DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES

FOR
ESF # 6 DONATIONS
UTTAR PRADESH

SUBMIITED TO
UTTAR PRADESH ACADEMY OF ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT
SECTOR-D, ALIGANJ, LUCKNOW

DRAFT

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Preface

Emergency management operations necessarily consist of many diverse processes. These

processes are broadly classified based on the nature of the essential functions they help
perform. The HPC on Disaster Management has envisioned 14 different functions that
support any emergency management operations and has called them Emergency Support
Functions (ESF). This document presents the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
relating to ESF 5 Donations.

A SOP is a set of instructions, covering those features of the ESF that can be standardized
without loss of effectiveness. SOPs are detailed written instructions on step to take and
decisions to make at different stages in carrying out a task, creating a procedural
infrastructure to ensure consistent. If SOPs are correctly drawn this consistency assures
on quality and compliance issues.

For developing the SOPs for any function one function one needs to understand all
activities forming parts of that function; how those activities are undertaken; and by
whom. Those who undertake the activities are the functionaries who will be using the
SOP. Their input on how the job should be performed give an essential perspective as it
also incorporates the confines of the regulatory environment.

These SOPs have been developed after interacting with the agencies that play significant
roles in this ESF, taking into account the relevant provisions of the Disaster Management
Act; guidelines and executive instructions on the subject issued by different organs of the
government, and the resources available for carrying out the ESF. We have also drawn
from the best practices in DRM followed across the globe.

The SOPs start with the key objective of the ESF, identify the essential functions required
to achieve that objective and lay down the operational guidelines for carrying out the ESF
before spelling out the procedures for all agencies involved in the ESF.

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Executive Summary

Donations play an important role in emergency management as they often are of critical
help in providing immediate relief. Reports of human sufferings move people to make
donations. ESF Donations is essentially about coordinating the responders’ and donor’s
efforts. Its key functions are:

a. Minimise the mismatch between the donations needed and donations received
b. Receive and store (stage) donations and direct their movements
c. Screen the offers of voluntary services and get their best use
d. Dispose unutilized donations

The Primary Agency for ESF Donation is the Department of Revenue (Scarcity) headed
by Relief Commissioner. The Support Agencies mentioned in UPAAM’s aforesaid letter
are: Banks, Financial institution, Corporate sector, and Funding Agencies. Theses
agencies often come forward with financial donations in times of disaster. However
support agencies are also needed for assisting the primary agency in other areas.
Considering all three kinds of donation – cash, kind, voluntary service offer – the
following agencies need to be added to the list of support agencies: Commercial Taxes
department (for ensuring that in-kind donations do not attract State taxes at the point of
entry), Transport department, Police, BSNL, Voluntary Agencies, Pollution Control
Board (guidance in disposal of unused donations that need to be disposed off), Urban
Local Bodies and ESF 13 Media. The role of all the support agencies are briefly
described in Chapter 4: Concept of Operations.

Modern society encourages the natural human instinct of extending a helping hand to
those in need by treating certain types of donations as deductible expenses for estimating
taxable income. The increasing importance attached to corporates’ social responsibilities
has given a further boost to donations pouring during disasters.

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In India individual donations often take from of donation one day’s salary towards
meeting the response expenses. Many charitable institutions in India donate cash from
their own sources and also raise funds from public. Many others come up with offers in
kind-tents, plastic sheets, food items, clothing, medicines and offer of voluntary service.
Cash is remitted to the relief funds and in-kind donations are usually sent to the Relief
Commissioner of the State affected by calamity. Relief Commissioner’s office directs the
goods / articles to the affected district for their use in response operations,

An important dimension of the donations environment is that the State does not seek
donations, though accepts donations made by well meaning- individuals or organizations.
Often during disaster management many non-State agencies (for instance Red Cross)
mange diverse operations. Such non-State agencies may seek donations of specific
articles / goods / equipment, which may be offered by donors. ESF Donations provides
the coordination needed between the donor community and non-State responders.

Foreign aid is intricately linked to foreign policy. Therefore, any offer of donations from
foreign countries, if received directly at the State level, must be referred to the Central
Government who will take a view after weighing foreign policy implications.

Finally, donations are best used for needs unmet from State’s resources. The need for
donated goods and services arises from needs that are not covered in the State’s
assessments. Voluntary agencies working in the disaster area are best suited to conduct
the donations needs assessment, with assistance of local government officials.

ESF Donations will undertake the following activities

1. Assessing the donation needs: Donations needs assessment will be conducted jointly
by local emergency managers and voluntary agencies’ representatives. ESF 5 will track
the changing needs.

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2. Attending to the enquiries of the donor community: ESF 5 will deploy a tem (size
depending on the level / extent of emergency) to attend to donors’ enquiries. A toll free
phone or in major disasters a series of phones (phone bank) may be needed installed to
answer donation related queries. A page may be added to State web site to record
donations.

3. Receiving and staging in-kind donations: At present in-kind donations arriving at State
capital are diverted to the affected district(s). in major disasters ESF 5 may set up a
central facility may be needed to receive, do quality checks, accept, store and send to the
districts based on their need.

4. Distribution of in-kind donations: ESF 5 will need to transport donations to other

reception centres or to the sites of operations by coordinating with ESF Transport. At
times, transportation may even require protection against possible looting. Distribution
also requires coordination with all emergency managers and prioritization of requests.

5. Helping a voluntary agency (emergency responder) in seeking donations: though State

will not seek donations but ESF 5 will its network with donor community and will also
coordinate with ESF 13 Media in seeking the donations required by any voluntary
agencies engaged in operations.

6. Disposal of unutilized donations: Some unutilized in-kind donations will definitely be

left requiring to be disposed off correctly. The Material Handling Section at Reception
Centre will also undertake this activity.

7. Screening volunteers and assigning them to sites: Voluntary services provide a great
support to the response managers. But all spontaneous unsolicited offers of voluntary
service cannot assigning them to sites after issuing IDs.

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8. Coordination among the Voluntary Agencies: Coordination is required in selecting the

VAs, accepting their volunteers, taking their help in assessing donation needs and finally
in meeting those donations needs. Considering the importance of this activity and also as
most of the L0 processes relate to this activity, ESF 5 will have a dedicated Donations
Coordination Team with its own team leader.
Organisational Structure of ESF 5:

ESF 5 Donations
Head: State Donations Coordinator

Donation Coordination Team Head: Donation Coordination Team Leader

Will double as Needs Group (Second in command in ESF 5)

Phone Bank Headed by Phone Bank Manager

Team and manager - all from VAs

Reception Centre
(Headquarters of ESF 5)

Cash Material Accounts Volunteers

Section Handling Section and Records Section

The Head of ESF 5 is designated State Donation Coordinator (SDC). SDC and Donations
Coordination Team Leader- the second in command will be drawn from the Revenue
(Scarcity) Department. All other positions shall be filled with volunteers affiliated at 23,
as under:

Activity Persons No of Total

per shift shifts requirement
Security check post at Reception Centre : 2 3 6
Cash section cum enquiry : 1 1 1
Material handling section : 4 3 12
Phone Bank section : 6 1 6
Accounts & Records : 1 2 2
Volunteers section : 2 2 4
Needs Group : 2 1 2

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Table of contents
Page
List of Abbreviation 1
1. Introduction 2
a. About this document 2
b. SOPs for ESFs 3
c. ESF # 5: Donation 5
d. Primary Agency 6
e. Support Agencies 6
2. Donations Environment 8
3. Objectives and Scope 12
a. Objectives 12
b. Scope 12
4. Concept of Operations and Planning Assumptions 14
a. Actives of Donations Needs 14
i Assessing the Donations Need 14
ii Attending Donors Enquiries 15
iii Receiving & Staging in-kind Donating 15
iv Distribution of in kind Donations 15
v Helping a Voluntary Agency in seeking donation 16
vi Disposal of unutilised donation 16
vii Screening volunteers and assigning them to sites 17
viii Coordination among the Voluntary Agencies 17
b. Organizational Structure of ESF 5 18
c. Personnel requirements 19
d. Planning Assumptions 20
5. The Procedures 22
a. Procedures for Preparedness (L0) 22
i Creating the ESF Donations Team 22
ii Creating the infrastructure required for the ESF Donations 23
iii Ensuring the Communications Infrastructure 24

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iv Training & Mock Drills 24

v Partnerships for Other Resources 25
b. 1.2 / 1.3 Procedure 26
i Warning Phase 26
Primary Agency 26
Support agencies 27
ii Impact Phase 27
1. Roles and Responsibilities of the SDC 27
2. Checklist for DCTL 28
3. Donations Coordination Team 30
4. Reception Centre 31
-Phone Bank 31
-Account & Records Group 32
-Needs Group 33
c Detailed Procedures 33
i Procedures for Handling Donation calls 33
ii Procedure for Phone Operations 33
iii Procedure for Handling Offers Of Cash Donation 37
iv Procedure for Handling in-kind Donations 37
v Procedure for Responding to Offers of Volunteer 37

Services.

Vi Guiding Persons Seeking Disaster Assistance 38

6 Annexures
1 Agreement with VAs 43
2 Draft notice for release by ESF Media 44
3 Suggested Procedure for Quality Check of in-kind Donations 45
4 Required Details of Accepted Volunteers

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List of abbreviations

CMRF Chief Minister’s Relief Fund

CSO Civil Society Organisations
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
DCT Donations Coordination Team
DCTL Donations Coordination Team Leader
DDC District Donations Coordinator
DM District magistrate
DMA Disaster Management Act
DMP Disaster Management Plan
DRM Disaster Risk Management
DRMP Disaster Risk Management Project
EOC Emergency Operations Centre
ESF Emergency Support Function
GoI Government of India
HPC High Powered Committee
MHA Ministry of Home Affairs
NCCM National Centre for Calamity Management
NGO Non Governmental Organisations
NIDM National Centre for Calamity Management
PMRF Prime Minister’s Relief Fund
PSU Public Sector Undertaking
SDC State Donations Coordinator
SOP Standardised Operating Procedures
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UPAAM UP Academy for Administration and Management
VA Voluntary Agency

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Chapter 1: Introduction

1.a About this Document

This document, laying down the SOPs for ESF Donations has been prepared as a
deliverable, vide, UPAAM letter no 258 dated the 22nd May 2009. The basic inputs
for the document are the HPC Report, the provisions of the Disaster Management
Act; guidelines & executive instructions on the subject issued by MHA, Relief Code
and other such instructions issued by GoI or GoUP, existing systems / mechanisms
and instruments for DRM. The SOPs take into account the historical backdrop of
the role of private donations in disaster management and the existing governance
structures. It has also drawn inputs from the generic SOPs prepared by NIDM.

This document lays down operational guidelines so as to provide comprehensive

inputs for the ESF; depicts intra-departmental layers & organic links for
coordination, both vertical & horizontal interaction; shows inter-departmental
coordination between concerned line departments; provides stage-wise activity flow
(vertical and horizontal –simultaneous & sequential); identifies triggers that would
set off chain of activities of agencies / players concerned; enunciates agency-wise
obligations; gives a checklist of activities for pre (prevention/surveillance / warning
/ mitigation), during (rescue & relief) and post-Disaster (rehabilitation &
resettlement) Action Plan; and also gives such references as would be required for
carrying out the procedures.

It has been prepared by interacting with all the departments/agencies that have a
role in this ESF; reviewing various existing SOPs; understanding the current
operating procedures and practices and discussions with Academy staff and
functionaries of GoI-UNDP project on DRMP in UP.

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1.b Standard Operating Procedures for Emergency Support Functions

The first articulation of Emergency Support Function (ESF) in India, as of many
other concepts related to disaster management, was made by the HPC constituted
by GoI with Shri J C Pant as Chair. HPC has observed that managing an emergency
situation requires accomplishing diverse tasks simultaneously and identified 14 ESFs
to accomplish these tasks while responding to an emergency situation. HPC
envisaged that in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster (emergency situation),
the EOC / NCCM would take stock of the situation and identify requirements and
mobilise and deploy resources to the affected area to assist the State in its response
actions under the fourteen ESFs.

One agency, based on its authorities, resources and capabilities, HPC envisaged,
would be designated as the primary agency for one ESF. This agency in Centre
would coordinate directly with its functional counterpart State agency to provide the
assistance required by State. The designated primary agency would be supported by
one or more support agencies (secondary agencies). Primary agency would be
responsible for managing the activities falling under its ESF and would ensure that
the mission is accomplished. The primary and support agencies would have the authority to
execute response operations to directly support the state needs. HPC, however, did
not identify the primary agencies for each ESF, it did name though the ESF’s and
listed some responsible agencies.

S40 of the Disaster Management Act stipulates that the DMP of every department of
State Government shall lay down, inter alia, “the roles and responsibilities of the
department of the State in the event of any threatening disaster situation or disaster
and emergency support function it is required to perform” as also the “present status
of its preparedness to perform such roles or responsibilities or emergency support
function”.

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The Status Report on Disaster Management in India, released by MHA in Aug 2004,
has observed (para 4.10): “It is seen that the relevant departments start constituting
teams/mobilizing resources only after the crisis/disaster has struck, leading to delays.
The relevant departments/agencies have been asked to draw up Emergency Support
Function (ESF) Plans and constitute response teams and designate resources in
advance so that response is not delayed. Ministries/ Departments have drawn up
their ESF Plans and communicated it to MHA. States have also been asked to take
similar steps. Similarly States have been advised to finalize pre-contract/agreement
for all disaster relief items so as to avoid delays in procuring relief items after disaster
situations.”

At another place the Status Report describes the objectives of Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP) as “making the concerned persons understand their duties and
responsibilities regarding disaster management at all levels”. It prescribes that all
departments and agencies shall prepare their own action plans in respect of their
responsibilities, under the standard operating procedures for efficient
implementation.

It appears that SOP mentioned in the Status Report is general SOP and not SOP for
ESF, which seems to have been referred to as ESF Plans. This document lays down
SOPs for an ESF, as required by UPAAM. The SOP’s of a department / agency will
thus constitute a list of processes to be undertaken to fulfill that department /
agency’s ESF.

Since this document describes suggested standard operating procedures, it is useful

to underline the relationship between processes, functions and procedures. Processes
are a group of related activities performed to produce an end result. Functions are
performed on a continual basis, an emergency support function, thus, will be
performed till the emergency situation persists. Processes, on the other hand, have a
specific beginning and an end point marked by the delivery of a desired output.
Related processes, in proper sequence constitute procedure. A procedure is designed to deliver
the

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objective of a function. To lay down SOPs for an ESF first the objectives of that
ESF need to be articulated and the processes are then designed to deliver those
objectives.
1.c ESF 5 : Donations
Donations play an important role in emergency management. Donations often are of
critical help in providing immediate relief to victims The responders may not have all
required resources with them and may be forced to seek donations. On the other
hand reports of human sufferings naturally move many people to contribute to
ameliorate the victims’ conditions. Thus, during emergency management there are
requests for donations, there also are arrivals of donations and quite often the two do
not exactly match. It has been seen that this mismatch can be minimized by effective
coordination between responders and donors. This is a key function of ESF 6.
Further, as the donors are not usually aware of the locations where the donations
may be required, another key function is to coordinate the movement of donated
articles / goods to the sites where they can be best used.

Donations can come in the form of cash or kind. In-kind donations can be goods /
articles or offers of voluntary service. Co-opting volunteers to work at sites is a
sensitive task. It involves judgment on the potential volunteer’s usefulness – his/her
skill, need of that skill and finally it also entails taking a call on his / her moral
uprightness as regions / people affected by disasters are vulnerable to pillage, looting
and worse.
Thus, ESF Donations is essentially about coordinating the responders’ and donor’s
efforts. Its key functions as described above are:
a. Minimise the mismatch between the donations needed and donations
received
b. Receive and store (stage) donations and direct their movements
c. Screen the offers of voluntary services and get their best use
d. Dispose unutilized donations
e. Record keeping

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1.d Primary Agency

The Primary Agency identified for ESF Donations is the Department of Revenue
(Scarcity) headed by Relief Commissioner. Its functions / authorities, resources and
capabilities make it the most appropriate for the responsibility of the primary agency.
Relief Commissioner’s office provides the relief assistance to districts for distribution
among people affected by disasters. It follows the relief standards decided for this
purpose and distributes resources to the districts on the basis of reports received
from them.

1.e Support Agencies

The Support Agencies mentioned in UPAAM’s aforesaid letter are:
 Banks,
 Financial institutions,
 Corporate sector, and
 Funding Agencies
These agencies often come forward with financial donations in times of disaster.
However support agencies are required for assisting the primary agency in many
other areas. A lot of donations are received in kind i.e. goods / articles / equipment.
The above noted agencies may not be of much help to the PA in sorting, organizing,
transporting and distributing the donations. Many voluntary service organizations
(and many individuals too) make offers of voluntary service in emergency
management. Considering all three kinds of donations the following agencies need to
be recognized as playing substantial roles in assisting the PA in ESF 5 and added to
the list of support agencies:

 Commercial Taxes department

 Transport department

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 Police
 BSNL
 Voluntary Agencies
 Pollution Control Board
 Urban Local Bodies
 ESF 13 Media

The roles of all the support agencies are briefly described in Chapter 4: Concept of
Operations.

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Chapter 2: The Donations Environment

Lending a helping hand to people in distress is a natural instinct. Making donations

in times of disasters is a manifestation of that instinct. This is further encouraged by
tax laws. In almost all jurisdictions cash donations made to non-profit tax exempt
organizations are tax deductible (either full or partly) on the tax returns of individuals
or corporates. Recently, the increasing importance attached to corporates’ social
responsibilities has given a further boost to donations pouring during disasters.

As would be expected, the quality and quantity of donations reflect the economic
conditions of the community making donations. In India individual donations often
take form of donating one day’s salary towards meeting the response expenses. The
amount collected from the employees is often matched by an equal amount (or
more) by the employer firm and the money is usually sent to the PMRF or the
CMRF of the affected State. Many charitable institutions in India donate cash from
their own sources and also form funds raised from public. Other such organizations
often come up with offers in kind – tents, plastic sheets, food items, clothing,
medicines and offer of voluntary service. Members of public make donations to
these charitable organizations in cash or often in kind.

Donations

Cash Informal

Good / Articles / Offers of Voluntary

Equipment Services

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Cash is remitted to the relief funds and in-kind donations are usually sent to the
Relief Commissioner of the State affected by calamity. Relief Commissioner’s office
directs the goods / articles to the affected district for their use in response
operations.

At district level the government does not maintain any account of cash donations
received. Such donations are referred to the CMRF. This is in contrast to a practice
encouraged earlier whereby “the District Officers” were instructed to park cash
donations received during any natural calamity in treasuries in a personal ledger
account named Natural Calamity Relief Fund. The following paragraphs are quoted
from Chapter III of the Relief Code of the State:

“(27) Natural Calamities Relief Fund- Natural Calamities Relief Fund

should be opened in each district not only for the purpose of providing relief
during the times of floods but for relief of distress of a fire or other natural
calamities. Only voluntary subscriptions received from the public for relief
work in the districts are credited to the fund. The amount sanctioned by
Government for gratuitous relief from State revenues however will not be
credited to the fund. The District Officers may receive local donations for
such relief work and keep them in “Personal Ledger Account” in the
Treasury in the name of “Natural Calamities Relief Fund” and utilize the
same on relief works in the district. Withdrawals from the fund can be made
by the District Officers, if and when necessary, by means of cheque on the
treasuries. The audit of this Personal Ledger Account will be done by the
staff of the Examiner, Local Fund Accounts.

“(2) The District Officer may also form a small Standing Committee in the
district consisting of local MLAs, representatives of voluntary relief

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organizations and important local workers to advise on incurring expenditure

out of the Natural Calamities Relief Fund.

“(3) A quarterly report should be sent to the Government giving the

following information:
(a) Closing balance at the beginning of the last quarter
(b) Total contributions received during the last quarter
(c) Amount spent during the three months
(d) Balance at the credit of the fund.”

Such a mechanism to park and use donations received at district level offers some
obvious benefits and its reintroduction (if the instructions have since been
withdrawn) or revival (if the instructions have merely fallen out of use over the years)
should be considered.

Another important dimension of the donations environment is that the State does not
seek donations. Government of India is capable of meeting all resources required for
disaster response and GoI expressly prohibits seeking of donations. This however
precludes acceptance of donations made by well meaning persons – individuals or
organizations. Thus State, though never actively canvassing for donations, is free to
accept donations coming voluntarily.

Often during disaster management many non-State agencies (for instance Red Cross
or CSR wings of large corporates / PSUs) manage diverse operations. These (non-
State) agencies engaged in response operations may seek donations of specific articles
/ goods / equipment. Such resources may be offered by donors. This calls for close
coordination between the donor community and responders. ESF Donation
provides this coordination.

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It is useful to distinguish between received in donations received in response to

requests for specific donations made by some non-State agency engaged in
emergency operations and donations that are not in response to any appeal. The
former type is called designated donations. All other donations not meant for any
specific emergency managing agency’s use are called undesignated donations.

Donations may at times come from other countries i.e. not from voluntary agencies
located in foreign countries but from foreign governments. As foreign aid is an
important instrument of the foreign policy of any sovereign state, making and
receiving such donations are intricately linked with the diplomatic relationship
between the two countries. Any such offer, if received directly at the State level,
must be referred to the Central Government who will take a view after weighing
foreign policy implications.

Finally, donations are best used for needs unmet from State’s resources. Needs may
remain unmet (from State’s resources) because of the procedural reasons or because
of the priorities decided by State in response efforts. Here donations have the most
effective role to play. This raises the importance of the Donations Needs Assessment.
Donations Needs Assessment is not to be confused with any preliminary damage
assessment conducted for purposes of determining the level of governmental assistance
needed within the affected area. State’s Emergency Management officials identify
immediate life saving operations, infrastructure damage, mass feeding, etc. The need for
donated goods and services is needs that are not covered in the aforesaid assessments.
Voluntary agencies working in the disaster area are best suited to conduct the donations
needs assessment, with assistance of local government officials.

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Chapter 3: Objectives and Scope

3.a Objectives
A standard operating procedure is a set of instructions having the force of a
directive, covering those features of operations that lend themselves to a definite or standardized
procedure without loss of effectiveness. SOPs improve performance and organizational
results. Typically they are detailed written instructions on chronological steps to take
and decisions to make in carrying out a task or function. Thus the fundamental
objective of SOPs is to achieve uniformity of the performance of a specific function.
By documenting the way activities are to be performed to facilitate consistent
conformance SOPs control a process to obtain a desired pre-determined outcome.

The objective of this document is to provide a complete reference detailing the

procedures for performing a single function. It creates a procedural infrastructure to
ensure consistent performance. The consistency ensures that each time the activity is
undertaken the organisation can be certain of performance as also of legal issues.

These SOPs support the operation, organization, and tasks related to collection,
processing and dissemination of public information in case of emergency situation
caused by any disaster in State of Uttar Pradesh. These will ensure an accurate
information flow from the emergency site to the news media and while conveying all
that is required fro smooth running of DRM operations, these will eliminate faulty,
inappropriate information from being relayed.

3.b Scope
These SOPs are intended for the Primary Agency and all Support Agencies named in
this document. The SOPs are permanent in nature i.e. they will remain always
operational. Any particular section would get activated when the situation covered by
that section arises, and would get deactivated when the situation ceases to be so. The

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SOPs are extensive, in as much as they cover all conceivable contingencies. At the
same time they are precise seeking performance of specific activities. Nevertheless,
these SOPs do not preclude the Primary Agency or Support Agencies from
undertaking any other activity that may relate to this ESF but are not covered under
the SOPs.

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Chapter 4: Concept of Operations & Planning Assumptions

4.a Activities of ESF Donations

ESF Donations will undertake the following activities
1. Assessing the donation needs
2. Attending to the enquiries of the donor community
3. Receiving and staging in-kind donations
4. Distribution of in-kind donations
5. Helping a voluntary agency (emergency responder) in seeking donations
6. Disposal of unutilized donations
7. Screening volunteers and assigning sites
8. Coordination among the voluntary agencies

4.a.i. Assessing the donation needs

The conduct of a Needs Assessment is essential to the efficient management of
donated goods and services. Donations needs assessment must be conducted
separately from any other assessments to determine the extent of damage resulting
from the disaster. It is best conducted with the assistance of one or more local
emergency management representatives, local Volunteer Coordinator(s), if available
and voluntary agencies’ representatives, seeking input from all to determine what is
needed and what is NOT needed. This input is helpful in preventing unneeded
donations and spontaneous volunteers arriving at the disaster area and should be
well publicized through EFS 13 – Media.

The needs list will keep on changing during emergency management. Some needs
will be met and some new ones will arise. ESF 6 will have a Needs Group, which
will be responsible for tracking and identifying the unmet need for goods, services
and/or volunteers and to conduct surveys, when appropriate, to ascertain unmet
needs. This

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Group will refer the identified unmet needs to the ESF 6 Headquarters for
evaluation and follow through.

4.a.ii Attending to the enquiries of the donor community

Whether donations are accepted or not, a donor’s enquiry must be met with grace
and promptness. The on rush of enquiries will depend on the level of emergency and
extent of affected area. Depending on these two factors a team will need to be put in
place to attend to such enquiries. If it is decided to create a dedicated a web site or a
page on the State web site, it will be possible to accept and record thereon donation
enquiries and generate structured reports for action. In all cases a toll free phone may
be installed to answer donation related queries. If major disasters a series of phones
(phone bank) may be needed with a phone bank manager to ensure its proper
functioning. Active support of BSNL would be needed for creating and activating
this entire facility for attending to donors’ enquiries.

4.a.iii Receiving and staging in-kind donations

At present any in-kind donations arriving at State capital are diverted mid way (or
transported on arrival) to the affected district(s). In major disasters affecting more
than one district it would be appropriate to maintain a central facility in Lucknow for
receiving in-kind donations. In all districts, too, similar facilities will be required.
Such a reception centre will receive in-kind donations, do quality checks, accept,
store and record the details. The donations shall be transported to the district
reception centres based on the inputs of the Needs Group. Both at capital and in
districts the reception centres will require staging (temporary storing) areas, and an
accounting / record keeping wing. Thus, Reception Centres form another major
component of the ESF 6.

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4.a.iv Distribution of in-kind donations

Distribution of donations from the Reception Centres wither to other reception
centres or to the sites of operations to response managers will be done by the
Reception Centre itself but will need coordination with ESF Transport. At times
transportation of certain donation items may require protection against possible
looting and Reception Centres may need to coordinate with Police for escorts.
Distribution requires coordination with all emergency managers and prioritization of
requests.
Coordinating Attending Assessing the
VAs donors’ donation needs
SAs: VAs enquiries SAs: Line
SA: BSNL Deptts, VAs

Dispose Distribution
unutilized of donations
donations ESF 5: SAs: Police,
SAs: ULBs, DONATIONS Transport,
PCB
VAs

Screening and Helping VAs Receiving

placing seek donations donations
volunteers SAs:
SAs: Police SAs: ESF 13 Comm Taxes
Media,
VAs
Activities of ESF 5, in addition to collection of cash donations for CRMF

4.a.v Helping a voluntary agency (emergency responder) in seeking donations

State will not seek donations but some of the voluntary agencies engaged in
emergency management operations may be in urgent need of articles / goods /
equipment that are not available with State. ESF 5 will use its own network with
donor community and will also coordinate with RFS 13 Media in seeking the
required donations.

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4.a.vi Disposal of unutilized donations

In spite of the best coordination quite a large amount of unutilized in-kind donations
may be left with the EFS 5 or with the emergency managers at sites. Such unutilized
donations must be disposed off correctly. All such material that are still usable
should be returned to the Reception Centres and ESF 5 will contact such no-profit
service organizations as may use those materials. Such materials as are not usable
would be required to be disposed off while complying with the pollution control
legislations and solid waste disposal regulations of the ULB. This task will also be
done by the Material Handling Section at the Reception Centre.

4.a.vii Screening volunteers and assigning them to sites

ESF 5 will receive many offers for voluntary services. Some of the offers may be
from trained personnel such as doctors, paramedics, rescue experts, while some
others may be for pure shramdaan. During disaster management when all resources
get stretched volunteers provide a great support to the response managers. But
accepting spontaneous unsolicited volunteers is fraught with risks; for example
allowing volunteers from known communal organisations to work among riot
victims may delay the peace process. ESF 5 will maintain an inventory of acceptable
voluntary organisations, their specific expertise and will accept such volunteers as
would be affiliated with these Vas, with proper identification papers. Volunteers will
be assigned the operation sites by ESF 5 based on the requests received from the
emergency managers / VAs engaged in emergency management or from the inputs
of the Needs Group. This task will belong to the Coordination Group, another
important constituent of EFS 5.

4.a.viii Coordination among the Voluntary Agencies

This is perhaps the most important activity of ESF Donations as it forms the
backbone of the ESF. The coordination is required in selecting the VAs for
association during emergency management, accepting their volunteers to work under
other managers if needed, helping them seek specific donations, taking their help in
assessing donation needs and finally in meeting those donations needs. Considering

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

the importance of this activity and also considering the fact that most of the L0
processes of this function

relate to this activity, ESF 5 will have a dedicated Donations Coordination Team
with its own team leader.
4.b Organizational Structure of ESF 5

ESF 5 Donations
Head: State Donations Coordinator

1. Donations Coordination Team Head: Donations Coordination Team Leader

2. Needs Group* (Second in command in ESF 5)

3. Phone Bank Headed by Phone Bank Manager

Team and manager - all from VAs

4. Reception Centre * In most cases there will be no separate Needs

(Headquarters of ESF 5) Group. The Donation Coordination Group will
also assess needs.

Cash Material Handling Accounts and Volunteers

Section Section Records Section

During emergencies manpower requirement may become intense. It is therefore

appropriate that ESF 5, which is mostly involved with VAs be largely manned by
volunteers. The suggested organizational structure is shown in the schematic. The head
of the ESF is designated as the State Donations Coordinator (SDC). The main
composing groups of the ESF are: Donations Coordination Team (DCT), Needs
Group (may not be separately required in all emergencies), Phone Bank (need based,
may not be required in all emergencies) and the Reception Centre. Reception Centre
has four sections – Cash Section, Material Handling Section, Volunteers Section and
Accounts & Records. Reception Centre will also have adequate storage space for
anticipated arrivals of in-kind donations.

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SDC’s second in command is Donations Coordination Team Leader. Like the SDC
the DCTL too shall be nominated by the Relief Commissioner from amongst the
permanent employees of the State Government. All other positions shall be filled
with volunteers affiliated with accredited VAs.
The following schematic gives on overview of ESF 5 Operations:

ESF 5: Donations
Overview of Processes

L1/L2/L3 ESF Donations Notified

Declared

Acceptance

Need assessment
Emergency Management
Appeal for VAs

Volunteers’ validation

Central Storage

Accounts & Records

4.c Personnel Requirements

Personnel requirement of ESF Donations are as under:

Activity Persons per No of Total

shift shifts requirement
Security check post at Reception Centre : 2 3 6
Cash section cum enquiry : 1 1 1
Material handling section : 4 3 12
Phone Bank section : 6 1 6
Accounts & records : 1 2 2
Volunteers section : 2 2 4
Needs Group : 2 1 2
Total 23

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4.d Planning Assumptions

1. A major, severe or catastrophic disaster will create the need to coordinate solicited
and unsolicited donated goods, funds and/or volunteer services.
2. A united and cooperative effort by state, and local governments, volunteer
organizations, the private sector and the donor community is necessary for the
efficient and effective channeling of offers from the donor community.
3. Cash donations are preferable to unsolicited (undesignated) in-kind donations or
material donations. But designated donations are preferable to cash donations
because the designated donations, in response to requirements, meet the need
immediately whereas cash must be deposited with the CMRF and can be used only
with due process.
4. Unsolicited donations of goods and services can be expected, as it is impossible to
stop donation collection drives that occur immediately on reports of a disaster.
Thus, certain donations management response activities may be necessary even
before the declaration of a disaster or emergency.
5. Donations, especially perishable goods, must be managed to ensure that materials are
properly received, safeguarded, documented and distributed in a manner that will not
cause panic, hoarding, or waste.
6. Distribution will be based on priority of needs. Public health concerns will be
properly addressed before food items are distributed to disaster victims.
7. District, affected by a disaster, will establish their own Reception Centres.
8. In L2 / L3 disasters the PA’ office in Lucknow will centrally coordinate donations
and Reception Centres to receive and dispatch arriving donations will be established
and operated by the district(s).
9. Non-useful and unwanted donations can be expected and may have to be disposed
of in a manner agreeable to all charitable organizations providing disaster relief.
10. Charitable and religious groups will offer assistance in a number of areas.

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11. Telephone numbers will be established and highly publicized for individuals wishing
to donate money or services for response / recovery activities (i.e. Red Cross)
12. ULBs may establish local disaster donation funds separate from the charitable
organizations offering assistance.
13. All efforts will be made to utilize the donations given as disaster relief for the
purposes they were intended.
14. Volunteers not affiliated with any organized relief group may offer their services but
will not be allowed to go directly to the disaster site.
15. Persons and organizations wishing to donate goods/services will be encouraged to
register with the PA in the district or with the State PA
16. Immediately following the disaster, local agencies providing relief, will assess the needs
of all affected/unaffected areas to include goods, volunteers, and services and will communicate those
needs to PA

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Chapter 5: The Procedures

5.a Procedure for Preparedness (L0) Activities

5.a.i Creating the ESF Donations Team

a. Revenue (Scarcity) Department of GoUP shall nominate two persons of appropriate
seniority for the positions of the head and second in command of ESF 5. The head
will be designated as State Donations Coordinator (SDC) and the second in
command as Donations Coordination Team Leader (DCTL).
b. Revenue (Scarcity) Department will cause nomination of one person in each district
for District Donations Coordinator by the Collector.
c. SDC and DDC will closely interact with the VAs operating in their areas. They will
i. Prepare a list of all VAs (it includes NGOs, CSOs, trade forums,
charitable organisations etc)
ii. Ascertain their core capabilities (rescue, fund raising, voluntary service,
healthcare…etc)
iii. Encourage them to form a firm alliance by entering into agreement to
provide voluntary services in the areas in which they have competence
(sample agreement placed at Annexure 1).
d. In particular SDC and DDC will seek to create the their Disaster Coordination Team
by choosing team members from amongst the VAs. Normally the estimated
manpower requirement for ESF Donations is 23. SDC / DDC will ensure
identification of at least 40 suitable candidates from the names forwarded by the
VAs.
e. SDC and DDC will also contact local colleges to get suitable personnel for their
(ESF 5’s) core teams from amongst NSS members registered at the colleges.

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5.a.ii Creating the infrastructure required for the ESF Donations

SDC and DDC will identify suitable premises for the Reception Centres which will also
serve as the headquarters for ESF Donations. The following facility and equipment list is
considered to be ideal and is suggested for planning:
a. Approximately one thousand (1000) square feet of usable office space with sufficient
lighting, heat and/or cooling (disasters can occur anytime of the year), electrical
outlet capacity and sanitation facilities;
b. In addition to the usable office space, a separate room of approximately four
hundred (400) to eight hundred (800) square feet in size for use as a break room for
use by Reception Centre personnel to take periodic rest periods equipped with
appropriate casual furniture;
c. Staging (temporary storage) space of approximately 10,000 square feet equipped with
slotted angle racks for keeping sorted articles and sufficient ground space for
movement of lorries as close to the Reception Centre as possible
d. At least eight desks, two for accounts and record, one each for security check up,
inward mails / cash section, SDC, DCTL, Phone Bank Manager, and volunteer
section;
e. Three telephones – one to become toll free during emergencies for receiving
donation enquiries and one for the use of the Centre, and one for use at the staging
area
f. One fax (cum printer) with independent line and three computers of which at least
one with internet connection for sending / receiving e-mails and a generator set of at
least 5kVA;
g. One long desk where a phone bank of up to 6 phones can be set up, if needed, with
six chairs;
h. One or more folding table(s);
i. One display board(s) of approximately 4' x 8' in size;

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5.a.iii Ensuring the communications infrastructure for Reception Centre

SDC shall contact Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to ensure activation of the
communication infrastructure of the Reception Centre at the shortest notice. As these
facilities are for use only during emergencies, BSNL should be requested to provide the
temporary connections immediately on request. SDC will seek from BSNL the following
facilities:
a. Four telephone connections (one for fax) for regular use of the Reception Centre
and Staging Area;
b. An inter-com system connecting all desks and the break room which can accept
incoming calls from outside.
c. One phone to be made toll free. Since many enquiries will be of common nature,
SDC shall install a voice activated response system in this phone that can answer all
commonly asked questions without the need of any team member coming to the
phone.
d. Up to six telephone connections with one number (hunting line) for use by Phone
Bank

5.a.iv Training & Mock Drills

a. All the forty candidates identified for the Donations Coordination Team shall be
trained in the L2/L3 procedures described in this document. Their training shall be
for all activities that would make them mutually replaceable so that their services can
be utilised anywhere in EFS 5.
b. SDC / DDC will organise at least one mock drill a year at irregular interval. The
objective of the mock drill is to
c. Ensure that the ESF Donations Team gets organised and operational immediately on
declaration of a disaster situation
d. To test the level of coordination with the Voluntary Agencies
e. To test how long it takes to get the telephone lines operational (coordination with
BSNL)

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f. To ensure that the all team members are conversant with all the processes
g. For a mock drill to be effective detailed scenarios need to be prepared in advance
and it must have support of the senior functionaries of State Government. The
release of information will be gradual as they would be known in a disaster situation
and at times some information released earlier may turn out to be incorrect, again as
happens so often in real life disaster situations. For drill to be effective selected
information should be released to those role players who would have been privy to
such information. The activities undertaken by ESF 5 and the outcomes thereof
should be recorded and compared with the procedures to be followed in the given
scenario. This comparison would indicate the level of preparedness of the team and
also its weak points.
h. After the mock drill the SDC shall personally undertake an in-depth response
analysis. He shall discuss the outcome of the response analysis with the team in a
training session to highlight the weaknesses and how to overcome them. (The mock
drill shall involve the SA’s too and their responses too shall be subjected to analysis
as those of the PA’s .)

5.a.v Partnerships for Other Resources

a. DCTL shall enter into agreements with competent local laboratories for urgent testing
of food grains etc against presence of the insecticides and mustard oil against the
common harmful adulterants. This may be required if grains are received as
donations from unconfirmed sources or unbranded loose mustard oil is offered as
donations
b. DCTL shall finalise the format of photo ID card to be issued to the volunteers and
will ensure sufficient stock of blank ID cards.

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5.b L2/L3 Procedures

5.b. i Warning Phase

For Primary Agency

a. SDC / DDC, immediately on declaration of a disaster situation, shall inform the
Donations Coordination Team (DCT) through the Voluntary Agencies and directly
to of the anticipated or actual occurrence of a disaster event necessitating activation
of the ESF
b. Inform the Department of Commercial Taxes for arranging for express clearances of
lorries bringing donations through their check posts highway entry points into the
State.
c. DCT shall notify the pre-identified voluntary agencies and request them to keep
themselves in readiness for participating in response operations and ask them for the
list of volunteers available immediately.
d. SDC will assign duties to the DCT and with the help of the Needs Group determine
initial donations needed
e. DCTL shall notify BSNL for activation of Reception Centre telephones, including
the toll free number At this stage Phone Bank need not be activated unless it is
feared that the disaster situation will be severe and response operations will take
place for longer than one week
f. SDC shall cause suitable editing of pre-recorded messages in the voice activated
response system of the toll free phone to describe the current position and donation
needs
g. DCTL shall inform the SCR / EOC / IC the donation phone number(s)
h. DCTL shall request EFS 13 Media for release of a message for public on the line of
Annexure 2.

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For Support Agencies:

For Voluntary Agencies : Voluntary agencies that have functional expertise in different aspects
of emergency management shall notify their members to be ready to join operations and
prepare lists of volunteers available with them. They will update this list on daily basis.

For Commercial Taxes Department : Commercial Taxes Department shall consider, depending
on the flow of traffic, setting up a desk exclusive for lorries carrying donation goods at its
check post(s).

For BSNL: BSNL, on receiving request from DCTL shall activate the telephones of the
Reception Centre including the one that is toll free. BSNL shall also get ready to install a 6
line hunting number Telephone Bank facility for the Reception Centre.
For Police : As all volunteers need to be checked for acceptable antecedents, PA will forward
names of all registered volunteers to Police who will do a check to assess their suitability for
participating in emergency operations.

5.b.ii Impact Phase

5.b.ii.1 Roles and Responsibilities of the State Donations Coordinator (SDC)

SDC shall be an officer of eh State Government, perhaps a staff member of the Revenue
(Scarcity) Department. SDC shall be responsible for the following:
 SDC shall have a comprehensive knowledge of local, State and Central emergency
management systems as well as of the service capabilities of the various voluntary
agencies.
 During the activation of the ESF 5 the SDC shall serve as the link between the EOC
and ESF 5. To this end the SDC shall

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 Represent and speak on behalf of the volunteer and donations policy

in all EOC policy decisions;
 Communicate all policy decisions to the ESF 5 team;
 Represent the ESF 5 team in all EOC coordination issues;
 Communicate needs identified in the EOC to the Needs Group of
ESF 5;
 Chair all coordination meetings with voluntary agencies

Following restoration of L0, the SDC shall continue to coordinate the DCT until all
donations related activities are completed.

5.b.ii.2 Checklist for Disaster Coordination Team Leader (DCTL)

DCTL shall use the following checklist to determine satisfaction of performance of the ESF
Donations.

 Maintain a log of all donation activities.

 Keep informed of the general status of events in the disaster area by reading all
Situation Reports
 Review staffing patterns for donations management and determine correct levels of
support to ensure replacement personnel for succeeding shifts. Keep in touch with
the Voluntary Agencies for additional personnel resources.
 Maintain briefing materials on the status of donations in order to supply information
to ESF 13 Media, upon request.
 Report on the status of the donations situation as requested by the EOC.
 Confer and coordinate with local emergency managers and learn their points of
contact for donations.
 Discuss and outline roles and responsibilities and an action plan

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 Establish and keep current a listing of voluntary agencies participating in the

donations management response efforts, their points of contact with phone
numbers, services specialities and location of their respective distribution centres and
storage facilities.
 Ensure that all calls from donors including those donors that register their names
through the toll- free number are recorded and followed up in a timely manner.
 Refer all donation offer calls to the toll-free number unless it involves some extra-
ordinary or sensitive matter or issue. In such circumstance refer all such call to the
phone bank manager for expeditious handling.
 Provide briefings to all DCT members prior to any change of staff.
 Coordinate with the EOC, Dept. of Comm Taxes to ensure that donated goods
entering the State are not unreasonably delayed in being delivered to the appropriate
reception centre(s).
 Assure that transportation routes are defined and information is provided to drivers
of trucks carrying such donated goods.
 If needed, coordinate with Police for escorts to assure the timely delivery of donated
goods to reception centres.
 Establish and keep current a listing of all referral numbers and other information
known about donated transportation services and ensure donors are given accurate
information about the availability of such services for the transportation of offered
goods.
 Maintain a current list of voluntary agencies which are receiving specific types of
donated goods
 Coordinate between the unsolicited donations operations and agencies that may be
soliciting specific goods.
 Provide the SCR / EOC / IC with current information, as requested.
 Visit distribution centres to ensure communications and operating needs are being
met.

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 All needs assessment information from field visits should be relayed back to the
EOC through SDC.

5.b.ii.3 Donations Coordination Team

Donations Coordination Team (DCT) shall consist of representatives of voluntary agencies.
It shall assist DCTL in coordinating with the VAs active in response operation. The primary
duties of the Donations Coordination Team (DCT) is to coordinate needs with resources;
resolve conflicts between needed donations and donation offers; and to serve as liaison to
the various voluntary agencies. For these purposes, it shall maintain a perpetual status of
donation needs and offers received, and shall contact the likely donors for unmet needs. It
shall be the objective of the Coordination Group to match offers of goods and services with
existing needs: identify potential needs; and keep a check on donation offers which cannot
be utilized for eventual disposal. Its specific activities are:

 Coordinate with the EOC, local emergency managers and voluntary agencies to
determine donation needs.
 Coordinate users for unsolicited goods, services and volunteers.
 Accept and process interim phone inquiries and donation offers until a phone bank
is established.
 Return calls to prospective donors and either accept or decline donation offers.
 Establish and maintain a donations data base.
 Establish and maintain a log of principle donations activities.
 Prepare situation reports as required, at the minimum, once daily.
 Develop and maintain a listing of needed goods, services and volunteers.
 Resolve conflicts that may arise in incoming donations and/or distribution of
donations.
 Organise transport of donation goods to operation sites with help from ESF
Transport

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 Its shall be responsible for arranging the shipments of designated donations

to the voluntary agencies for whom such donations are received to avoid
confusion or misdirection of designated relief goods
 DCT shall also undertake the activities related to the Needs Group if no
separate Needs Group is considered necessary.

During a large-scale disaster, the State EOC is the central coordinating point for all disaster
response activities. The EOC staff shall manage all requests for assistance, provide
resources, track damage assessment reports and issue public information announcements.
The SDC should in constant touch with the State EOC

5.b.ii.4 Reception Centre

The Reception Centre shall consist of four units: the Phone Bank, Accounts and Records,
Cash Section and Material Handling Section. In addition the facilities created for the
Reception Centre shall also house the Needs Group and the Donations Coordination Group
and serve as headquarters for ESF 5. A Reception Centre Supervisor (RCS) shall be chosen
from amongst the representatives of the voluntary agencies to coordinate the activities of the
Centre.

Phone Bank
 The phone bank shall be comprised of up to six assigned phone sets (the number to
be determined by the magnitude of the disaster event and the response of the donor
community) with operators. The phones will have only one number and call will be
diverted to the free phone set.
 The phone bank shall be supervised by a Phone Bank Manager who shall be
responsible for training, coordinating and scheduling the operators and assuring that
all needs of the phone bank are met.
 The Phone Bank Manger shall be responsible for the set up and maintenance of a
tracking board of donation offers and unmet needs.

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 The phone bank operators shall answer all incoming calls for donation offers and
shall record such offers of goods, services and volunteers on forms prescribed for
such purposes.
 The phone bank operators shall alert the RCS of any call requiring special attention.
 The Phone Bank Manager shall pass the completed donation offer to the Accounts &
Records.

Accounts & Records Group (ARG)

 ARG shall consist of two persons from voluntary agencies.
 ARG shall record:
o All offers for donations made either on toll free phone or on the Phone
Bank,
o All donations made against such offers
o All donations received without an offer being first made
o All donations dispatched from the facility with the names of the recipient
o Receipt of such dispatches
 Thus, ARG shall be in a position to produce details of
o Outstanding offers of donations
o Total donations received
o Donations dispatched
o Donations held in the staging area
 ARG will make records in a simple password protected computerized accounting
system capable of generating full details of all entries made including the identities of
the team members that made the entries.

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Needs Group (if required separately)

 The Needs Group shall be responsible for tracking and identifying the unmet need
for goods, services and/or volunteers and to conduct surveys, when appropriate, to
ascertain unmet needs. Identified unmet needs shall be referred to the Coordination
Group for evaluation and follow through. Reports shall be prepared and forwarded
to the DCTL, as necessary.

5.b Detailed Procedures

5.b.i Procedures for Handling Donation Calls

The following procedures shall be followed for the handling of calls until the phone bank is
established:
 Encourage the prospective donor to consider a monetary donation directly to any of
the volunteer agencies active in the disaster response efforts. Inform that the State
does not have any cash contributions fund other than CMRF, which is not a
platform for funding only this disaster and all undesignated cash donations shall be
credited to the CMRF
 Reception Centre shall receive cheques / drafts in favour of the following voluntary
agencies engaged in response operations.
 Receipt will be given by Reception Centre as cheque for Rs ----- received meant for
*****; (give the name of the VA) and the donor shall be informed that the final
receipt shall be issued by the VA after realization of cheque along with a certificate
for tax submitting with tax returns

5.b.i Procedures for phone operations

 The phone bank shall be activated when the magnitude of a disaster event is sufficient in scale
to warrant its activation. In collaboration with the EOC / IC, State Donations

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Coordinator shall take this decision. He will also decide on the number of phone
operators to work on Phone Bank.
 At least one operator of the phone bank should be conversant with English.
 ESF Media will release donation solicitation information to the public, including the
telephone numbers.
 SDC and DCTL shall function as the liaisons to the phone bank manager.
 All operational decisions shall be made by the phone bank manager, who will be a
pre-identified person from a VA.
 Phone Bank Manager shall inform representatives of voluntary agencies of the
operational plan for the phone bank and will obtain contact numbers for voluntary
agencies participating in the donation solicitation efforts.

DCT / Needs Group shall provide written briefs (more than once a day if the position changes) to
the phone bank operators on the needed donations for informing the prospective donors.
DCT / Needs Group shall also give a priority list of critical item - stocks fast dwindling or
not available.
In general the phone bank operators shall follow the priority order described below:
a. Goods / articles / equipment required by any Voluntary Agency engaged in response
operation should be top priority. Phone bank operator will inform the prospective
donor of the requirement with the name of the VA that will be using / distributing
and the operation site where it is required.
b. Next would be cash designated for a VA which is engaged in emergency
management operations
c. Next will be articles / goods on the needs list
d. Next will be cash not designated i.e. not meant for any specific VA (such cash will be
credited to the CMRF)
e. Offers of articles / goods on Not Needed list shall be politely declined
DCT / Needs Group will keep the phone operators informed of::
 Priorities of donations
 What are needed and what are NOT NEEDED

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 Which voluntary agencies are participating in the donations solicitation efforts:

 Which specific policies and/or restrictions are in place governing the transport of
donated goods that may be coming from outside the State
 What specific types of volunteers may be needed to assist response and recovery
efforts
Periodically during the operation of the phone bank, the phone bank manager shall re-check
with DCT / Needs Group to make certain that all is functioning properly including the toll
free number, timeliness of the recording of needed and unneeded goods and the accuracy of
the message given to prospective donors. Modification to the message shall only be made in
consultation with the DCTL

Phone Bank Operator Checklist

Each phone bank operator shall be provided with the following guides for use while
answering calls of donation offers:
 Written phone response for informing callers emphasizing the priorities of
donations;
 List of needed donations and unneeded goods
 List of voluntary agencies participating in the donation solicitation efforts;
 Appropriate forms for listing donation offers;
Procedures for the Phone Bank Operators
The following is offered as a checklist for use by phone bank operators when taking calls
from prospective donors:
a. Answer all call with - “Donations Hotline, this is (your name), how may I help
you, madam/ sir”?
b. Be polite at all times. Remember that you are representing your voluntary agency
and the State. Always speak positively and never offer personal opinions or
judgments. A professional presentation is important. Do not speak in a casual
manner nor make clever comments;
c. Do not make any commitments for anyone else or for the State. If you are unable
to respond affirmatively to the caller take that caller’s name and phone number so
you or the Phone Bank Manager can call back with an appropriate response;

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

d. Record details of any donation offer made – name of the donor, particulars of
donations (cash or details of in-mind donations such as 200 quintals of wheat for
example), from where the donations are coming (for example Indore), how soon
will the shipment start, which route the shipment will take, its entry point for
State of UP etc. Confirm the particulas with the donor and inform them that the
donation offer is noted.
e. Forward the donation offer to the ARG and to the DCT
f. Do not engage in idle conversation with the caller, this will tie up the phone lines
unnecessarily.
g. Follow up with the caller after some time, depending on the time / date of
shipment to check on the status of the offer and inform DCT
h. Track the offer till the donations are received
i. Refer all calls from the media to the Public Information Center;
j. Do not make any promises or guarantees nor commit any voluntary agencies to
any obligation for transportation
k. Advise callers that once a donation has been forwarded to the emergency
managers, you do not know the status of such donated goods / articles;
l. Record all calls received or made (for tracking the offers).
m. Do not make any other outgoing calls without consulting the Phone Bank
Manager.
5.b.iii Procedures for Handling offers of Cash Donations
a. Inquire of the caller if he/she wishes to make a cash donation to the relief efforts for
the disaster. Always remember that a cash donation is most effective if the offer is
made for a VA engaged in emergency operations. Ask the caller if he/she wishes to
directly donate to a specific voluntary agency. If so, provide the phone number
and/or mailing address of that agency to the caller;
b. If the caller wishes to make a cash donation but does not have a specific voluntary
agencies’ member agency in mind, recite the list of voluntary agencies to the caller so
he/she may make a choice. Remember that the State cannot accept cash donations except for
credit to CMRF.

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

5.b.ivProcedures for handling In-kind Donations

An in-kind donation is an offer of goods or services in lieu of a cash offer.
 If the caller wishes to make an in-kind donation of unspecified goods, advise the
caller of the items listed on the “needs list”, and whether it is considered to be a
critical or a priority item. If offered donations match with the needs list, accept the
offer , record and note to track the offer
 If the offered donations in on NOT NEEDED list, politely inform the caller and
decline the offer and inquire if he/she wishes to substitute another type of good that
may be needed.. If not, advise the caller that his/her offer is recorded and if such
good is later determined to be needed, the caller will be contacted.
 If the donation offer is not on the needs list but also not on the “not needed” list,
accept the offered donation, record the offer and note to track it.

5.b.v Procedures for Responding to Spontaneous Offers of Volunteer Services

 Inquire of the caller offering volunteer services, if he/she/they are affiliated with
one of the voluntary agencies. If so, provide the caller with the phone number of
that agency and advise the caller to make contact with that agency for coordination
of offered volunteer services.
 If the caller is with an organized group but not affiliated with a voluntary agency
engaged in emergency management operations, take the caller’s name and phone
number and advise the caller that he/she/they will be contacted by a voluntary
agencies to determine sponsorship for utilization of the volunteer services.
 If the caller is an individual with no affiliation with any agency, respectfully suggest that he/she
make contact with a voluntary agencies’ member agency to seek affiliation and sponsorship in
offering volunteer services.
 In all circumstances, advise callers NOT to go to the disaster area unless and until
they have been instructed to do so by the voluntary agencies’ member agency
providing sponsorship.

5.b.vi Guidance in Response to Persons Seeking Disaster Assistance/Information

 Should the Donations Phone Bank be contacted by a disaster survivor seeking
assistance the Phone Bank Operator shall refer such a caller to the Helpline

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

 A caller wishing to ascertain information on the whereabouts of a disaster victim

shall be referred to the Helpline
5.b.2 Procedures for Handling Donations arrived at Reception Centre
The work flow at Reception Centre is depicted in a schematic.
 All incoming articles – envelope or a truck load of supplies will pass through security
check
 Details of arrivals will pass on to the DCT who will check the donor’s name against a
list of such donors from whom no donations can be accepted
 If the donor’s name is cleared the donation will pass on to the Cash Section or to the
Material Handling Section or to the Volunteers Section.

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

DCT OFFER / DONATION

SECURITY

Checks
offeror / Not acceptable Regret
donor

Acceptable

Cash Kind

Designated Undesignated Volunteers Material

Accept
for VA Check
Check if affiliation Unaffiliated Regret
donor can with a VA
reconsider
Affiliated
Accept for Accept
CMRF for VA
Check Not acceptable Regret
on VA

ARG Acceptable

Accept & direct

where needed
Needed Not needed

Accept & direct Regret

where needed

Record the offer; DCT thinks may be needed

Request to hold; else in future
ARG & Staging Area

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

Cash Section Procedures

1. If the donor (donor’s representative) has come in person and the cash donation is
being made to the State, Cash Section will suggest the donor to reconsider (it for
reasons detailed in Section**** earlier) making donation in favour of one of the VAs
engaged in response operations. Donor will be given the list of VAs and will also be
advised if any specific article / good / equipment is urgently needed.

2. If the donor agrees to make cash donations to the VA, accept the instrument
(cheque / draft) and issue a receipt reading “Received……….. for ****** (name of
the VA)”. Pass on the details to the ARG
3. If the donor insists on making donations to the State, accept for credit to CMRF,
issue a receipt and pass on the details to the ARG
4. Deposit in bank all instruments received for credit to CMRF and inform details to
Department of Revenue (Scarcity)
5. Dispatch all instruments received on behalf of VAs to their offices
6. Collect bank statements from bank(s) regularly, check the credit of deposited
instruments and inform Department of Revenue (Scarcity)
7. Maintain full records including acknowledgment of receipts obtained from VAs’
offices and banks.
8. At the end of operations prepare a bank reconciliation statement and submit to
Department of Revenue (Scarcity)

Procedures for Material Handling Section

1. Compare the incoming article / good with the Needs List and Not Needed List.
2. If the contents of the consignment are on Needs List, conduct a quality check.
Details of quality check procedures are given in Annexure 3.

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

3. If it is on Needs List and meets quality check, accept, pass on the details to ARG for
issue of acknowledgment and inform DCT for directing the consignment to the
operation site where it is needed.
4. If it is on Not Needed List, regret and return the consignment.
5. If it is on neither list, accept or reject after conferring with DCTL. If accepted keep
the contents of the consignment in staging area and inform details to ARG who will
record the arrival and issue acknowledgment to donor.
6. In any case the vehicle (truck / lorry) bringing in the consignment should not be
released till the final decision is taken about acceptance of the consignment

Processes for Incoming

materials
Material Handling

Need Not needed - Regret

Not clear check
Confer with
Material DCTL
Needed
Movements

Quality Not acceptable - regret

check
 Only against challans
from ARG
Acceptable
 Only to destination
specified by DCT Inform ARG

 Only through transport

arranged by DCT To DCT for To staging
directing to area
 Confirm ARG site

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

Procedure for the Volunteers Section

1. Only such volunteers will be accepted as are affiliated with an accredited VA. DCTL
finalises such VAs based on their history, credibility and capabilities.
2. Offers of voluntary service from persons not affiliated with any Voluntary Agency
are not to be accepted.
3. Exceptions can be made in case of volunteers, who have been trained under any
District Disaster Management Plan in UP. In such cases the credentials of the
volunteers must be confirmed with the District magistrate of the concerned district.
4. Volunteers Section will record full particulars of the accepted volunteer as per
Annexure 4 and issue a photo ID before directing him to DCT for eventual
deployment.

Procedure for Accounts & Records Group

ARG shall keep records in a computerized environment that will be capable of giving the
following information on a click:
i. Offers received from different donors but donations not yet reached
ii. Total donations received
iii. Total donations dispatched to different districts / operations sites
iv. Donations held in temporary storage facility
v. Total cash received
vi. Cash deposited with CMRF
vii. Cash received on account of Vas
Accounts will be kept in a password-protected system. Since the system requirement is quite
simple, a suitable system may be developed either by ESF personnel or by a suitable local
consultant.

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

APPEAL Chart-1
Preliminary assessment of
resources needed for
Appeal emergency management

Modest Moderate Large

 No appeals to be  Meetings with  Meetings with

made corporates & CSOs corporates & CSOs
 Voluntary offers to  Appeal by State
be accepted as per
policy

Process transfers to
ESF Media
 Coordinate their fund
raising programmes

 Coordinate their donations  Drafting of appeals

in kinds to avoid surplus of  Media plan
some materials and paucity
of some others

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, LUCKNOW

 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

Chart-2
ESF DONATIONS & VOLUNTEERS
OVERVIEW OF PROCESSES

ESF Donations & Volunteers

Overview of Processes

L1/L2/L3 ESF Donations Notified

Declared

Acceptance

Need assessment
Emergency Management
Appeal

Volunteers’ validation

Central Storage

Accounts & Records

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

Chart-3
ACCEPTANCE / REGRET

Offerors / Donors
donations
Acceptance  Full particulars of donations

 Deployment cards

Organis

 Date(s) of Cash Kind contact;

receipt of organisation

for ID photographs site where details –

sent
 Send
 Date; photo
affixed ID
Names ation; for  cards
Arrange skills) (special
direct to
site
manager
Appeals  Date of Accept, account &
who will
direct where needed
authorise
*Note: Accept conditional donation (monetary or kind) only if:
 Volunteer
1. The donation offer meets an unique need offers
that is otherwise difficult to meet. In addition to record of
2. The donation offer is very big. Processes
3. The condition is acceptable. for Store
 Date;
Source; materials received
Particular
s of  Appeals & outcomes
materials
o Broa
d
categ
ories
o Detai
ls
 Disposal
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, – LUCKNOW

s
 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

ACCOUNTS & RECORDS OF DONATIONS Chart-4

Processes for Accounts

 Date; Organisation; Conditions if
any
 Envelopes to be opened by two
 Incoming monies persons; deposit in CMRF
 Payee CMRF else seek to change
 Reconcile with CMRF

 Date; Organisation; Names

(special skills)
 Volunteer offers  Arrange for photographs for ID
cards
 Deployment details – site where
sent
 Send photo affixed ID cards
direct to
Informal site manager who will
Appeals
authorise
 Date of contact; organisation
 Date(s) of receipt of donations
 Full particulars of donations
In addition to record of materials
received
 Appeals & outcomes
Formal Appeals
 Dates of appeal
 Name(s) of supplicant(s)
 Names of mass media

Processes for Store

 Date; Source; Particulars of
materials
o Broad categories
 Incoming materials o Details
 Disposal – stored or despatched
 Obtain Confirmation from site

 Date
 Material details – quantities etc
 Material Movement  Moved to – (site name)
 Seek confirmation from site and place
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, LUCKNOW
on record
 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

Chart-5
MATERIAL HANDLING
Incoming Material
(Everything from envelope
Material Handling to truckloads)

Security check SA: Police

Envelopes and small Bulk packets to

packets to Accounts Central Store

1. Test expiry of all medicines

SA: Health 2. For all food material test whether
a) Fit for human consumption, if not
b) Fit for livestock

If needed at a site - If not needed at present –

ESF Transportation DESPATCH store for future use
Follow policy of
minimum storage

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, LUCKNOW

 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

ANNEXURE 1

Agreement with VAs

(For manpower for running the Reception Centre)

In an effort to provide support and stability to the community based disaster management
programme of the Government of UP, the Relief Commissioner and ******** (name of the
VA) enter into the following agreement:
1. ******** will provide to the ESF 5 Donations of the State Disaster Management
Authority, **** (enter number) community based volunteers to coordinate the flow
of incoming donations goods.
2. ******* will provide volunteers for management of the warehouse in receiving,
sorting, packing and inventorying and dispatching donated goods. **** will provide
teams of 4-8 persons, for up to three shifts as needed for this purpose.
3. The Office of the Relief Commissioner shall provide adequate office and warehouse
space for these operations.

This agreement may be terminated by either party with sufficient notice which will not
adversely affect the operations.

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 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

ANNEXURE 2

Draft notice for release by ESF Media

Because of the ************ (insert the disaster event such as floods / earthquake etc)
reported in the news channels many well meaning organisations / individuals are enquiring
about making voluntary donations. While it is too early to make a full needs assessment,
Disaster Management Department has set up a toll free phone number 0522-******* where
the donor community can make enquiries to learn about the type of donations that may be
more useful in responding to the situation.

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, LUCKNOW

 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

ANNEXURE 3

Suggested Procedure for Quality Check of in-kind Donations

1. Any unwashed clothing will not be accepted. While examining clothing articles it will be
kept in mind that though used clothes are welcome, rags are NOT.
2. Samples of plastic sheet, tarpaulin etc should be checked to see that they are of the
required thickness (as mentioned in consignment details)
3. Any medicines, to be acceptable, must have at least 3 months to expire.
4. Food articles:
i. Grains: Source from where the grains have come should be checked.
Grains sample should be checked against insecticide percentage.
Large scale food poisoning leading to deaths have been reported
(abroad) when wheat grains preserved for seed were distributed
during a disaster. Tying up with local reputed laboratories for urgent
testing is one of the L0 activities of the ESF. The list of such a lab
will be available from DCTL.
ii. Packed processed food: Check for expiry date and look for puffing of
containers or leakages. Reject any suspicious material.
iii. Unbranded mustard oil: Get tested in lab before accepting.
5. Equipment: Usually only new or certified refurbished equipment should be accepted lest
the staging area may become a junk yard. In special cases used equipment may be accepted
when offered by a reputed donor as a designated donation.

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, LUCKNOW

 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

ANNEXURE 4

Required Details of Accepted Volunteers

1. Name
2. Full address
3. Identity proof: Driving license, Voter id card, Ration card, Photo ID issued by an
elected representative / Gazated Officer (provided ESF 5 has specimen signature of that
elected representative or officer)
4. Name of the Voluntary Agency with which affiliated
5. Evidence of affiliation that was produced
6. Confirmation from the VA –
 Written (comparison with existing list)
 Verbal (over telephone) – give the name of the person who confirmed
7. Reasons for accepting if not affiliated with an accredited VA:
 If a registered volunteer with any District – details of confirmations obtained
 Any other reason

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, LUCKNOW

 DRAFT SOPs FOR ESF # 6- DONATIONS

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT GROUP, LUCKNOW