Charities’ roles in responding to disasters can vary. National Response Plan

The U.S. government’s National Response Plan provides a single,  comprehensive framework for the federal response to domestic incidents,  such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Following September 11, GAO Reported That More Effective Collaboration Could Enhance Charities’ Contributions in Disasters

Following September 11, GAO reported several lessons learned that could  help charities enhance their response to future disasters. These included  easing access to aid for eligible individuals, enhancing coordination among  charities and between charities and FEMA, increasing attention to public  education, and planning for future events. Following our report, seven of the largest disaster response  charities, in partnership with FEMA, formed the Coordinated Assistance  Network (CAN) to ease collaboration and facilitate data sharing. In addition, state and local emergency preparedness efforts  could explicitly address the role of charities and charitable aid in future  events. Charities Formed National Network to Improve Coordination

GAO recommended that FEMA convene a working group to encourage  charities involved in disaster response to integrate lessons learned from  the September 11 attacks. Charities also experienced problems in  providing services to victims in some hard-to-reach areas. Charities Have Raised More than $2.5 Billion Following the Gulf Coast Hurricanes

Charities have raised more than $2.5 billion in cash donations in response  to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, according to the Center on Philanthropy at  Indiana University. Charities Took Steps to Improve Coordination but Experienced Some Challenges

Charities operating in the Gulf Coast region following the hurricanes  coordinated services through the convening of major national disaster  relief organizations at the American Red Cross headquarters, daily  conference calls organized by National VOAD, and databases established  by CAN. In the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, the American Red Cross  organized a national operations center with representatives from FEMA  and several major national charities, including the Southern Baptist  Convention and the Salvation Army, at its headquarters in Washington,  D.C. Because of the scale of the hurricane disaster and the large response  needed, this was the first time the American Red Cross coordinated this  type of national operations center following a disaster. During these calls, both the federal  government and charities were able to provide information and answer  questions about services provided, needs identified, and the organizations’  abilities to meet these needs. Charities Struggled to Balance Access to Services with Concerns Regarding Safety of Service Providers and Victims

GAO teams that visited the Gulf Coast in October 2005 observed that the  American Red Cross did not provide relief in certain areas because of  safety policies; and thus, other charities, such as the Salvation Army and  smaller charities, often helped to meet the needs of those areas. Although smaller organizations provided needed charitable services in the  Gulf Coast region, some concerns have been raised about the  organizations’ abilities to provide adequate services to victims. GAO’s  ongoing work on the coordination of charitable efforts in response to  Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will examine how these recommendations  have been implemented and how effectively charities coordinated in  response to recent hurricanes.
Why GAO Did This Study

The devastation and dislocation of individuals experienced throughout the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has raised concern about both the charitable sector's and the government's abilities to effectively respond to such disasters. To strengthen future disaster response and recovery operations, the government needs to understand what went right and what went wrong, and to apply these lessons. The National Response Plan outlines the roles of federal agencies and charities in response to national disasters. Recognizing the historically large role of charities in responding to disasters, the plan included charities as signatories and gave them considerable responsibilities. In addition to carrying out the responsibilities outlined in the National Response Plan, charities served as partners to the federal government in providing both immediate and long-term assistance following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. GAO was asked to provide an overview of lessons learned from charities' response to previous disasters as well as preliminary observations about the role of charities following the Gulf Coast hurricanes. As part of our ongoing work, GAO will continue to analyze federal and charitable efforts following the hurricanes.

What GAO Found

Following September 11, 2001, GAO reported lessons learned that could help charities enhance their response to future disasters. These included easing access to aid for eligible individuals, enhancing coordination among charities and between charities and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), increasing attention to public education, and planning for future events. GAO also recommended that FEMA convene a working group of charities to coordinate lessons learned following September 11. Following the GAO report, seven disaster response charities partnering with FEMA formed the Coordinated Assistance Network to improve collaboration and facilitate data sharing. Following the Gulf Coast hurricanes, charities raised more than $2.5 billion dollars, according to Indiana University's Center of Philanthropy, with more than half of these funds going to the American Red Cross. GAO's preliminary work shows that these charities have taken steps to improve coordination of relief efforts by sharing information through daily conference calls and electronic databases. Despite these efforts, charities faced some challenges in coordinating service delivery. For example, some charities reported that their volunteers needed additional training to use the databases. GAO teams that visited the Gulf Coast region in October 2005 observed that in areas where the American Red Cross did not provide services, the Salvation Army and smaller organizations--often local churches--were able to meet many of the charitable needs of hard-to-reach communities. The American Red Cross's efforts to protect service providers may have prohibited it from operating in some of the harder-to-reach areas. Additionally, some concerns were raised about smaller charities' abilities to provide adequate disaster relief services.