VSF 15: Volunteer/Donations Management
From Portland NET Wiki
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
- Links
- Donated Resources to offset the jurisdiction’s cost-share for federally declared public assistance disasters - Page 88 of the Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide V4: https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_pappg-v4-updated-links_policy_6-1-2020.pdf
- Non-profit of Oregon: https://nonprofitoregon.org/ (really great support for non-profits, even for COADs and LTRGs to understand best practices for handling donations/funds/etc)
VSF 15: Sample Volunteer and Donations Plan/Annex Knowledge Base
| File/Resource | Description | Author | Publish Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homeland Security Digital Library | Search for "volunteer and donation" to pull up example plans. | Department of Homeland Security | - |
| Talking Points for Public Audience - Donations and Volunteers | WEBSITE: Public messaging talking points for soliciting donations from the general public. | - | |
| Clackamas County Volunteers & Donations Management Plan | Clackamas County | 2024.06.__ | |
| Sample MOU with Adventist Community Services | Sample MOU with nonprofit to assist with donations distribution. | 2023.12.08 | |
| North Carolina Donations and Volunteer Management Plan | North Carolina Emergency Management | 2023.__.__ | |
| Hamilton County Emergency Management Volunteer and Donations Management Plan | The Hamilton County Volunteer and Donations Management Plan serves as the strategic foundation for""Hamilton County's Emergency Management Plan. | Hamilton County Emergency Management (Indiana) | 2022.12.16 |
| Houston County (MN) Donations and Volunteer Management Plan | Houston County | 2022.__.__ | |
| Volunteer and Donations Management Annex Checklist | Checklist by FEMA for the development of a Volunteer and Donations Management Annex to an EOP. Best used in conjunction with FEMA's Guide: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans. | FEMA | 2021.06.__ |
| FEMA Form 90-91 and sample | FEMA Form 90-91, known as the Project Worksheet (PW), is used by state, local, and eligible non-profit entities to document the scope of work and cost estimates for repairs, debris removal, or emergency services following a presidentially declared disaster. It is the foundational document for obtaining Public Assistance (PA) funding. Download includes sample from Oso Landslide. Be sure to check you have the latest version of 90-91 before completing. | FEMA | 2020.06.30 |
| State of Oregon Volunteer and Donations Management Plan | OEM EOP Annex for Volunteer and Donations Management. | Oregon Emergency Management | 2017.03.20 |
| Puget Sound Volunteer and Donations Management Toolkit | This User Guide is designed to 1) provide an overview of the Volunteer and Donations Management (VDM) toolkit and to 2) be practical, hands on mechanism for navigating regional coordination of spontaneous volunteers and unsolicited donations. | Washington State Military Department | 2014.07.__ |
| Community Points of Distribution Planning: A Guide for Washington Communities | ...a team led by Thurston County has been developing a Resource Management and Logistics Toolkit. As part of this effort, the team elected to develop a guide to help Washington communities create local Community Points of Distribution (CPOD) plans. | Washington State Military Department | 2013.01.__ |
| Local Disaster Logistics and Donations Management Planning Handbook | A guidance handbook to assist local emergency management programs in the development of a disaster logistics and disaster donations management plan, counterpart to and in support of the Michigan disaster logistics management plan and Michigan disaster donations management plan. | Michigan State Police | 2012.10.__ |
| Stillwater NY Donations Management Taskforce | This guidance document provides information on planning considerations for a major event to aid local government in: 1) formulating a donations management strategy; 2) developing, activating and demobilizing a donations management operation; 3) managing donated monies, goods and services; 4) managing volunteer resources and government agency assistance; 5) coordinating with the media; and 6) miscellaneous housekeeping issues. | Stillwater, NY | 2012.05.__ |
| Banks County Volunteer Coordination and Donations Management Support Plan | The Volunteer Coordination and Donations Management Support Plan describes the coordinating processes used to ensure the most efficient and effective utilization of unaffiliated volunteers and unsolicited goods during major emergencies and disasters. | Banks County, GA | 2012.__.__ |
| Emergency Operation Center Support Guidelines for Donations and Volunteer Management | This document has been developed by the State of Colorado’s Donations Coordination Team/Volunteer Coordination Team (DCT/VCT) in an effort to provide guidance on donation and volunteer management in the event of a disaster. It is intended to be used as a hands‐on guide to those serving in an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in support the management of unsolicited in‐kind donations (items donated by the general public) and spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers (individuals from the general public who want to help but are not associated with a designated disaster relief organization). | Colorado VOAD | 2011.09.__ |
| When Disaster Strikes (brochure) | Printable material to distribute to prospective SUVs and donors. | National VOAD and FEMA | 2007.08.__ |
VSF 15: Spontaneous Volunteer Management Knowledge Base
| File/Resource | Description | Author | Publish Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Resource Network | The Community Resource Network is a community engagement platform that focuses on firming up safety nets and expanding opportunities. The CRN aligns services, connects resources to fill unmet needs for community members, and accelerates impact by utilizing private sector innovation, leveraging public sector resources and mobilizing social service networks. This link is added as part of our research; its presence does not constitute an endorsement. | Community Resource Network | - |
| Crisis Cleanup | WEBSITE: Crisis Cleanup is a collaborative disaster work order management platform that improves coordination, reduces duplication of efforts, improves efficiency, and improves volunteers' experience. This link is added as part of our research; its presence does not constitute an endorsement. | Crisis Cleanup | - |
| Value of Volunteer Time | WEBSITE: Perennially updated website of record on the value of an hour of volunteer time, broken down by state. | Independent Sector | - |
| NVOAD Volunteer Points of Consensus | The National VOAD Volunteer Management Committee has created a Points of Consensus document to guide best practices for volunteer rights and responsibilities in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery for volunteers serving in any capacity with a National VOAD member organization. | National VOAD | 2024.05.__ |
| Donated Labor Timesheet | Timesheet to use for donated volunteer labor, particularly specialized and professional labor. | Portland Bureau of Emergency Management | 2023.12.20 |
| Management of Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteers (SUVs) | Portland Bureau of Emergency Management | 2021.08.26 | |
| Managing Spontaneous Volunteers in Times of Disaster | Managing Spontaneous Volunteers in Times of Disaster classroom curriculum. | 2020.08.__ | |
| Portland NET SUV Management Training Packet | SUV intake process training propagated through Pearl District NET. | John Warner (Pearl District NET) | 2018.01.09 |
| NET SUV Intake Form 2b | Form used by NETs to intake SUVs | Portland Bureau of Emergency Management | 2017.02.05 |
| CERT Liability Guide: A Risk Management Overview for Local CERT Programs | CERT program activities can create risk and adverse consequences; however, perceptions about liability may be a larger barrier for CERT formation, activities and partnerships than is justified by reality. There is no indication that CERT programs have any unusual liability experience. Still, perceptions can pose as great a barrier as reality. The purpose of this Guide is to offer information and suggested techniques to help CERT programs overcome this barrier. | FEMA | 2015.11.__ |
| Volunteer Coordination in Civil Defense Emergency Management Groups | New Zealand take on spontaneous volunteer management. | Resilient New Zealand | 2013.11.01 |
| Spontaneous Volunteer Management Plan Template | The Spontaneous Volunteer Management Plan provides guidance for safe, efficient and scalable volunteer management. The Plan includes integration with incident management systems, communication with community members and voluntary organizations, volunteer reception, screening and training, matching and deployment, and volunteer retention. | Western Massachusetts Medical Reserve Corps | 2013.05.29 |
| Managing Spontaneous Volunteers in Times of Disaster: The Synergy of Structure and Good Intentions | Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network | 2008.__.__ | |
| Unaffiliated Volunteers in Response and Recovery | As surely as disasters will happen, volunteers will come. Many emergency managers admit to being unnerved by the prospect of coping with convergent volunteers because there are so many unknowns. How many will come and when? Will any of them have the skills we really need? What happens if somebody gets hurt? Where will they stay? Who will feed them and how? How will they know where to go and what to do? Who will manage them? As Florida’s lead agency for Emergency Support Function 15 (ESF-15), Volunteers and Donations, Volunteer Florida will provide straightforward answers to these questions and some compelling reasons to include procedures for utilizing this powerful resource in your Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP). | Volunteer Florida | 2000.__.__ |
VSF 15: Donations Management Knowledge Base
| File/Resource | Description | Author | Publish Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relief Compass | Over the last couple of decades, nonprofit organizations and government agencies have struggled with persisting disruptions to the relief coordination process such as logistical insufficiencies and the lack of a reliable communication channel between survivors and responders. Relief Compass application was conceptualized to combat these issues by creating a single platform where relief groups can efficiently stage their response, adeptly track data, and allow free community access to essential resources. This link is added as part of our research; its presence does not constitute an endorsement. | Relief Compass | - |
| OEM: Donations After Disaster: Why Monetary Donations Are Best | Press release from OEM encouraging cash donations instead of donating stuff in response to the Rowena Fire. | Oregon Emergency Management | 2025.07.17 |
| Donated Offers Form example | An example form from MDEM, for organizations or companies to complete if they are offering donated stuff. | Maryland Department of Emergency Management | 2025.07.__ |
| LAFD: Your Generosity is Inspiring | Press release re: donations of stuff | Los Angeles Fire Department | 2025.01.10 |
| Executive overseeing $150M Maui Strong fund defends phased approach to disbursing aid | Object lesson in best practices for distributing cash donations. | Hawaii News Now | 2023.11.14 |
| Lahaina POD Report | Mark Meininger's report from working as a donations management volunteer following the Lahaina fires. | Mark Meininger, Sabin NET | 2023.09.06 |
| Why Cash is Best for Disaster Relief | Center for International Disaster Information | 2017.05.11 | |
| Adam Ruins Everything - Why You Shouldn't Donate Canned Food to Charities | Adam Ruins Everything | 2015.09.28 | |
| National VOAD Donations Points of Consensus | The mission of donations management is to provide a comprehensive process that organizes the giving, receiving and distribution of both solicited and unsolicited (or undesignated) donated cash and goods so that the maximum benefit is derived for the disaster survivors or people in crisis | National VOAD | 2011.05.__ |
