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MN VOAD Minnesota Voluntary Organizations Active in Diasaster

On the web at http://mnvoad.org

Minnesota Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, is the counterpart for the state of Minnesota to National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. MNVOAD works 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. MNVOAD is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HOW TO VOLUNTEER 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 un-utilized 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.

On an on-going basis, MNVOAD holds members’ meetings which provide a forum for participants to share their expertise, express any concerns they may have, receive information on current items of interest and provide suggestions for any improvements to the essential 4 Cs to manage their activities with maximum efficiency.

MNVOAD also works to establish regional COADs (Community Organizations Active In Disaster), build relationships with emergency managers and raise preparedness awareness among the public. MNVOAD offers an annual training seminar and has a speakers bureau.