Planning for Volunteers and Donations After a Mass Violence Incident
The flood of volunteers and donations that come in immediately after a mass violence tragedy can be overwhelming. Here’s how you can manage them more effectively.
Administrators responsible for the safety and security of schools, institutions of higher education and healthcare facilities must not only try to prevent, respond and mitigate a mass violence incident, but must also plan for how the campus will recover should their organization experience this type of tragedy.
One aspect of recovery is the large number of people who usually want to help, either by volunteering their time and services or giving money or supplies to the recovery effort. Although this generosity is greatly appreciated by the victims and the community, managing the flood of volunteers and donations that come in immediately after a mass violence tragedy can be overwhelming.
In this video, Kathryn H. Floyd, Ph.D., who is a mass violence and terrorism visiting fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, describes the steps campuses and other organizations can take to make the process more manageable.
She discusses what campuses might expect to experience in terms of volunteers and donations after an mass violence incident. Additionally, she explains the difference between credentialed volunteers and spontaneous volunteers, and how campuses can manage them effectively.
Floyd also covers the different types donations and how organizations can combat fraudulent Go Fund Me campaigns.
For additional information and resources on planning for volunteers and donations after a mass violence event, visit www.ovc.gov.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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