Community-Based Organizations Preparing for Emergency Needs (OPEN)

The OPEN training provides an overview of the 10 preparedness actions and creates a path forward for organizations to develop their own disaster response plan.

OPEN includes both a web-based, self-guided training, and a downloadable instructor kit that will guide participants on how to identify risks, locate resources, and take preparedness actions. When Community-Based Organizations, such as food pantries, daycares, and non-profits, are unable to sustain operations during an emergency incident, individuals who rely on them are exponentially impacted. Because of their importance in keeping the community going, OPEN is designed to empower these organizations to better prepare for incidents.

Check links below to find out more about risks CBO faces:

Preparedness Planning for Your Business

Businesses and their staff face a variety of hazards:

Natural hazards like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes.
Health hazards such as widespread and serious illnesses like the flu.
Human-caused hazards including accidents and acts of violence.
Technology-related hazards like power outages and equipment failure.

There is much that a business leader can do to prepare his or her organization for the most likely hazards. The Ready Business program helps business leaders make a preparedness plan to get ready for these hazards.

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Ready Business Toolkits

The Ready Business Toolkit series includes hazard-specific versions for earthquake, hurricane, inland flooding, power outage, and severe wind/tornado. Toolkits offer business leaders a step-by-step guide to build preparedness within an organization. Each toolkit contains the following sections:

Identify Your Risk
Develop A Plan
Take Action
Be Recognized and Inspire Others

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Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s (IBHS) Stay Open For Business Toolkit

IBHS’ original business continuity program is called Open for Business®, or OFB. The new program, OFB-EZ®, is designed to be simple to use, administer and implement. With OFB-EZ, you can follow the same disaster planning and recovery processes used by larger companies – but without a large company budget. OFB-EZ is user-friendly and does not require any previous experience with or knowledge of business continuity planning.

This toolkit will help you:

1. identify the business activities that are essential for continued operation during a disruption;

2. deal with risks your organization faces; and

3. create an easy-to-use recovery plan tailored to your business, giving you confidence if the worst occurs.

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Small Business Administration - Disaster assistance

Who can apply for Disaster assistance?

Businesses of all sizes located in declared disaster areas, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners, and renters affected by declared disaster, including civil unrest and natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, etc.

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National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

The NFIP provides flood insurance to property owners, renters and businesses, and having this coverage helps them recover faster when floodwaters recede. The NFIP works with communities required to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations that help mitigate flooding effects.

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FEMA Flood Map Service Center

The FEMA Flood Map Service Center (MSC) is the official public source for flood hazard information produced in support of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Use the MSC to find your official flood map, access a range of other flood hazard products, and take advantage of tools for better understanding flood risk.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY

Business Continuity Planning

When business is disrupted, it can cost money. Lost revenues plus extra expenses means reduced profits. Insurance does not cover all costs and cannot replace customers that defect to the competition. A business continuity plan to continue business is essential. Development of a business continuity plan includes four steps:

Conduct a business impact analysis to identify time-sensitive or critical business functions and processes and the resources that support them.
Identify, document, and implement to recover critical business functions and processes.
Organize a business continuity team and compile a business continuity plan to manage a business disruption.
Conduct training for the business continuity team and testing and exercises to evaluate recovery strategies and the plan.

Information technology (IT) includes many components such as networks, servers, desktop and laptop computers and wireless devices. The ability to run both office productivity and enterprise software is critical. Therefore, recovery strategies for information technology should be developed so technology can be restored in time to meet the needs of the business. Manual workarounds should be part of the IT plan so business can continue while computer systems are being restored.

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Resources for Business Continuity Planning

Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs - National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600
Professional Practices for Business Continuity Professionals - DRI International (non-profit business continuity education and certification body)
Continuity Guidance Circular - Federal Emergency Management Agency
Open for Business® Toolkit - Institute for Business & Home Safety

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