Report on The Transparency of Relief Organizations Responding to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Citizen Oversight Requires Citizen Engagement 1 About Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) The Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization committed to: • improving disaster management systems through policy research and advocacy; • promoting transparency and engaging citizens to become more involved in preparedness and relief; • and helping to ensure that people know what is happening on the ground during a disaster. What We Do Founded in 2007 in reaction to the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina, DAP has demonstrated that dedicated and informed oversight can help ensure that government agencies and nonprofit organizations live up to their life-saving obligations before, during, and after crises. Our History Over the past few years, members of Congress, the news media, and emergency management practitioners have requested and utilized the research and real-time information collected by DAP. For a young organization, DAP has had an out-sized and far-reaching impact (as reported by ABC News, the Associated Press, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, among others). Some of these accomplishments include: • Investigating and authoring a report on how accessible and up-to-date the emergency plans in twenty-two hurricane-vulnerable Louisiana parishes were; this report prompted many parishes to update and improve the public accessibility of their plans. • Conducting a successful campaign to compel FEMA to comply with federal law and elevate the position of FEMA Disability Coordinator, so that she has more authority and resources available to fulfill the position's mandate. • Using the Disaster Accountability Hotline as a real-time listening device during Hurricane Ike and assisting numerous callers and countless others by directing details of gaps in critical services to responsible government agencies and nonprofit organizations. • Launching ReliefOversight.org: a website designed to improve transparency in aid activities, to help ensure donations reach groups with the greatest capacity to deliver needed services and facilitate coordination between organizations on the ground. 2 Table of Contents ABOUT DISASTER ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT (DAP) ............................................................................... 2 WHAT WE DO ............................................................................................................................................................ 2 OUR HISTORY............................................................................................................................................................. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................................................. 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................... 4 PURPOSE..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 SCOPE......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 PROCESS..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Survey Template.................................................................................................................................................... 7 CORRESPONDENCE LOG ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Correspondence Emails........................................................................................................................................ 8 Correspondence Log............................................................................................................................................. 9 HIGHLIGHTS ............................................................................................................................................................. 16 Overall Observations.......................................................................................................................................... 16 Response Volume.......................................................................................................................................................... 16 Compliance with Survey Questions ....................................................................................................................... 17 Question Key ............................................................................................................................................................. 17 Correspondence Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 18 Transparency ...................................................................................................................................................... 19 General Trends Observed................................................................................................................................... 23 NOTES, PROVISIONS, AND CORRECTIONS................................................................................................................. 25 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................................................. 25 AGAPE FLIGHTS ....................................................................................................................................................... 26 AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE............................................................................................. 28 AMERICAN REFUGEE COMMITTEE ........................................................................................................................... 30 AMERICA’S RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM ....................................................................................................... 32 APPROPRIATE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT GROUP ........................................................................................ 35 CATHOLIC MEDICAL MISSION BOARD ..................................................................................................................... 37 CHILDREN’S INTERNATIONAL LIFELINE ................................................................................................................... 39 CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN DISASTER MINISTRIES ................................................................................................. 41 COMPASSION AND MERCY ASSOCIATES (CAMA SERVICES) .................................................................................. 43 COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL ................................................................................................................................. 45 ENGINEERING MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL ............................................................................................................ 47 EPISCOPAL RELIEF & DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................................................... 49 HELP THE CHILDREN ................................................................................................................................................ 52 INTERNATIONAL AID, INC ........................................................................................................................................ 54 INTERNATIONAL CRISIS AID..................................................................................................................................... 56 LIFEWIND INTERNATIONAL (A.K.A. MEDICAL AMBASSADORS INTERNATIONAL) ................................................... 59 OXFAM AMERICA..................................................................................................................................................... 61 PHYSICIANS FOR PEACE ........................................................................................................................................... 64 PLANT WITH PURPOSE .............................................................................................................................................. 67 RELIEF INTERNATIONAL – HAITI.............................................................................................................................. 69 WORLD CARES CENTER ........................................................................................................................................... 71 INDEX ......................................................................................................................................................................... 74 CORRESPONDENCE ................................................................................................................................................... 74 American Red Cross ..........................................................................................................................................