Through a symbiotic partnership between communities and businesses we can prepare our communities before disasters strike.  Facilitated by the creation of a nonprofit emergency management consulting organization, professionals in the field of disaster resiliency, emergency planning, and continuity, etc. will contract with businesses to develop continuity and resiliency plans and establish mitigation measures to help ensure the business is prepared to survive and recover from critical events.  The proceeds from the services provided to businesses by this nonprofit organization will be invested directly back into the local community though grant request from community organizations for the development and implementation of disaster resilient initiatives.  The funding can be used by the communities for any community preparedness measures ranging from complex projects such as the design and building of a local EOC to the simple creation and distribution of emergency preparedness kits for families in support of the ready.gov initiative.

Through education, businesses will see that this is a win/win situation. For their investment, they are not only receiving the service of professional consulting in the development of their own preparedness and resiliency bringing them into compliance with regulatory requirements, but their investment also ensures that the community that they rely on to provide customers, services, and employees endures through disasters as well. This symbiotic relationship between businesses and communities is essential in creating a resilient society because neither can as easily survive catastrophic events without the support of the other.

A final note, this type of organization would provide many young and emerging emergency management professionals a great opportunity to pair up with seasoned emergency management professionals in internships providing valuable exposure to diverse experiences for growth as they move into a career in public safety. 

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