Disaster Relief Committee (Ad Hoc)

Mission and Goals

The Ad hoc Disaster Relief Committee convenes to review applications for monies from the MARAC Disaster Relief Fund in an effort to provide immediate relief to affected institutions.

Operations

The Disaster Relief Committee is meant to be a rapid response to petitions for relief and consists of current At­Large Members at the discretion of the Chair. The Steering Committee Chair will appoint one Member to chair the Disaster Relief Committee.

Typically, the Disaster Relief Fund can provide up to $2,000 to qualified institutions in accordance with the grant guidelines. However, the Disaster Relief Committee may request the Steering Committee approve additional funds be granted to an institution in cases where there is exceptional need. In instances where there is a widespread disaster that leads to multiple institutions requesting assistance, such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Steering Committee may allocate additional MARAC funds to the Disaster Relief Fund.

The Disaster Relief Committee will keep minutes of all meetings and submit a written report of activities, decisions and recommendations to the Steering Committee prior to the following Steering Committee meeting. The Chair of the Disaster Relief Committee should forward all non­current records to the MARAC Archives.

The scope, application, and general guidelines for the Disaster Relief Fund are available on the MARAC website. It is the responsibility of the Disaster Relief Committee to insure the information on MARAC’s website regarding the Disaster Relief Fund is kept up to date.

Timeline

The Disaster Relief Fund is meant to be a rapid response to a disaster. As such, the application process should be completed within a month of the disaster and the Disaster Relief Committee should do its best to get a response to the institution as soon as possible.

As soon as an institution has decided to apply for the grant, it should notify the MARAC Administrator. The Administrator will notify the Steering Committee Chair who will then convene the Disaster Relief Committee.

Within 30 days of the disaster, the Applicant will submit its grant application and support materials to the MARAC Administrator. The MARAC Administrator will distribute the packet of information to the Disaster Relief Committee.

Should the Disaster Relief Committee feel that an exception should be made, it may request that the Steering Committee waive the time restriction.

Within 2 weeks after receipt of the application the Disaster Relief Committee will review the application and make a formal recommendation to the Steering Committee Chair to be shared with the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee will vote on the recommendation at this time.

The Disaster Relief Committee Chair will notify the Applicant of the result of the Steering Committee’s vote. If the Steering Committee approves the application, the Treasurer will send a check to the Applicant.

Within three months after the award, the Applicant will send a report to the Disaster Relief Committee Chair detailing how the grant monies were used.

The Steering Committee Chair will suspend the Disaster Relief Committee once all obligations have been met. Once the Disaster Relief Committee is suspended, the Disaster Relief Committee Chair will send the Disaster Relief Committee records to the MARAC Archives.

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