This article was originally published in the Standards for Excellence® Institute series, “52 Tips in 52 Weeks” in February 2020. The series provides nonprofit leaders with a brief nonprofit governance and management tip weekly over the course of 2020. Standards for Excellence is a Replication Partner of Sacred Sector.
By amy coates madsen
Not a week goes by when we don’t hear about some nonprofit that is tackling the impact of some type of disaster. Whether it’s a fire, a health emergency like an epidemic or pandemic, a natural disaster, or a violent act, nonprofits big and small are tackling disasters on an on-going basis. International disaster and relief organizations, hospitals, health and human services, food and housing organizations, and animal rescues are often a part of the first responder teams in many emergencies – and many of these organizations continue to provide support long after the immediate event.
At my organization, I am sincerely grateful for my colleagues who head up our efforts for disaster preparedness. The time and effort that is invested in ensuring that our emergency plans are up to date, that emergency supplies and water are replenished, that drills are carried out, that our team is trained, and that emergency communications strategies are available and ready to be employed is essential for ensuring not just the continuity of our services, but protecting the safety of our team.
The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector encourages all nonprofits to have written board-approved administrative policies addressing crisis and disaster planning that are periodically reviewed by the board.
Nonprofit services are vital to many communities. So maintaining capacity to serve others is crucial. Having a crisis and disaster plan can help ensure that nonprofits:
Prepare for emergencies, to the extent possible
Respond quickly and clearly to all constituents
Continue to offer its essential programs
Resume full operations as soon as possible
Safeguard and protect vital organizational resources
The Standards for Excellence educational packet on Administrative Policies includes helpful resources and samples of a crisis and disaster plan; roles and responsibilities of the nonprofits’ disaster/crisis response team; a nonprofit risk assessment worksheet; a business continuity plan worksheet; and a sample emergency crisis communication plan.
This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets - including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management - can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.
About the Standards for Excellence® Institute
The Standards for Excellence originated as a special initiative of Maryland Nonprofits in 1998 and has since expanded into a national program to help nonprofit organizations achieve the highest benchmarks of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management and operations. The program has been formally adopted by twelve state, regional, and national affiliate organizations. It is supported by over 170 Licensed Consultants and over 100 volunteers with professional experience in nonprofit governance and administration. Since its inception, the program has accredited or recognized over 200 individual nonprofit organizations that completed a rigorous application and review process to demonstrate adherence to the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. www.standardsforexcellence.org.
Amy Coates Madsen is the director of programs for Maryland Nonprofits and the director of the Standards for Excellence Institute, a national initiative to promote the highest standards of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management, and operations, and to facilitate adherence to standards by all organizations. Amy received her Master of Arts in Policy Studies from the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies in Baltimore, Maryland, and her bachelor’s degree from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Amy is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was appointed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to serve on the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT), serving one term as the co-chair of the ACT’s Exempt Organizations subcommittee. The Standards for Excellence Institute is a program of the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations where Amy has served for more than twenty-four years. Amy is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the association’s comprehensive ethics and accountability program and efforts to replicate the program nationally. She serves as a frequent trainer and writer in the areas of board conduct, program evaluation, program replication, fundraising ethics, and nonprofit management. She has taught courses on nonprofit ethics and accountability at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies Certificate Program on Nonprofit Management.