Helping with Cleanup? Your Volunteer Hours Can Count for Your County!
If your nonprofit organization resides in Florida or a close surrounding area, Hurricane Irma most likely affected you in some way. Since massive cleanup must be addressed in the coming weeks and months, there is a desperate need for volunteers.
Thankfully, assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) begins almost immediately once your county is declared a Federal Disaster Area. County governments must match 25% of funds received from FEMA, and volunteer hours count towards the match—saving money (read “your tax dollars”) for your county to use for other critical needs.
If you or your nonprofit offers support to those who fell victim to this disaster, make your volunteer hours count towards the match by considering the following criteria:
- All volunteer hours spent preparing for and recovering from Hurricane Irma must be tracked, recorded and reported to your county Emergency Management Center including:
- Your name;
- Date(s) of volunteer services;
- Number of hours worked;
- Description of tasks completed;
- Address of location requiring aid.
- All pre-and post-storm volunteer hours count including:
- Sandbagging and/or boarding homes or businesses;
- Emergency shelter assistance;
- Donation of equipment and materials;
- Distribution of food and water;
- Debris removal;
- Home or office clean-up and repairs;
- Calls made to check on parishioners.
Documentation guidelines don’t require volunteers to sign in while volunteering and the report may be created post-event. Documentation worksheets and contact information for your Emergency Management Center may be found on your county’s website.
While we work together to make our communities whole again, we salute our noble community volunteers and pray for all those struggling during the aftermath of both hurricanes Irma and Harvey.
For additional disaster relief tax and financial management guidance, Online Stewardship Accounting & Consulting Services is here to help. Contact Lynn@OnlineStewardship.com or 904 398-4747.
