Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD)

Frederick County is strategically reinvigorating its Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD), which currently exists only informally. Many organizations already provide essential services, maintain trusted community relationships, support vulnerable populations, and contribute resources during emergencies. However, without a shared governance structure, activation process, communication framework, and agreed upon responsibilities and priorities, coordination can remain informal, episodic, and dependent on individual relationships. The County intends for the COAD to serve as the County's community resilience network. This renewed initiative will establish a cohesive, mission‑aligned framework that strengthens coordination among nonprofit, faith‑based, private sector, educational, healthcare, volunteer, philanthropic, and governmental partners, enhancing collective readiness, response effectiveness, and short- and long‑term recovery across the county. The completed project shall result in a functioning, member driven COAD that can sustain collaboration in preparedness activities during blue sky periods, coordinate effectively during response and recovery, and strengthen community resilience over time. The consultant's work shall emphasize practical implementation, broad member ownership, measurable outcomes, and alignment with recognized COAD and VOAD practices while remaining tailored to Frederick County. This project is grant-funded with a period of performance ending May 30, 2027.