In Case of Emergency

Last month, a chamber of commerce building in Iowa suffered severe damage related to the weather. Unfortunately, the organization did not have enough insurance or a disaster plan to prepare for such an emergency and called out for funding assistance to rebuild.

Here were some of the suggestions from chambers around the country:

• Contact chambers affected by Hurricane Katrina for advice on communicating with its members and the surrounding communities
• Work with the state chamber or large metro chamber's foundations to raise "recovery gifts"
• Write an appeal to chambers around the country for assistance
• Customize an appeal to chambers with the same or similar names for peer assistance (the chamber was in Washington, Iowa)
• Contact ACCE for mass communication appeals
• Write a disaster plan!

What are your thoughts? What would your chamber do if, one day, your building is destroyed?