response. Federal legislation to coordinate agencies providing services and financial assistance in disaster was adopted and modified a number of times. Eventually this led to the establishment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 1979.

Meanwhile leaders of voluntary organizations in disaster response voiced their concerns about the need for coordinating response and communication among voluntary disaster response organizations. In the late 1960's leaders of voluntary organizations were talking to one another about greater coordination. Prominent in the movement to get talking and working together was W.D. Dibrell of the American Red Cross. In an overview of NVOAD's history presented at the annual meeting of NVOAD on January 14, 1985, Lt. Colonel Ernest Miller of the Salvation Army, cited Dibrell as the single most influential person in getting NVOAD started.

On July 15, 1970 representatives of seven voluntary organizations signaled their desire to work together in time of disaster by coming together in Washington, DC where they initiated the process to form the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD). In the "Chairman's Message " in the November-December 1979 Newsletter, Dibrell listed the following (presumably other than himself): "Among those attending this first meeting were: Louis Van Ess of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee; Delmar Stahly, William Snyder and Landis Hershey of Mennonite Disaster Service;
Msgr Leo J. Coady, National Catholic Disaster Relief Committee; Dudley Baker, Society of St. Vincent De Paul; C. E. Guenther, H. J. Harris and Maybelle Vandermark, Seventh Day Adventist. Among the fourteen members of the American National Red Cross attending were: Robert F. Shea, Robert Pierpont, E. V. Bighinatti and C. Milton Jackson. Dr. T. E. Carter and Dr. Clovis Brantley represented the Southern Baptist Convention."

The fledgling organization grew rapidly so that by the tenth anniversary there were 21 member organizations. During the 1980s national membership remained relatively stable. As some new members joined, others shifted their program emphasis and dropped out. In 1985 there were 23 national members. By 1990 the number had declined to 19 member organizations as several inactive organizations dropped out. Following major disasters in the early 1990s, six new members were accepted at the annual meeting in 1994, bringing the total to 26 members. By January 1995 two more were added so the total stood at 28 including 26 regular members and 2 affiliates.

NVOAD has always been informal in its organization, and necessary functions were for most of its existence volunteer efforts contributed by member organizations. In fact until very recent years everyone involved in serving NVOAD was a volunteer. Everything done in the name of NVOAD was done voluntarily by people who believed in its purposes and objectives to improve the outlook for effective service to those affected by disaster.

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NVOAD Principles and Structure

Principles Statement - NVOAD may have begun by serving as a point of communication among voluntary organizations engaged in disaster response, but the founders had much more in mind. From its very early days the goal was to bring national voluntary organizations active in disaster together to foster more effective service to people affected by disaster. The key words for the principles have been cooperation, coordination, communication, education, mitigation, and convening mechanisms, to which was later added outreach. The first statement of principles and structure of NVOAD was adopted at the annual meeting on January 30, 1978. It contained descriptions of purpose, structure and program of NVOAD and was published as an introduction to the NVOAD National Directory, the first edition of which was published in 1979. These principles of purpose and structure have been revised to become more clearly articulated over the years as NVOAD has expanded in function and grown in stature. At the beginning of the second 25 years, they are stated in the section on "Structure" of the NVOAD Organizational Directory (November 8, 1994) and in the VOAD Organizational Manual (January 11, 1995).

The statement of purpose and the description of the structure of NVOAD were confirmed and redefined by the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws when NVOAD was incorporated as a voluntary organization under Virginia law in 1993.

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NVOAD Organization

Initially there were few enough member organizations that business could be conducted by all the member representatives meeting together. The basic structure (and the first activity) became the annual meeting which has continued to the present time. From its very earliest days the practice was to have the annual meeting in January or February each year. These meetings had a business component which was, of course, essential to the life of the body, but equally important was the element of the meeting given to exchange of ideas. There were two elective offices, chairman and vice chairman (terminology eventually changed to chairperson and vice chairperson). For a time the functions of a treasurer were handled on an informal appointive basis often by a former chairman who had previously been given authority to cosign checks. In 1989 the office of treasurer was officially recognized, and in 1991 it becamethe Secretary/Treasurer. Minutes were recorded by an appointed person initially described as secretary and then about 1980 designated the Executive Secretary as other functions were assigned.

In 1976 an Executive Committee (EXCOM) of nine member representatives was elected, and the EXCOM elected the officers from its members. These same nine persons served through the annual meeting in 1978. At this point EXCOM members were elected in three classes - three members for three years; three for two years; and three for one year so that staggered terms resulted. In general members were considered to be limited to two terms without a break although there were some exceptions to this. Member representatives who served on the Executive Committee during the first twenty-five years are shown in Table 1 together with the name of the organization of which each was the member representative. Membership terms of the Executive Committee, 1976 through 1985 are shown in Table 2, and for the years 1986 through 1996 in Table 3. The officers who served during the years 1976 through 1995 are shown in Table 4.

Other appointed officers not on the Executive Committee served NVOAD in as volunteers. Very early, Bobby Baines of American Red Cross was Executive Secretary. When he became the Red Cross representative to NVOAD in late 1983, he gave up his role as Executive Secretary. In his place Quentin Remein, a volunteer with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, was appointed Executive Secretary and was reappointed annually until he retired after the annual meeting in 1994.

As the State VOADs became a more significant part of NVOAD, there was increasing need for a person to assume a liaison role between the State VOADs and NVOAD and its EXCOM. In the early years Wendell Dibrell took an interest in fostering State VOADs particularly in his role as editor of The Newsletter. In the mid-1980s Neil Molenaar, member representative of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and also as EXCOM member, took an interest in the State VOAD movement and the needs and concerns of VOADs and their leaders, providing consultation and assistance to them. He continued in the liaison role until 1990 when he accepted another position and was no longer representing CRWRC in NVOAD. Then in March 1991 he was appointed by EXCOM as Consultant for State VOADs to serve as a volunteer coordinator and later provided contact with VOADs in a contract role. In 1993 Clarence Van Dyke, a volunteer belonging to CRWRC, became State VOAD Consultant in an official capacity under EXCOM and served through 1994. Additional individuals not on EXCOM served in official capacities for NVOAD Brenda Palsgrove of Church World Service as Editor of The Newsletter in 1978-83, Rae Patterson of Adventist Community Services as Assistant Editor of The Newsletter in 1988 to 94; Dan Rift and Al Vander Pol of Presbyterian Church USA as System Operators of VOADNET; and in January 1995 Rino Aldrighetti began to provide contract services of an expanded executive secretary type. And there may be others whom we have missed. If so, we make apologies.

Table 4, Officers of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, 1978-1995

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NVOAD Incorporation and Nonprofit Status

For many years the preponderant view of the NVOAD membership on the best way to organize to carry out the purposes of NVOAD was through an informal association whose members provided leadership and service support on a volunteer basis and which obtained its tax exempt status through an arrangement with one of its member organizations. It was felt that it was unnecessary to go through the complexities and the expense of incorporation. In 1987 the membership reaffirmed its position that the character and purposes of NVOAD were better served by not being incorporated. As time went on the complexities of NVOAD's role in coordination of disaster response increased, and the view of NVOAD as a reactive organization gradually shifted toward a more proactive stance to help its members effectively anticipate and adapt to the demands of future disaster response. It began to appear more and more appropriate for NVOAD to incorporate and seek nonprofit status in order to fund the kinds of programs that relate to a proactive approach.

When NVOAD became involved in fund raising efforts from organizations outside of its membership to support staffing and contracts for such activities as State VOAD consulting and training and education-type programs, the issue of incorporation and nonprofit status came to a head. In order for potential donor organizations to obtain tax deductions, NVOAD would have to be an approved tax exempt non profit organization. As an early step in the fund raising process in January 1993 EXCOM adopted a motion authorizing its Chairperson to proceed with incorporation of NVOAD as a nonprofit organization and apply for tax exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). Chairperson Monte Sahlin engaged an attorney, and after a process of drafts and reviews and comments a set of articles of incorporation and bylaws was prepared as closely following the existing principles and organization pattern as possible while meeting the requirements of Virginia law where it had been decided to incorporate. Final incorporation was completed and IRS approved NVOAD not only for normal nonprofit status but also for private foundation status which gives some broader leeway, and the membership approved the bylaws at the annual meeting in January 1994.

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Fund Raising Policy

For many years NVOAD depended on modest "dues" or annual gifts to meet operating expenses or volunteering to supply certain services or materials. In unusual situations requests were made for funding such as for the research project known as "the unmet needs study" described elsewhere. When toward the end of 1992 the requirements for consultation to State VOADs and other programs reached the point where permanent paid staffing was needed and also the membership indicated future difficulty in maintaining a high level of contributions of funds on a continuing basis, funding from outside sources such as foundation grants was considered. The project proposed was for a three-year leadership development program to be called "Operation Jump Start." A feasibility study was undertaken under contract with Coles, Waters & Associates to put a trial project proposal together and test it on some organizations to see whether the type of project planned might be of interest to enough of the test group to warrant serious solicitation with a well-defined proposal. EXCOM contracted with Neil Molenaar to assist with the project proposal and monitor the feasibility study. Replies were received from most of the 120 organizations queried. Eventually seventeen expressed interest covering a broad range of possible support levels. Some responses had questions and comments. Follow-up to the six early "receptive" responses indicated that considerable work on the proposal was needed with continuing risk that no funding would be obtained. At a tele-conference meeting in April 1993, EXCOM decided that NVOAD should make no additional financial commitment toward getting a grant until the 1994 annual meeting and that in the remaining time of the consultant's contract a revised proposal might be prepared. At its June meeting EXCOM reviewed the draft grant proposal and decided to have it rewritten for which the Chair accepted responsibility. Because of the Great Flood of 1993 and delay in getting federal income tax exemption approval from IRS, the revised proposal package did not get out until late in 1993. In March of 1994 Gene Slusher reported that he had sent the proposal to 12 foundations and reported at the June Board meeting that replies were received from all of them with only one showing interest. The Kellogg Foundation encouraged NVOAD to rewrite the proposal, and gave some guidelines for NVOAD to clarify and strengthen its position. Hilary Freeman volunteered to review the materials and follow up with contact and reported back at the September meeting with a further reworking of the proposal. The Board reviewed the draft and approved it as revised by their suggestions. Hilary Freeman worked up a clean final draft, and it was submitted to the Kellogg Foundation. At the January 1995 Board meeting it was reported that the Kellogg Foundation had turned down the grant request. While no grant resulted from the funding support of NVOAD members used to contract-with fund raising consultants for "Operation Jump Start," the policy of seeking financial support from outside granting organizations remains. The Public Awareness Committee has made it one of its goals to develop a fund raising approach for foundations and corporations. In 1996, NVOAD did receive a grant from the Insurance Institute for Property Loss Reduction (IIPLR) to help implement a project to mitigate disasters at non-profit day care centers.

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NVOAD Relations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency

When NVOAD was organized in 1970, federal disaster and other emergency programs were spread among many federal agencies. NVOAD relationships were primarily with the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration whose representatives frequently spoke at NVOAD gatherings. In the late 1970s the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was established to consolidate some important federal disaster and emergency agencies including the Federal Insurance Administration, the U. S. Fire Administration, the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, the Federal Preparedness Agency, and the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency.

In May 1979 President Carter selected John W. Macy, Jr. to head FEMA. In October of that year Mr. Macy met with the membership of NVOAD. In response to a request by Mr. Macy, NVOAD appointed a committee to work closely with him. Following the meeting NVOAD's chairman, W.D. Dibrell, noted in the Newsletter (Newsletter; III: 6, November-December 1979, p. 3) that relationships with the new FEMA director were "excellent" and that, "The private sector is now considered a viable part of disaster planning and operations...NVOAD has developed into a recognized disaster agency with credibility."

One major avenue of communication was afforded by the NVOAD annual meetings. Not only was FEMA invited and usually in attendance, but it also had a place on the program to report on updates in its policies and activities. Presidential disaster declarations and other emergency and disaster information needed by voluntary organizations were sent by FEMA to the Red Cross which relayed the information to the other NVOAD members. At disaster sites NVOAD members attended meetings called by FEMA along with government officials in daily briefings on progress in the response to the disaster. In 1984 Karen Keefer whose responsibilities at FEMA included relationships with voluntary organizations indicated an interest in attending a NVOAD EXCOM meeting and was invited to the next session . This developed into her regular attendance at NVOAD meetings. In 1988 Marsha Sumner took over the role of FEMA liaison to NVOAD and served in this capacity until her retirement recently. Opportunity was provided at each EXCOM meeting for an update of FEMA activities and for discussion of any mutual concerns and issues. In recent years contacts with other FEMA staff have become more frequent and varied. In cooperation with the FEMA liaison contacts have been made to other federal programs of concern in disaster response.

In 1993 relationships with FEMA attained a new level for NVOAD, as FEMA Director James Lee Witt decided to appoint the chairperson of NVOAD to the FEMA Advisory Board, and Monte Sahlin, NVOAD Chair was sworn in as a member of the board. The advisory board includes representatives of State and local disaster agencies, professional groups and others in the disaster community. This has provided NVOAD with an unprecedented opportunity to express the concerns of the voluntary agencies to the leadership at the federal level. This brings to more complete fulfillment the previously quoted words of NVOAD Chairman Dibrell in 1979 that "NVOAD has developed into a recognized disaster agency with credibility."

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