Be Prepared for the Inevitable Storms

This week, I was without power for a while and carefully eyeing some tall pine trees that were swaying way too much for my comfort.

Being without power and having meetings cancelled was a minor inconvenience, especially with the widespread loss of property and even life because of storms during this hurricane season.

I must confess, had I encountered damage or a more prolonged loss of electricity, I probably was not prepared on a number of levels.

How is your nonprofit prepared for the unexpected? Here are a few things to consider:

• Do you have cross-training in critical functions like gift-processing, so that if someone is out of commission donors can still have a good experience and you can get the data you need?
• Is there staff-succession planning, so that if a staff member leaves suddenly, you have a plan to replace them as seamlessly as possible? This would include your CEO, as well as the chief development officer and team.
• Do you have a volunteer structure where there are appropriate officers and committee structure and policies in place, so if there is a board leadership vacancy, you can move quickly? If you have campaign volunteers—campaign chairs for the annual campaign or event chairs for major events—is there a vice chair or chair-elect who is training to take over?
• Do you have lists and control over all passwords for computers, access to files and records and phones?
• Are there detailed calendars for all projects?

Be prepared for the unexpected. With the right systems and plans, your nonprofit can weather the inevitable storms.