MNVOAD History

Mission: The purpose of Minnesota Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, is to be the counterpart for the state of Minnesota to National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. The objectives of MNVOAD shall be to foster more effective service to people who have been, or may be in the future, affected by disaster through communication, coordination, cooperation, collaboration, convening mechanisms and outreach.

National VOAD History

                      Hurricane Katrina MN State Assistance Center

       211 and The Red Cross            The Red Cross & The Salvation Army

NECHAMA Helps After a Tornado MN/WI Baptists Provide Childcare

Activities: During times of disaster, MNVOAD member organizations independently provide a variety of relief and recovery services to victims. MNVOAD facilitates improved service delivery by fostering cooperation, coordination, communication and collaboration (the 4 Cs) between voluntary agencies, government and the greater community.

During disasters, MNVOAD facilitates routine conference calls, which assist in interagency communication and efficient resource allocation. Additionally, it helps to identify unmet needs and locate available unutilized resources. These services help to ensure best practices, thereby saving organizations money by reducing duplicative services, lost time and productivity and can also reduce response time to meet victims basic needs.

In addition to services provided during times of disaster, MNVOAD holds bi-monthly members’ meetings which provide a forum for participants to share experiences of their respective activities, express any concerns they may have, receive information on current items of interest that may involve their activities, and provide suggestions for any improvements to the essential 4 Cs to manage their activities with maximum efficiency.