NVOAD member agencies provide skilled direct services along the continuum from disaster prevention and preparation to response, recovery and mitigation.
The National VOAD was founded in 1970 in response to the challenges many disaster organizations experienced following Hurricane Camille, which hit the Gulf Coast in August, 1969.
Prior to the founding of National VOAD, numerous organizations served
disaster victims independently of one another.
These included both
government and the private, nonprofit sector.
As a result, help came to
the disaster victim haphazardly as various organizations assisted in
specific ways.
Unnecessary duplication of effort often occurred, while
at the same time, other needs were not met.
People who wanted to
volunteer to help their neighbors affected by disaster were often
frustrated by the variety of organizations in some areas of service and
the total lack of opportunities to serve other needs.
Further, there was
only limited availability of training for potential volunteers.
Information for victims on services during disasters was woefully
inadequate.
Likewise, communication among voluntary disaster agencies
was very limited and coordination of services was negligible. In fact,
mechanisms for this were non-existent.
The seven founding organizations met on July 15, 1970 in the American Red Cross
headquarters to establish a unified response to national disasters,
committing to fostering the four C’s (communication, coordination,
collaboration, and cooperation) in order to better serve people impacted
by disasters.
In attendance were the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Southern Baptist Convention, Mennonite Disaster Service, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, the National Disaster Relief Office of the Roman Catholic Church and the American Red Cross.
Annual meetings were held from 1971 onwards, and National VOAD was established in 1975.
National VOAD is a leader and voice for the nonprofit organizations
and volunteers that work in all phases of disaster—preparedness,
response, relief, recovery, and mitigation.
National VOAD is the primary
point of contact for voluntary organization in the National Response Coordination Center (at FEMA headquarters) and is a signatory to the National Response Plan.
In 2010 FEMA and National VOAD signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with each other to broaden the communication and coordination between FEMA and National VOAD’s members.
