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Time to dust off that readiness plan

dPlan | ArtsReady from South Arts can help

It took us a while this year, South Carolina, but there's potential for tropical weather later this week.

Are you #ArtsReady? The Hub has promoted readiness in the past, so you might be familiar with ArtsReady, which was an initiative of our regional partners at South Arts. Rebuilt in partnership with the Northeast Document Conservation Center, the new dPlan|ArtsReady tool combines the original ArtsReady tool with NEDCC's dPlan service—to guide arts and cultural organizations through the process of developing an emergency preparedness plan.

What is a readiness plan?

A readiness plan is a combination of documents, processes, and training that formulates what your organization will do should the unexpected occur. It follows an “all-hazards” approach because anything can and may happen to your organization. Creating a readiness plan means making decisions about how you will respond and collecting all the information and documents that you will need—before a crisis hits—so you can respond and get your organization back up and running smoothly. A readiness plan is critical to preserve precious time and energy when seconds matter. dPlan|ArtsReady takes an "all hazards" approach to planning: focusing on your essential business needs so you will be prepared for any crisis. The tool walks you through a series of modules—Risk Assessment, Action Items, Critical Stuff, Reports, and Guides and Resources—that explore the critical business functions most arts and cultural organizations rely on every day. By working through the tool with your staff and leadership, dPlan|ArtsReady is your one-stop shop to creating a plan and repository of vital information that you can turn to at any time before, during, or after a crisis. Want to learn more? Performing arts organizations can request a free year of access to begin building readiness plans today!
Please monitor local weather outlets for the latest on potential effects from Ian, and check out SCEMD for additional preparedness tips on their website or social media: @SCEMD.  

Jason Rapp

Are you #ArtsReady for hurricane season?

State EMD offers new readiness tool

South Carolina residents have a new, state-of-the-art resource to help them be better prepared for hurricanes.

Last week, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division officially launched hurricane.sc, an interactive website that can guide people through the fundamentals of being prepared for hurricanes and tropical storms. Designed to be a quick, adaptive and flexible online reference, hurricane.sc is accessible on a desktop computer, a smartphone or a tablet. “People in potentially vulnerable areas will be able to use this new website along with our other resources to update their emergency plans, know what evacuation zone they’re in and make informed decisions about their personal safety,” SCEMD Director Kim Stenson said. “Hurricane.sc is another tool in the toolbox for people to use when becoming their own emergency managers and being personally prepared for hurricanes.” The new website is a virtual companion to SCEMD’s main website, scemd.org, the SC Emergency Manager mobile app and the annual South Carolina Hurricane Guide. The 2021 edition of the Hurricane Guide was released May 30 to kick off Hurricane Preparedness Week. The State Emergency Response Team has updated the Guide for this year’s hurricane season, including new evacuation zones for Berkeley County. The South Carolina Hurricane Guide will be available:
  • at all South Carolina Welcome Centers,
  • at any Walgreens store statewide,
  • and at SCDMV offices in Bamberg, Beaufort, Bluffton, Charleston, Conway, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Kingstree, Ladson, Lake City, Little River, Mullins, Moncks Corner, Mount Pleasant, Myrtle Beach, North Charleston, Saint George and Varnville.
The 2021 Hurricane Guide will also be released via newspaper subscription and rack sales:
  • starting Sunday, May 30, in The Beaufort Gazette, the Charleston Post and Courier, the Post and Courier Myrtle Beach, the Hilton Head Island Packet, The State, the Sumter Item, the Florence Morning News, the Orangeburg Times and Democrat, the Myrtle Beach Sun News;
  • Wednesday, June 2, in Bluffton Today, the Jasper County Sun Times, and Pee Dee Weekly;
  • and Thursday, June 3 in the Dillon Herald.

Arts-specific resources

According to Americans for the Arts (AFTA),

Artists and arts organizations are integral to the health and welfare of neighborhoods, towns, and cities in good times, but especially in times of difficulty. Experience has shown, however, that the arts and culture sector is often not well prepared to respond to and recover from a wide range of natural disasters nor human-caused crises, such as acts of terrorism and, increasingly, civil unrest. 

Given our state's geographic location, South Carolinians pay close attention to tropical weather. The SCAC website has a host of up-to-date resources aimed at helping constituents prepare. And speaking of AFTA, they're among a cadre of arts service organizations and funders who partnered to create NCAPER, the National Coalition for Arts' Preparedness and Emergency Response in 2006. They published a Cultural Placekeeping Guide that is (well, should be) required reading.

Jason Rapp

State Library offers free training for cultural heritage orgs

There's no time like now to prepare for the next emergency.

From March 2021-June 2021, the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) is providing free emergency preparedness training for South Carolina cultural heritage organizations sponsored by the South Carolina State Library and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This course is open to individuals associated with South Carolina cultural heritage organizations, county government departments, and offices involved with emergency management and public safety. There is no cost to attend, but you must register to reserve a seat. Seats are limited to 33 registrants per region. For more information and to register, visit the S.C. State Library website now.

Submitted material

One SC Fund awards more than $313,000

More than $4.8 million distributed to nonprofits since fund’s inception

Awards for hurricane relief and disaster preparation

The One SC Fund Committee awarded $313,344 in grants to 11 organizations across South Carolina for disaster relief and recovery projects in the fall 2019 grant cycle. To date, the One SC Fund—established by former Gov. Nikki Haley in November 2015 after the Thousand Year Flood to help South Carolinians who are recovering from a disaster—has awarded more than $4.86 million in grants to nonprofits to support disaster recovery projects across the state and helped more than 2,400 families return home. The fund is housed and administered by Central Carolina Community Foundation. The foundation does not charge fees for this work, ensuring that 100% of monies donated are granted to local nonprofits providing disaster relief and recovery. “The One SC Fund has helped thousands of South Carolinians affected by disaster return home during the past four years,” said JoAnn Turnquist, president and CEO of Central Carolina Community Foundation. “We’re grateful for the many generous donors who have helped these families and individuals.” No arts organizations were part of this round of awards, but nonprofit arts organizations are eligible to receive funding. Find information about applying for grants at www.yourfoundation.org/OneSCGrants. The next round of applications will be accepted from Feb. 1-29, 2020. There is still much work required to rebuild South Carolina from recent disasters—work that will require funding. Donations to the One SC Fund are being accepted and will help continue the work of serving those impacted by past, current, and future disasters that hit our state. 100% of monies donated will be granted to local nonprofits providing disaster relief and recovery.

How to Donate to the One SC Fund

Those wishing to contribute to the One SC Fund can do so in the following ways:
  • Online: Visit www.onescfund.org/ to make a donation with your credit card.
  • Mail: Send a check made payable to Central Carolina Community Foundation-One SC to: Central Carolina Community Foundation-One SC 2142 Boyce St., Suite 402 Columbia, SC 29201

About Central Carolina Community Foundation

Central Carolina Community Foundation, the Midlands' center for philanthropy, is a nonprofit organization serving 11 counties in the Midlands by distributing grants and scholarships and linking the resources of donors, nonprofits and area leaders to communities in need. Major initiatives include the online giving challenge Midlands Gives, On the Table, Connected Communities grants, the One SC Fund, Annual scholarships, and more. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.yourfoundation.org or call 803.254.5601.

Are you ArtsReady?

Hurricane Florence is approaching the East Coast and will likely have landfall Thursday or Friday. Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency. Coastal S.C. counties are to begin evacuating at noon Tuesday, and schools as far inland as Lexington County are closing to provide shelters and buses to assist in evacuation procedures. Read more here. While Florence's path remains difficult to predict, artists and arts organizations in South Carolina should anticipate impact and prepare accordingly.

Bonus content: South Carolina Emergency Management Division

If you have an ArtsReady/readiness plan, we hope that triggering it into action provides you with the ability to prepare for the storm. If not, we encourage you to take a few basic steps to prepare your office/venue/studio for the potential impact before departing for your personal preparation - unless you are under an evacuation order, in which case you should follow the instructions of local/state officials immediately. If you aren’t in the hurricane’s path, please use this time to take a look at your own readiness planning in the event of a future emergency. Visit ArtsReady to start or build upon your readiness plan; sign up for free webinars on a variety of readiness and disaster planning offered through the Performing Arts Readiness project; and sign up to get regular information on grants, trainings and programs to improve your organization’s readiness and resiliency (much of this project’s content is relevant to arts organizations and artists of all disciplines).

Be prepared!

Please use and share the following resources to ensure you are ready: HENFT Hurricane Preparedness Tips for Cultural Institutions Cerf+'s Resources for Artists: A few additional tips for arts organizations:
  • Assign a readiness/emergency leader for your organization through whom all communications and information should be relayed. Decide who makes the decision about suspending operations/events, and how those decisions are communicated.
  • Ensure you can carry out banking activity remotely, and that staff can work remotely if your offices/facility are inaccessible.
  • If practical, de-install exhibits that may be threatened by weather or water and remove to a safer location.
  • Secure outdoor sculptures, furniture, bike racks, signage, etc. – anything that can become a projectile in strong winds.
  • Move costumes, scenery, instruments, valuable equipment and collections that are in areas vulnerable to flooding (i.e., the floor, the basement) or susceptible to rain (near windows or under roofs) out of harm’s way.
Weather event resources: If your facility is impacted, there are a number of resources to assist you: https://www.artsready.org/home/public_article/887 And more resources are listed at https://www.lyrasis.org/LYRASIS%20Digital/Pages/Preservation%20Services/Disaster%20Resources/Response-and-Recovery.aspx
Thanks to our colleagues at South Arts for much of the content above.

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