The role of the non-governmental organization is to support the government entities in response and relief in many ways during a disaster. The roles of the government entities are more clearly defined in the National Response Framework (NRF) and are guided by policies and laws (Haddow, Bullock, and Coppola, 2014). The partnership of governmental and non-governmental organizations allows for disaster relief efforts to be spread across different organizations and allows each organization to focus on their duties during an incident.

While governmental disaster relief is paid for using tax dollars and federal grants, non-governmental organizations must rely heavily on donations. These donations may come in the form of both monetary and goods. Many non-governmental organizations collect supplies such as toiletries, clothing, and food for disaster relief needs. These organizations can be small local non-government organizations or larger organizations such as the American Red Cross.

Unlike governmental disaster relief assistance, non-governmental organizations are often set up for immediate needs of people for a short term basis. Non-governmental organizations are not trained for pubic safety efforts but relief efforts during an incident. These duties may include providing a short term shelter, food, or even a point of contact during an incident as seen in the American Red Cross (2011) video provided in the Week 8 resources (Haddow, Bullock, and Coppola, 2014).

Non-governmental organizations such as the Red Cross are recognized by the federal government as a key player in disaster relief efforts. In disasters declared by the President, the Red Cross takes on a role working with the federal government to support the temporary housing and care of mass people. The Red Cross often helps with feeding both the disaster relief workers and the people affected by the disaster. The government takes a more long term role in housing after a major disaster through programs such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development. These relief programs are aimed at rebuilding after the incident versus the non-governmental organizations whom provide short term assistance during and/or directly following a disaster (Haddow, Bullock, and Coppola, 2014).

Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2014). Introduction to emergency management (5th ed.). Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

American Red Cross. (2011). Veteran Joplin survivor safe in Red Cross shelter [Video file]. Retrieved from http://newsroom.redcross.org/.