The following FEMA training and exercise resources may enhance the disaster preparedness – and response and recovery capabilities and capacity – of FEMA voluntary, faith-based, and community partner organizations, staff, and volunteers. Offerings also support mutual understanding and integration across the non-profit, public, and private sectors.
Independent Study
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute offers over one hundred independent study courses online.
Voluntary, Faith-Based, & Community Organizations
Volunteer & Donations Management
- IS-244.b: Developing and Managing Volunteers
- IS-288.a: The Role of Voluntary Organizations in Emergency Management
- IS-505: Religious and Cultural Literacy and Competency in Disaster
Key Groups & Vulnerable Populations
- IS-11.a: Animals in Disasters: Community Planning
- IS-111.a: Livestock in Disasters
- IS-36: Multi-Hazard Planning for Childcare
- IS-360: Preparing for Mass Casualty Incidents: A Guide for Schools, Higher Education, and Houses of Worship
- IS-366.a: Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters
- IS-368: Including People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs in Disaster Operations
Individual Assistance & Mass Care/Emergency Assistance
- IS-26: Guide to Points of Distribution
- IS-403: Introduction to Individual Assistance (IA)
- IS-405: Mass Care / Emergency Assistance Overview
- IS-421: Overview of the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program (EFSP)
- IS-806: Emergency Support Function (ESF) #6 - Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services
Communications and Partnerships
- IS-29: Public Information Officer (PIO) Awareness
- IS-42: Social Media in Emergency Management
- IS-240.b: Leadership & Influence
- IS-250.a: Emergency Support Function (ESF) #15: External Affairs: A New Approach to Emergency Communication and Information Distribution
- IS-650.a: Building Partnerships with Tribal Governments
- IS-660: Introduction to Public-Private Partnerships
- IS-662: Improving Preparedness and Resilience through Public-Private Partnerships
- IS-901: Section 508 Awareness
- IS-909: Community Preparedness: Implementing Simple Activities for Everyone
Emergency Management
- IS-1.a: Emergency Manager: An Orientation to the Position
- IS-100.b: Introduction to Incident Command System
- IS-200.b: ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
- IS-700.a: National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction
- IS-800.b: National Response Framework, An Introduction
- IS-230.d: Fundamentals of Emergency Management
- Courses on Emergency Support Functions (ESFs)
Additional Topics
Additional resources for citizens, employees, and workplaces include:
- IS-22: Are you Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
- IS-248: Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) for the American Public
- IS-906: Workplace Security Awareness
- IS-907: Active Shooter: What You Can Do
- IS-914: Surveillance Awareness: What You Can Do
Classroom Training
FEMA’s EMI offers classroom instruction on-campus and in coordination with partners nationwide. Please note that course audience, prerequisites, and delivery vary.
Voluntary, Faith-Based, & Community Topics
- E-197: Integrating Access and Functional Needs (AFN) into Emergency Planning
- E-278: National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) / Community Rating System (CRS)
- E/G-288: Local Volunteer and Donations Management
- E-289: State Volunteer and Donations Management
- E/G-489: Management of Spontaneous Volunteers in Disasters (course materials)
- G-108: Community Mass Care and Emergency Assistance
Communications and Partnerships
- E-105: Public Information and Warning
- E-388: Advanced Public Information Officer (PIO)
- E-680: Emergency Management – A Leadership Challenge (NEM Executive Academy)
- G-251: WEM Amateur Radio Resources
- G-272: Warning Coordination
- G-289: Public Information Officer (PIO) Awareness Training
- G-290: Basic Public Information Officers (PIO) Course
- G-365: WEM: Partnerships for Creating and Maintaining Spotter Groups
Plans & Exercises
Please note that course audience, prerequisites, and delivery vary.
- Virtual Tabletop Exercises (VTTX) – Monthly EMI offering, addressing one of 47 disaster/hazard scenarios
- IS-15.b: Special Events Contingency Planning for Public Safety Agencies
- IS-120.a: An Introduction to Exercises
- IS-235.b: Emergency Planning
- E-103: Planning: Emergency Operations
- E-104: Exercise Design
- E-132: Discussion-Based Exercise Design and Evaluation
- E-133: Operations-Based Exercise Design and Evaluation
- E-912: IEMC: Preparing the Whole Community for a Complex Coordinated Attack
- G-235: Emergency Planning
- G-358: Evacuation and Re-Entry Planning Course
- G-363: Hurricane Readiness for Coastal Communities
- K-146: HSEEP Basic Course
Collections and Courses of Study
- EMI Curricula – For example: Mitigation Curricula, Professional Development Series
- EMI Directory – For example: Master Exercise Practitioner Program (MEPP), Emergency Management Professional Program (EMPP) (4-week Basic, Advanced, and Executive Academies)
Additional Sources
Additional related resources (on fema.gov, unless otherwise noted) include:
- Resources for Faith and Community Organizations
- Resources for Schools (ed.gov)
- Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)
- Citizen Corps (ready.gov)
- Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP)
- Active Shooter Preparedness (dhs.gov) and Active Shooter Incidents (fbi.gov)
- Business and community preparedness (ready.gov)
- International Association of Emergency Manager (IAEM) Think Tanks and Webinars (iaem.com)
Additional Information
Learn more and connect with FEMA VALs and our community of partners!
- Contact your FEMA VAL or subscribe for VAL updates and other FEMA emails.
- Learn how FEMA VALs support the significant contributions of voluntary, faith-based, and community partners across all phases disaster.
- Connect for information on current and upcoming News, Events, and Opportunities.
- Explore additional Partners and Resources.
The Voluntary Agency Liaison mission is to establish, foster, and maintain relationships among government, voluntary, faith-based, and community partners to strengthen capabilities and support the delivery of inclusive, equitable services by empowering communities to address disaster-related unmet needs.
FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Disclaimer: FEMA does not endorse any private or non-profit entities, but provides this data on its web site for informational purposes only.