Critical considerations for leadership teams when preparing for disasters

 Some pointers for funding leaders inspired by the masterclass offered by Amy Carter, Lianne Dalziel & Rose Challies at The Philanthropy Conference 2023.

“Disasters will become a regular part of leader decision-making.”

If you’re a local or regional community grantmaker or philanthropic funder, here are some crunchy questions to kickstart your readiness conversations:

·       How can you empower your entity to act quickly in response? Have a plan and know your simple sign off process, that your trust deed is fit for purpose, and that you have the operational funding security to enable you to play a role in disaster response.

·       Have you planned for office and systems failure? Undertake a disaster simulation exercise to understand the impacts for your operation and the safeguards to put in place.

·       How can you work with partners as well as deploy critical experts/advisers in the response? Have conversations now with these individuals and organisations.

·       Who will lead the philanthropic sector response in your community? Knowing the community is critical, as is the ability to cope with large volumes of donations quickly.  It’s also important to consider which entity has the governance, staff, and suppliers who are trusted by the government and business sectors.  And the lead entity will likely need additional capacity and capability – including in communications and strategic engagement, IT, data processing and receipting, and anti-money laundering.

·       How will you look after your staff whilst empowering them to make decisions? Be aware that the first 72 hours workload is huge and you will be heavily relied upon for support.  There is also the need to provide ongoing trauma and safety support for teams.

“Focus on recovery too, not just response – be there when the others have left.”

·       How can the distribution of funds be community led? Take the time to do it right, and with transparency and trust.