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VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters) denotes either one or coalition of (usually not-for-profit) Second Responder organizations in the United States that voluntarily respond to community needs in all phases of disaster response and recovery. Absent a separate agreement between VOADs, (such as a MOU), VOAD organizations, coalitions, or members do not have authority to activate, direct, or supervise one another. The term "VOAD" is inherently ambiguous, as it can be used to mean at least five distinct concepts:

  1. VOAD Movement
  2. VOAD Organizations and Chapters
  3. VOAD Coalitions or Networks
  4. VOAD Member Organizations
  5. Any Voluntary Organization(s) Active in a Disaster

VOAD Movement (Meaning #1)

The concept of a "VOAD Movement" is embodied in the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) Strategic Plan as distinct concept from the National VOAD Organization,[1] but not explicitly defined.

As a broad concept, an organization identifying with the VOAD Movement may be assumed to espouse many of the principles embodied in the 4Cs[2]—communication, coordination, collaboration, and cooperation, as well as the NVOAD Points of Consensus. The Points of Consensus are promulgated by various NVOAD committees and working groups on many disaster-related subjects including Disaster Spiritual Care;[3] Clean Up, Repair and Rebuild;[4] and Volunteer Management.[5]

VOAD Organizations and Chapters (Meaning #2)

The next (and perhaps most common) usage of "VOAD" is to refer to one of hundreds of chapters and organizations that explicitly refer to themselves as a "VOAD." Chapters exist on the National, Multi-state, State, County, Community, and City levels. With few exceptions, VOAD chapters are not considered "operational" entities; that is, while they convene and coordinate various disaster-response organizations, they do not have authority to direct the actions of any of its members. Local chapters may (but need not) have a formal affiliation with a parent chapter, up to the National level; however, as VOAD is comprised of a loose coalition of organizations that participate on a voluntary basis, the formality, legal structure and activity of individual chapters varies widely.

In this Meaning, proper usage of "VOAD" would include, "The Seventh-day Adventists are a member of the Colorado VOAD," where "VOAD" refers to the chapter or organization.

National VOAD

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster is the only nation-wide VOAD organization in the United States, whose members tend to be large VOAD organizations (see Meaning #4 below).

Multi-state VOADs

Multi-state VOADs convene multiple state VOADs around common interests such as geography, shared culture, or shared threat. The purpose of these VOAD chapters is often to promote the principles of the VOAD Movement (Meaning #1), improve interstate relationships, promote best practices, or pool resources.[6] Multi-state VOADs include:

  • Mountain West VOAD (MWVOAD):[7] Comprises approximately 10 western states.
  • Tri-State VOAD:[8] Comprises Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama

State VOADs

Nearly every state (if not every state) in the United States has a state chapter of VOAD. These include:

Regional, County, Community, and City VOADs

Regional, county, and city VOADs are too numerous to list.

  • Regional VOADs are VOADs that cover a large region of a state, or multiple counties.
  • County VOADs, typically serve one county, and often have close relationships with county emergency management personnel.
  • Community COADs tend to be coalitions of community organizations that may or may not formally identify with the VOAD movement.
  • Some larger municipalities have their own city VOADs, which operate similarly to a county VOAD.

Locally, the makeup and definitions of these types of entities are fluid and sometimes interchangeable.

For example, New York VOAD is the state chapter, while Long Island VOAD is a Regional VOAD, Broome County COAD is a Community COAD and New York City VOAD is a City VOAD. In the vast majority of cases, VOADs at different levels (even in the same state) coordinate but operate independently of one another.

Voluntary Nature and Membership

Membership in VOAD chapters is generally limited to organizations, though some occasionally seek participation from unaffiliated members of the public. Membership requirements vary widely from chapter to chapter. Some VOADs require dues, while others don't. Some require an application, while mere presence at others constitutes de-facto membership. A few allow government entities, businesses, educational institutions, foundations, and corporations to be full members, while most treat them as "partners."[9] The largest constituency of VOAD Members are faith-based organizations, with major contributions from non-faith-based organizations such as the American Red Cross, Team Rubicon, the United Way, 2-1-1s, etc.

Membership and participation tends to increase during times of response and recovery, and wane between disasters.

VOAD Coalitions or Networks (Meaning #3)

The third meaning of the term "VOAD" refers to the broad informal, local network of voluntary organizations that assist in disaster recovery. These larger informal coalitions extend deep into the local community to include more traditional community non-profits, connections with local businesses, churches, etc. Such organizations may or may not be formally affiliated with a VOAD Chapter (Meaning #2).

For most VOAD Member Organizations (Meaning #4), the primary value of VOAD (Meanings #1-3) participation is access to enhance relationships. During a disaster, the value of relationships, access to resources, and pre-established roles and responsibilities cannot be understated.

VOAD Member Organizations (Meaning #4)

The next concept of "VOAD" refers to individual member organizations. For example, while Colorado VOAD is a "VOAD" in the second sense, above, a the American Red Cross is also itself a Voluntary Organization Active in Disasters, or a VOAD. Thus, the following two sentences refer to "VOAD" in two senses: "LDS Charities is a VOAD." (Meaning #4) "LDS Charities is a member of Texas VOAD." (Meaning #2)

Any Voluntary Organization(s) Active in a Disaster (Meaning #5)

Finally, a voluntary organization active in a disaster may include literally any organization, formal group, or informal community coalition that forms for the purpose of disaster response, even if they do not call themselves a "VOAD." For example, a local church at the epicenter of a major disaster or an organization that organizes Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteers, is a VOAD under this definition.

Activation After a Disaster

VOAD chapters (Meaning #2) at all levels begin coordinating and communicating very soon after a disaster, often using conference calls or webinars. A typical call might include reports from state or local emergency managers, the National Weather Service, a roll call of and reports from responding VOADs (Meaning #4). One purpose of this call is to discourage VOADs (Meanings #3, 4 & 5) from "self-deploying," or attempting to assist the community in an uncoordinated manner. While in one sense, VOADs (Meanings #3, 4 & 5) always and only self-deploy (i.e., no other organization has ecclesiastical or operational authority to order another organization to deploy or demobilize), uncoordinated responses cause confusion among first responders, emergency managers, and members of the community. Further, an uncoordinated response can produce inefficient resource deployment and duplication of efforts.

The coordination calls are often daily in the first week or two, then gradually taper in frequency to weekly. In the United States, VOAD organizations (Meanings #4 & 5) often specialize in one or a few activities and services, and typically activate during one primary phase. As the response phase ends and the long-term recovery phase begins, responsibility for ongoing work often shifts to Long Term Recovery Groups/Committees (LTRGs) and Unmet Needs Committees. LTRGs and Unmet Needs committees may be a subcommittee of the local VOAD chapter (Meaning #2) or independent of the VOAD chapter.

References

  1. ^ "Establish a strategic communications/messaging plan that educates stakeholders about, and promotes the visibility and image of, the VOAD movement, National VOAD and the value of supporting Member organizations." 2014-2016 National VOAD Strategic Plan, http://www.nvoad.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/nvoad_strategicplan_double-sided_PRESS-1.pdf (Accessed January 16, 2016), Emphasis Added
  2. ^ "Guided by the core principles of the 4Cs — cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration — National VOAD Members provide the leadership that builds strong, resilient communities and delivers hope in times of need." National VOAD: About Us. http://www.nvoad.org/about-us/ (Accessed January 16, 2016)
  3. ^ Points of Consensus: Disaster Spiritual Care, http://www.nvoad.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2014/04/POC_DisasterSpiritualCare.pdf (Accessed January 16, 2016)
  4. ^ Points of Consensus: Clean Up, Repair and Rebuild, http://www.nvoad.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2014/04/poc_cleanuprepairrebuild_final.pdf (Accessed January 16, 2016)
  5. ^ Points of Consensus: Volunteer Management, https://sdvoad.communityos.org/cms/system/files/POC_Volunteer%20Management%5B2%5D.pdf (Accessed January 16, 2016)
  6. ^ About Mountain West VOAD, http://mountainwestvoad.wix.com/mwvoad#!about-the-mountain-west-voad/c193a (Accessed January 16, 2016)
  7. ^ Mountain West VOAD, http://mountainwestvoad.wix.com/mwvoad (Accessed January 16, 2016)
  8. ^ Tri-State VOAD, http://www.tristatevoad.org/ (Accessed January 16, 2016)
  9. ^ See, e.g., BoCo VOAD Bylaws, http://bocovoad.org/about-us/our-bylaws/ (Accessed January 16, 2016)
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