Voluntary Organizations Active In Disaster (VOADs) are associations of organizations that help mitigate and alleviate the impact of local disasters. Regional VOAD groups such as ours promote cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration, to effectively deliver much needed services to communities affected by disaster.
Local and regional VOAD groups combine to form a national VOAD coalition which includes more than 50 of the country's most reputable nationally-known organizations (faith-based, community-based, and others) and 55 state/territory VOADs, representing localities and regions and hundreds of other member organizations throughout the country.
Learn more about National VOAD
Our Mission Statement: The Larimer VOAD (Larimer County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) is a group of recognized local organizations and service providers active in disaster relief.
We foster, through cooperation, more effective service to people in Larimer County affected by disaster. We are dedicated to obtaining, maintaining and distributing support services by establishing a network of communications, and by promoting education to increase awareness, preparedness and response.
Leadership:
- Chair: Josh Greene - Food Bank for Larimer County
- Co-Chair: Lauren Leary - United Way of Larimer County
- Executive Committee:
- Aaron Titus - Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS) / Crisis Cleanup
- Phyllis Kane - Lutheran Family Services
What We Do: VOADs are not service delivery organizations. Instead, they uphold the privilege of members to independently provide relief and recovery services while supporting their efforts to do so by providing a forum where voluntary organizations active in disaster can practice the four Cs.
To eliminate duplication and provide effective resource coordination – money, materials and manpower – in the disaster cycle (mitigation, preparation, response , and recovery), the National VOAD collaborative practices the “4C’s” as guiding principles for how we operate and resolve conflict:
- Cooperation: By this we mean that we need each other; we recognize no single organization has all the answers for all the challenges that arise during disasters. We understand that our common goals for a community can be best achieved by working or acting together with a common purpose. Operationally, “cooperation” recognizes the value of working together on at least one specific delivery of service or event, distinct from the more comprehensive “coordination” principle listed below.
- Communication: We treat fellow members as partners and foster a climate of openness to promote the regular sharing of information about and between our member organizations—their capacities, accomplishments, limitations, and commitments. Members must develop and maintain effective channels for sharing information, listen carefully to each other, and deal openly with concerns.
- Coordination: Member organizations commit to working together, in a non-competitive manner, toward the goal of effective service delivery throughout the disaster cycle. Through careful planning and preparation, National VOAD member organizations form tactical partnerships to work in a coordinated, predictive fashion to more effectively utilize resources to accomplish a set of tasks.
- Collaboration: Member organizations establish shared goals and actively work together to achieve specific goals and undertake specific projects throughout the disaster cycle. We form strategic partnerships throughout the disaster cycle.
Types of Organizations:
- Non-profit / Service Organizations: Local community foundations, charitable non-profits, and national disaster response organizations like the American Red Cross and United Way are key partners in the Larimer VOAD.
- Faith-based Organizations and Houses of Worship: Churches, national, and local faith-based organizations have been some of our most powerful partners in disaster response and recovery. The faith-based communities provide tremendous resources, spiritual care and volunteer management. Our faith-based VOAD members are able to leverage partnerships through national affiliations.
- Government Partners: Local, state, and federal partners are critical partners to the Larimer VOAD. We work closely with Larimer County government, are included in their Emergency Response Plan and considered a support function of the Larimer County Emergency Operations Center, when activated for local emergencies.
- Larimer VOAD Bylaws
Please contact our Chair for more information. To join, please click the link below.
- Chair: Josh Greene - Food Bank for Larimer County
- Co-Chair: Lauren Leary - United Way of Larimer County
Join Larimer VOAD
