Observing Nonprofits

The Evergreen State Society

October 22, 2001

by Putnam Barber, President, The Evergreen State Society

(This is one of a series of brief observations about the work of nonprofits. They are sent occasionally to members, supporters and friends of The Evergreen State Society.)

The United Way of King County hosted one of its quarterly gatherings of Executive Directors last Friday. Tables of ten or twelve EDs swapped ideas and insights on a range of familiar yet important topics for 45 minutes, then moved on to do the same thing again in new groupings for a second round of discussion. (For more information about these meetings, contact Carolyn Cunningham at ccunningham@uwkc.org or (206) 461-3656; the next one will be held Jan 11, 2002.)

One of the discussions was on a less familiar topic, at least for me. It focused on what nonprofits should be doing to prepare for a disruption or disaster that makes it more difficult for the organization to continue delivering its services to the community. This conversation was not about having the necessary evacuation plans and first aid resources for the workspace nor on training staff for personal safety in the event of an emergency. Topics like those are critically important; planning of that sort needs to be done carefully and updated frequently by every employer and work group. Last Friday's conversation, though, was about a challenge of a different sort: What can a nonprofit do to prepare itself to continue functioning effectively even in the midst of a major disaster that leaves many familiar community resources in disarray.

The conversation at my table was built around an understanding that every organization will need to look at such questions for itself; ideas that work for one sort of group may be irrelevant to another. But the general idea of having a disaster-response plan for the organization itself is of permanent value, strongly reinforced by the sharp reminders we have had in recent weeks of how suddenly and unexpectedly the work we're doing may be made both more difficult and more important.

Communications backup was a central idea. Work units or the whole organization might follow the idea that families are urged to implement and have a single out-of-area contact (perhaps a person in a counterpart organization in another state) who agrees to take and relay messages if local, but not long-distance, phone service is disrupted. Members of the group pointed out that it is important to include volunteers, key consultants, and others who have strong but not daily connections to the organization in such arrangements.

Making sure key organizational details are held by several people in scattered locations is another suggestion that made a lot of sense to me. An organization should have a contact list of the names and telephone numbers of officers, long-term professional advisors like attorneys and audit firms, bank and insurance contacts, and others whose help would be needed to rebuild operations quickly. Having in place a routine for updating and distributing this list on a regular basis is another step toward the goal of being able to move through difficult times effectively.

Organizations that work with clients or that respond to emergency needs will have the extra challenge of figuring out strategies for staying in touch, remaining accessible, even reaching out to new groups in need while in the midst of what may be very disorienting circumstances.

One of the people at the table had just returned from a large national meeting where several central staff members had become so distracted by worrying about news from home that important details of the meeting were neglected. She was particularly insistent that convention and meeting planning should include contingency plans that help the members of the organization support each other, rather than having them struggle alone with logistics and communications in an unfamiliar city, if need should arise. Some advance thought, and a low-key insert in the conference packet, could go a long way to answering participants' anxieties even when, as we hope will usually be the case, it's not needed at all.

Are there other ideas that might be shared on this topic? It would be interesting to hear readers' thoughts. Write me at pbarber@eskimo.com

Action Without Borders will host a Nonprofit Career Fair at Seattle Pacific University on Wednesday, November 7th. The event is free for jobseekers; employers are asked to pay $50 for a table. Further information about the Seattle Career Fair -- and others being offered in cities in many parts of the country -- check on the webpage at http://www.idealist.org. (Action Without Borders offers many other facilities to nonprofits through its Idealist service; they're all explained at the webpage.)

If you do not wish to receive these occasional emails, please let us know by writing observing@tess.org. Thank you.

Putnam Barber, President
The Evergreen State Society
PO Box 20682
Seattle, WA 98102-0682
206 329-5640 :: pbarber@tess.org