ABOUT US

Humboldt Community Organizations
​Active in Disaster (COAD)

Humboldt COAD Mission Statement
The Humboldt Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) is a 501c3 nonprofit that develops and enhances partnerships for cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration within our whole community, including non-profits, tribes, faith-based organizations, volunteer organizations, businesses, and government agencies before and throughout a disaster, including prevention, mitigation, protection, preparedness, response and recovery.

Purpose and role of COAD
The purpose of Humboldt COAD is to create linkages across sectors to develop a comprehensive approach to increase disaster resilience throughout the Humboldt community through communication, coordination, and collaboration. The COAD is an inclusive network for organizations active in disaster, and strategically networks its autonomous member organizations’ efforts to maximize the County’s capacity for disaster prevention, mitigation, protection, preparedness, response, and recovery.

The Humboldt COAD Operates in Four Ways:

• Cooperate – Work with COAD Member and Partner Organizations in many different disciplines and modalities to identify common ground and work together toward a shared goal of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

• Communicate – Develops and maintains effective channels of accurate, vetted, and timely communication for Member Organizations, and increases the reach of County messaging to the public.

• Coordinate – Coordinates the activation of nonprofit and faith-based organization, tribes, businesses, and other nongovernmental agencies to ensure an effective response that identifies gaps and avoids duplication. Coordinates activities that increase protection and preparedness such as trainings, drills and information sharing.

• Collaborate – Identifies common goals and creates shared solutions to meet needs during all phases of disaster. Works with the County and other partners to create collaborative and complementary efforts.

How the COAD Functions
The Humboldt COAD is largely driven by the participation of its Member Organizations, and operates according to the procedures outlined in its Bylaws. The COAD Executive Director leads day-to-day operations while the Board of Directors is the final decision-making authority for COAD. The Board of Directors presents amendments to governance policies and documents for a general membership vote. During all phases of disaster, the COAD operates using incident command principles which include: setting operating objectives; clearly defining the functions and roles of subcommittees; and establishing communication, operating, and decision-making protocols, to ensure the effective coordination of response activities.