ProtectingAmerica.org was formed in 2005 and is a non-profit organization consisting of emergency management officials, first responders, disaster relief experts, insurers and others. Its members include the American Red Cross, more than 300 other organizations and businesses and more than 15,000 individuals from across the nation.
At the core of ProtectingAmerica.org’s mission is the establishment of a comprehensive, integrated national catastrophe management solution that will better prepare and protect American families, communities, consumers and the American economy from catastrophe. Among its efforts to support this mission, ProtectingAmerica.org is working to increase public awareness and consumer education; advocate for better coordination with local, state and federal mitigation and recovery efforts, and strengthen emergency response and financial mechanisms to rebuild after a major catastrophe.
In addition to its education and public awareness programs, the organization is supporting, federal legislation that would establish a privately financed national catastrophe fund to serve as a backstop to state catastrophe funds. The funds’ private deposits and the majority of the earnings could only be used to cover replacement and rebuilding costs following major catastrophic events. A portion of the earnings could be used to increase public and consumer education, strengthen first responders, enhance building codes and improve their enforcement.
