Donated Goods Management

DONATIONS MANAGEMENT

ALEXANDER COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN
Reviewed: Aug. 23, 2011

I.	PURPOSE
	This section of the plan describes the function of managing goods and services that are donated in the event of a major disaster for relief of residents of Alexander County or for the collection of goods donated by the residents of Alexander County to be shipped to victims in other disaster areas
II.	SITUATION AND ASSUMPTIONS
A.		Situation
		1.	Historically, persons not directly affected by a disaster are eager to render aid to disaster victims through donations of money, goods, and services.
		2.	Lack of an organized system of management for the identification, receipt, organization and distribution of donated goods and services will result in confusion and loss of control of donated resources.
		3.	The timely release of information to the public regarding needs of victims and points of contact is essential to management of donated goods and services.
		4.	At the national level, several organizations have established telephone numbers for disaster relief inquires.These organizations include FEMA, the American Red Cross, and the Salvation Army. The State of North Carolina will also establish a telephone line when the situation dictates.
		5.	Suitable facilities, equipment, and personnel are needed for the management of donated goods.
		6.	The coordination of the collection, packaging, and shipment of goods to a disaster area is best accomplished at the county level.
		7.	The distribution of donated goods must be coordinated with the identification of unmet needs.

B.		Assumptions
		1.	Suitable space and equipment will be available to receive, sort and store incoming donated goods and volunteer resources.
		2.	Adequate personnel for donated goods operations will be available.
		3.	Multiple local distribution sites will be able to be made convenient to the affected populations.
		4.	A central reception and distribution site will be established, by the state, away from the disaster area.
		5.	An aggressive public information effort will expedite the distribution of goods to disaster victims as well as limit an influx of unwanted goods.
		6.	Local transportation will be available to ship the donated goods to other disaster locations.
		7.	There will be a surplus of some donated goods that will require disposal.
		8.	Citizens and businesses in the County will elect to donate money and goods to disaster victims elsewhere and will seek guidance on methods of participation.
		9.	Some donors will seek to bypass the distribution system established by the County.
		10.	Charitable and religious organizations will offer their assistance in managing and operating distribution centers.
III.	CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS

	A.	General
		1.	The goal in donations management is to establish an approach whereby goods and services, if they cannot be discouraged, will be directed to a central reception center away from the disaster area where they can be sorted and organized for distribution.
		2.	Prior agreements have been made with volunteer organizations to handle the receipt and distribution of donated goods, specifically the Salvation Army.
		3.	After a disaster, emergency management, along with local officials and private voluntary organizations, must assess as quickly as possible the needs of the impacted area, begin requests for the needed resources and notify the State Emergency Operations Center Common Function for Donation Management.
	B.	Receipt of Donated Goods
		1.	A lead agency will be designated for the reception and distribution of donated goods and services. In Alexander County, the lead agency will be the Salvation Army.
		2.	The magnitude and severity of the disaster will dictate the amount of space and personnel required for the reception and distribution process.
		3.	The lead agency will coordinate with other relief agencies working on the disaster to ensure needs are met without duplication of efforts.
		4.	A central reception and sorting center for donated goods will be established by the county, as needed and separate locations convenient to the affected area(s) of the county can be used as distribution centers.
		5.	Operational personnel will be provided by the Salvation Army, or as necessary, solicited from the Volunteer Coordinator's list of available personnel resources.
		6.	Public information regarding distribution and reception sites, needed goods, volunteers, and other pertinent matters will be coordinated with and by the county public information office.
		7.	Request for needed goods and re-supply of needed goods will be channeled through the state EOC Common Function Donations Management and the state distribution center when it has been established.
		8.	Upon receipt of donated goods they should be sorted and packaged in a manner suitable for distribution.
		9.	Surplus donated goods will be disposed of in a manner consistent with the donor's apparent intent.
		10.	Designated donations.
		a.	A designated donation is an offer of a donation made to and accepted by an organization or a specific donation requested by an organization.
		b.	Inquiries concerning donations for a specified organization will be referred to that organization. The organization accepting/receiving the donation will follow its own policies and procedures for handling the logistics involved.
		c .	Once an offered donation has been accepted, it is a designated donation and belongs to that agency.
		d.	Distribution of a designated donation will be accomplished by the receiving organization's procedures and under various other plans, such as mass feeding or sheltering.
		11.	Unsolicited / undesignated goods.
		a.	Unsolicited/undesignated goods are those donations which have arrived, but have not been requested by an agency.
		b.	Every effort will be made to designate every shipment to a specific agency.
		c.	As a last resort, shipments which are unsolicited and undesignated will be directed to the reception center.
		d.	Unsolicited donations that cannot be directly sent intact to a using organization from the reception center will be unloaded, sorted, classified, and stored as a donation arrives.
		12.	Transportation
		a.	The transportation of goods from the donor to the receiving organization will be the responsibility of the donor. Exceptions to this will be on a case by case basis and only the most desperately needed items.
		b.	Transportation of donated goods from the reception center to the distributions points will be accomplished using local, state, or in some cases, federal resources.
		13.	Voluntary Services
		a.	Persons calling may wish to volunteer their personal time and services.
		b.	The phone bank operators, or others taking inquires from volunteers, will encourage individuals interested in volunteering services to affiliate with a recognized private voluntary organization or other organized group of their choice.
		c.	The local emergency management office and local officials will identify potentially needed volunteers who have specific technical skills.
		d.	Public-Sector volunteers will be registered through the Donations Management lead agency and will be called upon by agencies seeking particular skills.
		e.	The American Red Cross will coordinate the housing and feeding of public volunteers.
IV.	DIRECTION AND CONTROL

A.		The Salvation Army, as designated lead agency, will use various volunteer agencies and will organize and direct donations management activities in Alexander County. Their activities will be coordinated with the Emergency Management Coordinator.
B.		Alexander County Emergency Management will assign a lead agency for direction and control of Donations Management in the event the Salvation Army is unavailable. American Red Cross will provide support.
C.		American Red Cross will assume the duties of donations management in the event Salvation Army is unable to provide sufficient resources for the task. Salvation Army will provide support.

V.	CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT
		The line of succession is:
		1.	Salvation Army
		2.	American Red Cross Emergency Services Director
		3.	Alexander County Emergency Management