Playbook Provides New Framework for Corporate Disaster Response

The Council on Foundations, Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP), Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), and Points of Light today announced the release of Navigating Disasters and Crises, a practitioner playbook for corporate responsibility, philanthropy, and community investment programs.

Designed to guide social impact leaders at a time when disaster response has grown more comprehensive and complex, this playbook provides a new framework with five elements:

• Develop a crisis response process: including a PayPal case study on its rapid response team, how to form response committees and criteria, and tips for conducting internal reviews to make sure an organization is prepared for a crisis.
• Assess the crisis: including a Cisco case study on how its response program managed the pandemic and cybersecurity threats, and how to gauge the employee, market, and community impact of a disaster to determine relevance and severity.
• Determine whether the company will respond: including a sample crisis response rubric, how to guide your response committee to a decision, assess the risk of responding, and consider employee and investor requests.
• Plan response actions: including a Home Depot Foundation case study on its holistic approach to internal, external, and partner communications, and how to leverage partnerships for shared responses or pledges, develop a communications plan that considers scale, audience, and message, and determine methods of engagement from statements to product donations.
• Implement the plan and measure results: including a Citi Foundation case study on creating a global approach to crisis response, and how to track the progress of a response, consider whether further investment would benefit communities, determine how long to engage with a crisis, and debrief and improve a response process.

The playbook is based on insights from virtual focus groups, a review of existing online tools and techniques, and conversations with 15 chief sustainability officers, corporate social impact and foundation professionals, and nonprofit leaders.

Free to download, the resource also provides a data overview of disaster giving, defines common types of disasters and crises, and explains the strategy of corporate disaster and crisis management.

About the Council on Foundations

The Council on Foundations is a nonprofit membership association that serves as a guide for philanthropies as they advance the greater good. Building on our 75-year history, the Council supports over 900 member organizations in the United States and around the world to build trust in philanthropy, expand pathways to giving, engage broader perspectives, and co-create solutions that will lead to a better future for all. Learn more about the Council and become a member by visiting www.cof.org. Contact Nicole Bronzan ([email protected]) for media inquiries.

About ACCP

The Association of Corporate Citizenship (ACCP) is the preeminent membership organization advancing the practice of Corporate Social Impact. ACCP increases the effectiveness of Corporate Social Impact professionals and their companies by sharing knowledge, fostering solutions, and cultivating inclusive and supportive peer communities. ACCP amplifies the voices of its practitioner network to elevate strategies that work, provide innovative solutions, and expand impact. Learn more at www.accp.org and contact Jeanne Metzger ([email protected]) for media inquiries.

About CECP

Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose® (CECP) is the only business counsel and network dedicated to driving measurable returns on purpose. We promote responsible purpose-driven business as it increases customer loyalty, builds employee engagement, improves brand trust, attracts top talent, connects with strategic investors, and contributes to the bottom line. For more information, visit cecp.co and contact Katie Leasor ([email protected]) for media inquiries.

About Points of Light

Points of Light is a nonpartisan, global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips, and mobilizes millions of people to take action that changes the world through volunteering and civic engagement. Through work with nonprofits, companies and social impact leaders, the organization galvanizes volunteers to meet critical needs for healthier and more equitable communities. As the world’s largest organization dedicated to increasing volunteer service, Points of Light engages more than 3.8 million volunteers across 32 countries. For more information, visit www.pointsoflight.org and contact Katherine Morales ([email protected]) for media inquiries.