Business Continuity, Disaster Preparedness, and Organizational Recovery for Nonprofits - Conference Program

February 23, 2006 One Day Conference on Business Continuity, Disaster Preparedness, and Organizational Recovery for Nonprofits   TANO Members may access the actual presentations (audio and PowerPoint) and handouts. 8:30 am - 5:00 pm at ACC Highland Business Center, 5930 Middle Fiskville Road, Austin, TX 78752co-sponsored by the Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations (TANO) & the Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College 8:30 am Registration/ Continental Breakfast 9:00 am Welcome by Dipo Mosadomi & Barry Silverberg, Conference co-Chairs Opening Plenary - Lessons Learned from Louisiana and Hurricane Katrina (Melissa Flournoy, President & CEO, Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations (LANO))  TANO member access 10:15 am Break   10:30 am Concurrent Workshops Role of Intermediaries in Disaster Preparedness & Recovery (Meg Poag, Planner, & Brook Son, Planner, Travis County Health & Human Services & Veterans Services)   Research shows that the most resilient communities are those that cultivate and nourish strong social networks. Intermediaries hold a vantage point that allows them to see these potential networks – the connections that serve to bolster a community’s preparedness for response to disaster situations or other environmental challenges. In this workshop, participants will learn methods for recognizing their roles as intermediaries, developing and sustaining crucial partnerships, and utilizing connections quickly and effectively in times of community crisis. This presentation will examine the core concepts driving the Community Solutions Project – a local effort in Travis County that seeks to empower the community while connecting people, information, and resources for sustainable, broad-level solutions. The core theoretical concepts will be complimented with the practical, tangible methods for strengthening communities through intermediary work.   TANO member access   Ensure Your Data Management System is Prepared for a Crisis (Kathryn Engelhardt-Cronk, CEO & President, Community TechKnowledge, Inc.)   During times of crisis, the ability to access, track and report client and service information is critical. Your information management system needs to be flexible, robust and reliable because your time and energy should be spent helping people, not recovering lost data or manually preparing reports to help understand what is available and to whom. This presentation will provide you with tips and valuable information to ensure your data management system is prepared for any crisis. You’ll learn what to look for in a system, how to evaluate your options, and what to have in place before a crisis so that you can focus on your mission, not your data management system.   TANO member access   11:45 am Break   12:00 Noon Luncheon Plenary: Panel & Roundtable Networking Opportunities - Interfacing with Local Government (Ken D. Neafcy, Emergency Plans Officer, City of Austin Office of Emergency Management)  TANO member access   1:45 pm Concurrent Workshops Engaging Volunteers in Your Time of Greatest Need (Sharon Zambrzycki, Branch Manager, Brazos Valley Branch of American Red Cross) This session will focus on: (1) Organizations must plan for and execute a well thought out spontaneous volunteer management process; (2) Tools and resources that may assist in planning, managing, and accommodating large numbers of spontaneous volunteers; and (3) Making good use of spontaneous volunteers in the aftermath of a disaster or you may find your organizatoins without enough relief workers in the days and weeks that follow.  TANO member access   Establishing Organizational Linkages (Lorel Donaghey, International Consultant most recently working in Southeast Asia on tsunami reconstruction)  TANO member access   3:00 pm Break   3:15 pm Afternoon Plenary - Consequence-Based Planning: A Straightforward Approach to a Complex Problem (Ed Schaefer, Emergency Management Coordinator, Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)) This presentation is specifically designed to aid personnel from organizations of all types in developing a contingency plan for emergencies. No organization is immune from the impact of a serious incident that can prevent it from continuing normal operations. Managers have responsibility to ensure that their organization can recover from such incidents in the minimum amount of time, with minimum disruption and at minimum cost. This requires careful planning. This presentation attempts to make this process far less daunting by presenting a modular, common-sense framework for using existing resources and procedures as the basis for business continuity and emergency response planning. TANO member access   4:15 pm   Break   4:30 pm Closing Plenary - A Call for Credible Action: Really Moving Forward from Here (Barry Silverberg, President & CEO, Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations & Director, Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College)   5:00 pm          Adjourn