How effectively did we respond to 9/11? How can we better prepare our organizations and our sector to play a leadership role in a future disaster? These were the questions posed by The Community Foundation when it convened leaders from the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors in the fall of 2002. Supported by probono assistance from McKinsey & Company, the group worked for a year to draw on the lessons learned from Washington, DC as well as New York City and Oklahoma City. They developed plans for a larger and more coordinated response and launched the Greater Washington Task Force on Nonprofit Emergency Preparedness. The Task Force released two reports, providing recommendations LINK COMING SOON for the Washington region as well as a “blueprint” LINK COMING SOON for communities across the country to use in their planning efforts.

Since 2003, the Task Force has worked to implement the recommendations under the leadership of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. Partnerships have been established with the business sector as well as with the Department of Homeland Security, local governments and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Currently, the Task Force and members of the Nonprofit Roundtable are working with Deloitte on a year-long planning effort to create a strategic plan for the sector on preparedness and long-term recovery.

Link to Learn More

Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington
www.nonprofitroundtable.org

Department of Homeland Security
http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
http://www.mwcog.org/security

About Our Partners

Founding members of the Greater Washington Task Force on Nonprofit Emergency Preparedness were from the following organizations:

• Greater Washington Board of Trade
• Community Foundation of the National Capital Region
• American Red Cross National Chapter
• Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
• Fannie Mae
• Greater DC Cares
• Hill and Knowlton
• McKinsey & Company
• Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
• Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington
• Northern Virginia Family Service
• Salvation Army, National Capital and Virginia Division
• Survivors’ Fund
• United Way of the National Capital Area
• Washington Business Journal
• The Washington Post
• Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers

News and Publications

Building Nonprofit Sector Capacity for Emergency Preparedness in Washington, 2003

Blueprint for Emergency Preparedness by Nonprofits, 2003

In 2005, the Task Force released “Working Together When the Worst Happens: Nonprofit Emergency Preparedness in the National Capital Region. The report describes the progress achieved by the nonprofit sector in strengthening its capacity, and provides tools for leaders and organizations to use in the event of a disaster.

Principles of Transparency for Financial Donations Management

More Resources

Ready.gov
http://www.ready.gov

American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.bt.cdc.gov

For More Information

Kathy A. Whelpley
Chief Operating Officer
(202) 263-4778
kwhelpley@cfncr.org