Katrina Taught Nonprofits Lessons About How to Survive an Evacuation

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has done a wonderful job of covering the aftermath of Katrina in its mid-August edition (subscription required). One item that stood out for us was a list of actions any nonprofit should take before a disaster hits to preserve its ability to carry on.

The suggestions were gleaned from actual experiences of nonprofits that went through Katrina. If your nonprofit is in a disaster-prone area, the following tips could make a big difference when you pick up the pieces after the crisis:

• Communications
  Make sure you have multiple ways to contact your staff members. Gather email addresses and not just those associated with your organization. Your staff probably have personal email accounts. Can some staff send text messages through their cell phones? When the land lines go down, cells may still work.

• Relocation
  Before a disaster strikes, set up relationships with groups outside your region, especially those with similar missions. Arrange with them to borrow office space and other resources. Evacuations can last weeks or months as people learned from Katrina.

• Documents
  Prepare two watertight "evacuation boxes" and put one in the possession of the executive director and the other with a designated staff person or board member. Include in the box copies of critical legal, financial and organizational documents such as your articles of incorporation, bylaws, and most recent audited financial statements. Also, don't forget contact info for your donors and primary funders. Take credit cards, checkbooks, and computer backup materials.

• Data Protection
  Before a crisis, be sure to have a system for backing up electronic files. Some organizations have found it useful to use services that store your material off-site. Scan frequently-used key documents into a computer so you can find them, but store those files off site.

Don't wait until the inevitable crisis occurs. Get ready now or pay the consequences later.

More about crises:

• Top 5 Tips for Effective Nonprofit Crisis Planning