Winter 11 - Disaster Planning
Five Things To Do Today
It’s easy to defer disaster planning with thoughts of “it will never happen here.” And when it comes to major disasters like Hurricane Katrina-level storms, you may be right. But it’s the “mini disasters” — server crashes or burst pipes — that can catch nonprofits off guard.
For example, consider the New York City nonprofit that was almost brought to its knees by a leaky pipe. The leak sprouted in an office four floors up. After the flood, employees did what other tenants did — they worked remotely from home. But a week later, the situation turned dire.
The health department found mold contamination during cleanup and denied access to the building. Worse, the power was shut off, disabling the organization’s computer servers. Suddenly, employees could not communicate via e-mail or access any of their critical files. Just like that, the organization was unable to fulfill the mission it was chartered to perform.
Planning for Continuity
If it helps, think of it less as “disaster planning” and more as “business continuity” planning — implementing best practices to ensure your organization survives any type of interruption.
STEP 1: Plan for your people. The confusion following a business interruption can paralyze staff. Make sure key leaders are clearly identified and chains of command are established so everyone knows who has decision-making authority in a crisis situation.
Having an up-to-date call list is invaluable. Make sure it’s readily accessible and contains contact information for all staff, clients and key vendors. Add some redundancy by making the list accessible through multiple channels — in addition to a hard copy, store copies of the list on your PDA, website or other media.
Next, establish functional groups and group leaders to cover key operational areas. Consider assigning tasks by position rather than by individuals to account for employee turnover or unavailability.
In its guide to nonprofit disaster recovery, NPower, a network of nonprofit technology assistance providers, suggests the following functional groups as a minimum:
- Management: This team facilitates communication among other teams, oversees IT recovery and establishes temporary office space. Members: executive director, finance director/manager.
- Systems/Telecommunications Recovery: This team implements IT and telecom recovery, as well as data preservation, security and recovery. Members: network administrator or individual responsible for systems/telecommunications.
- Administrative Support: This team coordinates activities between and among staff regarding communication with clients, vendors and other parties to ensure continuation of operations. Members: operations manager, program director, administrative director.
STEP 2: Back up your data regularly. Organizations with the foresight to perform regular data backup are well ahead of the game when it comes to restoring key functions following an interruption.
Start by prioritizing what is vital to protect, what is important to protect and what is useful to protect. Examples of data you might consider include financial data, key human resources files, custom software, contracts or other legal documents, databases, insurance files and computer system backups (CD-ROMs, tapes, diskettes).
After determining which records are important, select one of these methods for protecting and/or reproducing the information:
- Automatic backup: Your office computer system should be backed up daily and regularly rotated to a data storage provider (either an offsite physical facility or an online provider).
- Onsite/offsite storage: Critical records that need to be accessed regularly can be housed onsite (in fire-resistant safes or cabinets) with a duplicate copy (either a hard copy or scanned to a CD/DVD) secured with an outside record-storage company.
- Offsite storage: Records that are critical but seldom used should be stored offsite. This can range from something as simple as a safe deposit box or an offsite storage provider. It’s also critical to have an alternative location from which to restore lost data, and for you to regularly test your backup system.
STEP 3: Create a plan for resource retrieval. You’ll need more than just files and data to restart operations — think laptops, computer disks and hard drives, ledgers, checkbooks and work in progress.
Also consider that authorities may limit access to your office even after the crisis has passed. Create a list of key resources you would want to retrieve if you were granted just 15 minutes to get them. On your retrieval list, include the name of the item(s), their location, and a ranking in order of their priority/importance.
STEP 4: Make sure you’re really covered. Obviously, your organization should have adequate insurance coverage against potential disasters or business interruptions. However, many nonprofits wrongly assume that a basic policy will cover everything and all situations.
Natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and tornados may not be covered. Likewise, lost data and relocation costs are not always covered.
Review your insurance coverage for restrictions on damages from natural disasters. Then, talk to your insurance broker about securing coverage for incidents most likely to cause business interruption in your area.
STEP 5: Sock away some reserves. Business interruption is expensive. Make sure your organization has an operating reserve — a nest egg that will see you through a really “rainy day.”
Establishing a reserve can be as simple as opening a separate reserve account. But you may want to have your board draft a governing policy that specifies the desired size and rules for use of the reserve, including guidelines for replenishment. Consider these time-tested strategies:
- Budget a surplus each year to go into your operating reserve.
- Put unexpected gifts and windfalls into the reserve.
- Conduct an annual appeal to your membership to build the reserve.
Most donors will perceive the establishment of an emergency reserve as a sign of good planning and long-range thinking on the part of your organization.
The Time is Now
When disaster strikes, nonprofits that are able to reopen sooner help their communities recover more quickly. Take steps now to refine your disaster preparedness and business continuity plans.
Sidebar
Planning ResourcesFederal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Emergency Management Guide for Business & Industry is a step-by-step approach to emergency planning, response and recovery for companies of all sizes. Visit http://fema.gov/business/guide/index.shtm
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health offers a customizable Continuity and Recovery Plan Template specifically designed for nonprofit organizations. Just fill in the blanks and follow the intuitive process. Visit http://lapublichealth.org.
Disaster-Resource.com will help you find information, vendors, organizations and resources to help you prepare for or recover from any type of disaster. Visit http://disaster-resource.com.
Disaster Recovery Journal is a free magazine with resources for business continuity. Visit http://drj.com.