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Experiences Gained: Tracking Volunteer Efforts & Assignments


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engagingvolunteers3_640Volunteers are one of the most versatile and cost-effective resources in disaster response and recovery, however they come with a big caveat – when not managed properly, they can escalate an already dangerous and chaotic situation by overwhelming first-responders and putting themselves and others in danger. The finance and accounting department must take an active role in tracking volunteer efforts and assignments in order to maximize the funding and reimbursement received for utilizing volunteer services.

In 2011, Pulaski County, Virginia, was devastated by two successive tornadoes that ripped through the town and caused severe damage. Volunteers were a key component of the county’s response and recovery efforts, and emergency managers involved came away with a great deal of knowledge on tracking volunteer efforts and assignments to leverage funding and reimbursement.

Strategies for Tracking Volunteer Efforts

To effectively and accurately track and log volunteer efforts throughout response and recovery, IBTS recommends the following strategies:

  1. The finance and accounting department should have a pre-existing plan in place that includes a volunteer tracking template as well as pre-identified potential reimbursement opportunities and their eligibility requirements.
  2. Make sure that staff members are up-to-date on the requirements and specifications for any pre-identified reimbursement opportunities – these are updated frequently and changes can be overlooked by localities.
  3. The volunteer coordinator must keep a log of volunteer efforts throughout the response and recovery process, including volunteer hours, eligible expenses and other data specific to the funding source. These must be logged in real-time during response and recovery to maintain an accurate account. Without this data, localities cannot receive reimbursement from FEMA.

Take the time before disaster strikes to find out what funding opportunities are available in your state.

In “Disaster Related Volunteerism: Best Practices Manual Based on Lessons Learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” Greater Volunteers of America New Orleans notes that tracking requirements, eligible activities and reimbursement schedules can be “too complicated to decipher” during the response and recovery phases. Identifying potential funding sources and knowing their requirements prior to disaster maximizes the funding and reimbursement opportunities post disaster.

FEMA can provide up to 75 percent cost reimbursement for eligible projects once a presidential disaster declaration has been made; state and local entities must then come up with a 25 percent shared cost match. According to a FEMA news release highlighting volunteer impact, donated resources can help localities meet their local match requirements. A community emergency response team (CERT) can also receive funding, which typically comes from the state. The Florida Division of Emergency Management, for example, has a Citizen Corps/CERT Program Subgrant available to local governments.

Volunteers and the Pulaski Tornadoes of 2011

Pulaski, a town of 10,000 located in Pulaski County Virginia, was hit with two tornadoes on April 8, 2011. The larger of the two left a path almost two miles long and 440-yards wide with winds estimated at 125 mph. Combined, the tornadoes damaged more than 400 homes in Pulaski and nearby Draper, and caused an estimated $8 million in damage to residents, devastating the small town.

“It’s very unusual and unexpected to have a tornado in the mountains,” says Neal Turner, Montgomery County emergency services coordinator. “Emergency and disaster response personnel in the area knew very little about tornadoes.”

Bob McDonnell, governor of Virginia at the time, declared a state of emergency on April 9, but FEMA denied the county’s request for assistance. The majority of first-responders were affiliated volunteers from local disaster response organizations, including the Red Cross – who set up an emergency shelter at Pulaski Elementary – and relief workers from Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and local churches.

Unaffiliated, or self-dispatching volunteers, were also onsite ready and willing to help after the disaster.

“Volunteers can be a saving grace in disaster recovery,” Turner says. However, it is important to understand what they can offer beyond good intentions. Self-dispatching volunteers “who come with limited skills and training and no knowledge of risks or hazards can clog up recovery,” says Turner.

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